Back from the game - S****horpe.

[Stranded]

A player in an offside position is only penalised if, at the moment the ball
touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee,
involved in active play by:
• interfering with play or
• interfering with an opponent or
• gaining an advantage by being in that position

If, just say the player was in an offside position, when the matey tried cutting the ball back it wasn't intended for him, nor was it going to him......when it deflected off a Reading player 'forward' there is no way he would be offside due to the fact (1) it came off a Reading player last - (2) he wasn't "active" in the initial phase when the cut back was going to the edge of the box

Yes but that isn't never being offside from a backwards pass. Physically it's almost impossible for it to happen.

But if that were the rule then, say a player is offside and a winger curves a ball so that by the time it's reached him it's gone backwards - he turns back retrieves it he wouldn't be offside? But as it stands, he is.

[Man Friday]

:|

The fact the ball went backwards by their player means the goal scorer could have been stood on the goal line and not been offside. When it hit the Reading man and went towards our goal it obviously couldn't have been offside.

I seriously can't find anything in the rules about a backwards pass not being offside - the only reference being that if the player is behind the ball he can't be offside. This would mean that the pass would be backwards in most cases, but in this case the "offside" player was in front of the ball.

He was played onside by at least one Reading defender though.

To be offside the ball has to go forward....trust me, i'm a ref

It cannot be called if the offensive players are on their own side of the field or if the ball is passed backward anywhere on the field. Nor is it valid on a throw-in, goal kick, or corner kick.

Yes, I can tell that.

By the way, where's that quote taken from? I assume it's simply yours.

[coyrls]

:|

To be offside the ball has to go forward....trust me, i'm a ref

It cannot be called if the offensive players are on their own side of the field or if the ball is passed backward anywhere on the field. Nor is it valid on a throw-in, goal kick, or corner kick.

I can't believe the phrase "passed backward" would be in the laws of the game. It would be phrased something like "away from the opponents goal".

[FiNeRaIn]

Who cares, it was given..it was a goal. Move on.

[Hugo Boss]

For once, agreed.

[LoyalRoyal22]

after reflecting i think the reason we lost was quite simple.

Usually our defence and centre of midfield is solid, and we can build from that, e.g keep sustained pressure and when the opposition attack get the ball straight back and go again.

I thought we were good going forward but we had no foundation to build on as the defence was shaky, and they were running through jem and bryn at will.

[coyrls]

:|

To be offside the ball has to go forward....trust me, i'm a ref

It cannot be called if the offensive players are on their own side of the field or if the ball is passed backward anywhere on the field. Nor is it valid on a throw-in, goal kick, or corner kick.

I can't believe the phrase "passed backward" would be in the laws of the game. It would be phrased something like "away from the opponents goal".

Sorry to keep this debate going then but the authoritative source for this quote appears to be: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-offside-in-soccer.htm

That also includes such gems as:

Offside may be spotted by either the center referee or by the sideline referees. If the center referee spots the offside he or she will blow his or her whistle to stop play. More commonly, a sideline referee will signal the offside by raising a red flag indicating to the center referee that he or she should blow his or her whistle to stop play. While the center referee doesn't have to blow his or her whistle upon the sideline referee's signal, the center referee usually will.

[FiNeRaIn]

after reflecting i think the reason we lost was quite simple.

Agreed, they scored two and we scored one.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

:|

To be offside the ball has to go forward....trust me, i'm a ref

It cannot be called if the offensive players are on their own side of the field or if the ball is passed backward anywhere on the field. Nor is it valid on a throw-in, goal kick, or corner kick.

I can't believe the phrase "passed backward" would be in the laws of the game. It would be phrased something like "away from the opponents goal".

Yes, you can be offside to a pass going backwards if you are ahead of the ball when it's passed. The direction of the pass has no part at all in the offside law. It's purely about the position of the player receiving the ball relative to the other team's defenders.

from the FIFA clarification of the rule

What does gaining an advantage by being in that position mean?
The International Football Association Board defines it as
- playing a ball that rebounds off a post or the crossbar after having been in an offside position, or
- playing a ball that rebounds off an opponent after having been in an offside position.

Clearly their striker was in an offside position and played a ball that rebounded off an opponent.

[handbags_harris]

So,TBM, you're telling me this:

If an attacking player had the ball in an attacking area of the field, had two team-mates ahead of him - one in an offside position to the left, one onside to the right - and he played the ball in the direction of the onside player, subsequent pass was deflected by an opponent into the path of the offside player, the offside player would be onside?

Ok...

[Wycombe Royal]

I think we need Mr Blobby.

[rob the royal]

:|

To be offside the ball has to go forward....trust me, i'm a ref

It cannot be called if the offensive players are on their own side of the field or if the ball is passed backward anywhere on the field. Nor is it valid on a throw-in, goal kick, or corner kick.

I can't believe the phrase "passed backward" would be in the laws of the game. It would be phrased something like "away from the opponents goal".

if you ask me this thread is past backwards...

[Man Friday]

Clearly their striker was in an offside position and played a ball that (had) rebounded off an opponent.

But he wasn't in an offside position. (He was level.) Let's at least get that right.

[Platypuss]

Clearly their striker was in an offside position and played a ball that rebounded off an opponent.

Clearly?

Even in the screengrab above he's level and that was after the ball was played.

[Ian Royal]

How are people still talking about this offside?

The ball was played backwards by Forte - Not offside.
At the time Forte played the ball Thompson was level with the defence - Not offside.
The ball went forward off a Reading player - Not offside.

It's about as clear cut as you can get them if you actually have even marginal vision. AND there are highlights easily available and a screen print of them on here, which clearly shows it's not offside.

[handbags_harris]

The ball was played backwards by Forte - Not offside.

Show me and the many others who dispute this point where, in the laws of the game, or in particular rule 11 entitled "Offside", it says the ball has to be played forwards...

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

Clearly their striker was in an offside position and played a ball that rebounded off an opponent.

Clearly?

Even in the screengrab above he's level and that was after the ball was played.

If he was level then nothing else matters, but my point was more about bizarre claims that you can't be offside if the ball doesn't go forwards.

And also, why did we seem to just let the guy run in unchallenged to tap in?

[buzzbee]

The goal should NOT have stood! I bow to the knowledge of the great God of football that is Chris Kamara!

At the time, he was praising the referee for getting the decision right, but said something along the lines of "It was the correct decision, because the pass from the Burnley forward went backwards." In that case, IMHO, not only should the goal have been disallowed, but we should have been awarded the game!

Why? Well, Kammy says "...the pass from the Burnley forward went backwards..." We were playing Scunthorpe!

Well done Kammy

[Ian Royal]

The ball was played backwards by Forte - Not offside.

Show me and the many others who dispute this point where, in the laws of the game, or in particular rule 11 entitled "Offside", it says the ball has to be played forwards...

I can't show you where in the rules it says the ball crossing the goal line means there's a goal, so why would I be able to show you anything else? It may not be true. It doesn't really oxf*rd matter though given he was oxf*rd level when the ball was kicked and a goal was given.

Jesus, let it go.

[handbags_harris]

The ball was played backwards by Forte - Not offside.

Show me and the many others who dispute this point where, in the laws of the game, or in particular rule 11 entitled "Offside", it says the ball has to be played forwards...

I can't show you where in the rules it says the ball crossing the goal line means there's a goal, so why would I be able to show you anything else? It may not be true. It doesn't really oxf*rd matter though given he was oxf*rd level when the ball was kicked and a goal was given.

Jesus, let it go.

Steady on old boy, I am merely pointing out a flaw in your argument that you persist with stating. Here's a little helping hand, it's page 31 of the handbook if you prefer to look for it in the FA/FIFA websites.

It is not an offence in itself to be in an offside position.

A player is in an offside position if:
• he is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent

A player is not in an offside position if:
• he is in his own half of the field of play or
• he is level with the second-last opponent or
• he is level with the last two opponents

Offence
A player in an offside position is only penalised if, at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play by:
• interfering with play or
• interfering with an opponent or
• gaining an advantage by being in that position

No offence
There is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from:
• a goal kick
• a throw-in
• a corner kick

Infringements and sanctions
In the event of an offside offence, the referee awards an indirect free kick to the opposing team to be taken from the place where the infringement occurred (see Law 13 – Position of free kick).

Incidentally, "The Method of Scoring" law is Law 10, and in fact there's even a pretty picture to illustrate the point on the previous page to the offside law.