Offside Law 11

[ChasObserverRefDeveloper]

The position / alertness of the GK are irrelevant as to whether the defender's actions should be classed as a save. The law is based around the purpose of the defender's action (to stop a ball heading towards goal) rather than whether the action actually stopped a goal.

But in this case the likelihood of the ball going into the goal is lessened by the presence of the goalkeeper (and possibly some defenders)
In your version, would a handling offence 2-3 metres inside the defending half be a "save"?

 

[bester]

Save

An action by a player to stop or attempt to stop the ball when it is going into
or very close to the goal using any part of the body except the hands/arms
(unless a goalkeeper within their own penalty area)

 

[socal lurker]

But in this case the likelihood of the ball going into the goal is lessened by the presence of the goalkeeper (and possibly some defenders)
In your version, would a handling offence 2-3 metres inside the defending half be a "save"?

But the Laws don’t base the definition of save on the likelihood of going in the goal. The definition is

An action by a player to stop or attempt to stop the ball when it is going into or very close to the goal using any part of the body except the hands/arms (unless a goalkeeper within their own penalty area)​

(as far as the extreme hypothetical at midfield, we can construct a scenario where it would fit the definition of a save—open goal and a player shooting from midfield that is blocked. But that is starting to get silly. And I think it is probably true that any “save” at distance is goi g to end up as a deflection anyway, as it wo ‘t be an opportunity for a controlled play.)

 

[Russell Jones]

But in this case the likelihood of the ball going into the goal is lessened by the presence of the goalkeeper (and possibly some defenders)
In your version, would a handling offence 2-3 metres inside the defending half be a "save"?

A handling offence would never be classed as a save. As @bester mentions, saves can only be made by parts of the body that can legitimately play the ball. As for the position on the field, given that the referee needs to be sure that the ball was going in a goalwards direction, I can't imagine a likely scenario where this would be the case.

In reality, the vast majority of 'saves' would, in any case, otherwise be classed as Deflections rather than Deliberate Plays ... so their impact on any offside decision is the same. However it's worth bearing them in mind to avoid any unhelpful / unnecessary debate about whether a defender's touch on a 'goal-bound' shot was Deliberate. And as @socal lurker points out, the presence of a GK or other defenders is irrelevant ... it's basically there in Law to freely allow Defenders carte blanche to do whatever they wish / need to do to stop a ball heading towards the goal.

 

[ChasObserverRefDeveloper]

A handling offence would never be classed as a save. As @bester mentions, saves can only be made by parts of the body that can legitimately play the ball. As for the position on the field, given that the referee needs to be sure that the ball was going in a goalwards direction, I can't imagine a likely scenario where this would be the case.

In reality, the vast majority of 'saves' would, in any case, otherwise be classed as Deflections rather than Deliberate Plays ... so their impact on any offside decision is the same. However it's worth bearing them in mind to avoid any unhelpful / unnecessary debate about whether a defender's touch on a 'goal-bound' shot was Deliberate. And as @socal lurker points out, the presence of a GK or other defenders is irrelevant ... it's basically there in Law to freely allow Defenders carte blanche to do whatever they wish / need to do to stop a ball heading towards the goal.

We can agree to disagree