Often, soccer fans do not clearly understand signals from the referee. When a player commits an offside offence, the referee has a few options in dealing with that particular infraction, which Law 11 in FIFA's law book covers. The "offside sanction" refers to the punishment for an offside infraction. The referee can only administer the offside sanction when he or his assistant adjudges that an attacker, having been in an offside position, becomes involved in active play (during the same phase of play).
-- The Assistant Referee's signal
Once the assistant referee determines that an attacker has committed an offside offence, he would normally raise his arm (the one closer to the goal line) until he gets the referee's attention. In high profile games, the assistant referee (AR) will raise his flag, but he also has a microphone and/ or a signal beep available to attract the referee's attention. The assistant's flag remains vertical in the air, as a natural extension of the arm, until the referee acknowledges it.
Once the referee blows the whistle, the AR would then indicate the part of the field where the attacker committed the offence (far side/ centre field/ near side). The assistant referee should keep the flag raised until the referee acknowledges it or until the defending team is clearly in control of the ball.
-- The Referee's action
The referee has the option to "wave the assistant referee down" if he considers that the play no longer remains dangerous or if he figures that the assistant made an error (especially when dealing with unofficial linesmen). Once the referee acknowledges the assistant's flag, he will blow the whistle and wait for the assistant referee to make the next signal with his flag. Then, the referee would award an indirect free kick to the defending team from the point at which the offside offence was committed.
-- The indirect free kick
When match officials acknowledge and sanction an offside offence, an indirect free kick is the result. A player cannot score a goal directly from an indirect free kick. The ball is in play when it touches another player (whether teammate or opponent) who is on the field of play. The referee indicates the indirect free kick by raising his left hand vertically.
-- Unsporting behaviour in committing an offside offence
The referee can sanction a player for unsporting behaviour arising from an offside offence. However, this does not mean that the referee should caution a player for committing an offside offence. If an attacker in an offside position steps off the field to show the referee that he is not involved in active play but subsequently becomes involved in active play, he is guilty of unsporting behaviour. A defender may step off the field to place a defender in an offside position. This is not accepted practice and the referee can caution the defender for leaving the field of play without his permission.
Darrell Victor is a freelance writer and member of the Trinidad and Tobago Referees Association. To read his latest articles visit http://www.helium.com/user/show_articles/338815
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