Changes to the Offside law sneak in for the new season

   So with a minimum of  fuss - perhaps too little - world football is tweaking the offside law for the start of the new season. It's not a huge change, but it is an important one and I hope footballing authorities announce the changes publicly so that supporters know why referees are doing things differently.

At the moment the changes - as far as I'm aware - have only been publicised to referees around the country.

It's all about "interfering with an opponent." IFAB, which makes the game's laws, has ruled that in some situations, being in an offside position needs to be penalised where it isn't at the moment, because an offside player is having an impact on an opponent.

  So, as IFAB writes ....

A player in an offside position shall also be penalised if he:  

  

·    clearly attempts to play a ball which is close to him when this action impacts on an opponent or  

·    makes an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball   

So what does that mean. IFAB gives a load of examples, but one clear one is the situation when a free kick is taken and a player in an offside position tries and fails to make contact with the ball and the ball disappears into the net at the far post. That goal will no longer be allowed as the player will be penalised for offside. 

Also, if the ball goes through an offside attacker's legs to an onside player who scores, that goal will not count.

   

"This represents a clear change in the way in which assistant referees will judge ‘interfering with an opponent’ from last season.  Previously a player would only be judged to be ‘interfering with an opponent’ if he either clearly obstructed the opponent’s line of vision, or challenged an opponent for the ball.  The new guidance introduces the concepts of attempting to play the ball, impacting on an opponent or making an obvious action which impacts an opponent’s ability to play the ball," says FIFA's rule-making body.

    One troubling aspect of the change is that it will introduce the almost unprecedented rule of different laws for differemt levels of football. The new law will only be introduced where there are neutral assistants to help the referee spot these events. At grassroots level, with a referee acting alone with subs acting as linesmen or even no linesmen, the new laws will not apply.