A&H

Open Age Offsides

L9212

New Member
Just thought I’d run this past everyone to see what you think.

It’s my 3rd season refereeing OA football on a Sunday and I’m also going for the 7-6 jump. Although I think the rest of my refereeing Is decent, I still seem to struggle with offsides in games with no AR’s on a Sunday.

Ball will get played through, as it’s kicked I give a quick scan across the back four, seems onside, defenders up in Arms screaming. Perhaps the majority of my calls are actually correct and it’s just a confidence issue, I just wondered if anyone has their own way of going about offsides on a Sunday morning.
 
The Referee Store
It's the hardest part of reffing with club or no assistants, and in many cases it'll be an educated guess.

To give yourself a fighting chance get as wide as you can to see the ball being played and as much of the defensive line at the same time. After that, do your best and give whatever you give confidently!
 
Defenders with arms up screaming is a clue of . . . absolutely nothing.

(Or, perhaps a clue that they hope they can con a cal from a referee as they know there is no AR with an ideal view.)
 
Get wide and expect to be guessing most of the times unfortunately.

If I get a particularly boisterous team who likes to play a dangerous game with offside (i.e. appealing and not tracking back) then I will bring the captains in for both teams and point out that I am on my own, if I'm caught in the middle and the ball is played long and I don't have an angle I am erring on the side of not giving an offside as I cannot be certain.

Most teams will accept this and it manages the situation.

If you do go with that though, be alert to them changing their gameplan based on how you've been giving those decisions. I've seen teams drop deep since they don't want to risk a one on one, and equally I've seen some teams throw caution to the wind and put their defensive line right on the halfway line. Both are, in my view, a lot easier to judge.
 
I'm subjected to the joys of CARs, which in OA games is most likely cause of 'disquiet'
On the odd occasion teams have done me the favour of not having anyone available, I quickly realised that the diagonal goes out the window. I found it more logical to run from the corner of one PA to the adjacent corner of tother PA. Pythagoras would suggest that less running is needed by adopting this tactic, leaving petrol in the tank to leggit into positions favourable for judging off side ;)
 
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