Something something something women don't understand offside

[Mikey Brown]

Apologies if there's a thread that contains this already, this is very much new territory for me. I accidentally clicked on this article but it's made it clear to me I actually don't understand the offside rule.

What am I not seeing here that makes the first (England) goal valid and the second (Cameroon) goal not valid? There's an England player, who doesn't play the ball, standing offside and there's a Cameroon player standing (miles) offside who doesn't play the ball either. What's the difference? It's a genuine question. I don't watch football but thought I actually understood this before.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48738649

[Stom]

Apologies if there's a thread that contains this already, this is very much new territory for me. I accidentally clicked on this article but it's made it clear to me I actually don't understand the offside rule.

What am I not seeing here that makes the first (England) goal valid and the second (Cameroon) goal not valid? There's an England player, who doesn't play the ball, standing offside and there's a Cameroon player standing (miles) offside who doesn't play the ball either. What's the difference? It's a genuine question. I don't watch football but thought I actually understood this before.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48738649

The Cameroon player who played the ball was offside... By about 8mm...

In cricket it would be umpires call. In rugby it would be can't see the ball, so infield decision...

In football, its left 100% to the tech.

[Puja]

What Stom said. England's one was clearly onside, Cameroon's was very, very marginal, but offside, so frankly it's embarrassing that they made such a fuss over decisions that were definitively correct. Especially considering they could've had two red cards and conceded a penalty if refereeing decisions had gone the other way.

The game just reminded me why I'm not keen on football - zero respect for the ref and a complete lack of class.

Puja

[Mikey Brown]

Ah. So I was just looking at the wrong players entirely. It seemed strange watching all the pundits laying into Cameroon if we also had a player offside.

That phrase “if you’re on the pitch, then you’re affecting play” isn’t actually a functional part of rules is it.

[Puja]

Ah. So I was just looking at the wrong players entirely. It seemed strange watching all the pundits laying into Cameroon if we also had a player offside.

That phrase “if you’re on the pitch, then you’re affecting play” isn’t actually a functional part of rules is it.

It's not, no. You don't have to be near the ball - you can be defined as affecting play if you're providing an option that a keeper has to look at, but away from goal and retreating doesn't count.

To be honest, the offside decision to rule out Njoute's goal was extremely harsh (although technically correct) and there'd be a lot of sympathy for Cameroon if they hadn't been a bunch of arseholes earlier in the game.

Puja

[Galfon]

The players know the rules..Eng goal was good as the other player was miles away.Cam goal was a midge's d!ick from being good but in VAR world that's as good as a yard.

(Being offside is not, in itself, an offence. It only becomes one if the player attempts to touch the ball after it has been played forward by a team-mate.

'Recent amendment: a player could be offside if he/she ‘interfered with play’, e.g. player might be stood in an offside position but not touch the ball and yet still be given offside because his positioning meant that he prevented a defensive player from being able to see the ball clearly.'

'To be onside there must be two players between the attacking player and the opposition’s goal -
the opposition’s goalkeeper counts as one of the 2 players, but he doesn’t have to be one of their players.')

It used to be more straightfoward before around 1990 when Platini et al tried to make the game less physical & more free-flowing.

[SerjeantWildgoose]

Yeah but why were all them wimin running around the place like eejits when it was abundantly clear that the fat bloke in the sweaty red t-shirt was desperately in need of a cup of tea.