A Suspicion Of Offside

In the League Cup second leg semi-final between Manchester United and Manchester City, HKRef believes there may be a hint of offside for the first goal. Interestingly, none of the sports articles or football reviews about this match mentioned anything suggesting the possibility of offside.

Nevertheless, this incident may prove to be a useful exercise to review and consider Law 11_Offside.


In this first sequence of 4 freeze frames (camera view from the halfway line), Giggs (red) is at the top of the frame and outside the penalty area. Carrick (red) is on the 6 yard line, and Nani (red) is on the 18 yard line. As Giggs plays the ball to Nani, and as Nani pushes the ball forward, it is important to consider Carrick's position relative to the second-last defender (blue).

In this second sequence of 5 freeze frames (camera view from behind the goal), it is important to consider when Nani played the ball and whether Carrick is still in an offside position.






Thereafter, Carrick plays the ball to Paul Scholes (who appears near the 18 yard line) and his shot goes in for the match's first goal.

For Consideration: was Carrick offside?
Did Carrick gain an advantage from being in that position? By considering this incident carefully and rationally (something that is difficult to do during actual match time), HKRef hopes that referees can reflect more and perhaps improve their awareness of similar incidents in future matches.

Reference
Law 11_Offside

Holding is an Offence 2

It is good to see Referees being consistent. Only a few days ago, a holding offence in the penalty area was correctly given.

In yesterday's Carling Cup semi-final first leg between Manchester City and Manchester United, referee Mike Dean correctly awarded a penalty when United fullback Rafael da Silva committed a holding offence against City forward Craig Bellamy.

Mike Dean whistled and pointed to the spot. He also put two fingers up to indicate publicly that there were two offences. The first holding offence occurred outside the penalty area, and the second offence occurred inside. It is interesting to observe how the United players only focused on telling the Referee that the offence occurred outside the penalty area. Nevermind the second offence!!

[The first holding offence occurred outside the penalty area.]

[The second holding offence continued inside the penalty area.]

Referee’s Optimal Position is All Relative

English Premiership referee Howard Webb had a very good game overall when officiating the Wolves 0 – 2 Wigan match. Webb is obviously very fit and for the last two years has no doubt been preparing himself as England’s top referee for the 2010 World Cup.

However for Wigan’s second goal, although Webb believed he was in the optimal position during Wigan’s attack, the defending Wolves team will surely argue against that. This is because Webb’s positioning unfortunately prevented Wolves defender David Jones from getting near the ball following a rebound. This is not the referee’s fault.

[Howard Webb is in an optimal position for a referee ... and for the attacking team ... but not for the defending team!!]

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy joked about it:

The referee put a block in on David Jones which impeded him. When Marcus [Hahnemann] made the save, I would have liked one of my players to have the chance to get the rebound rather than be blocked by the ref.

David Jones did ask the referee [about being impeded by the referee]. He [the referee] said he was trying to get in the best possible position to er, block him, no sorry, to have a view of [the area].

Other Posts related to Howard Webb
Violent Conduct by Nemanja Vidic?
Teamwork is important for match officials

Holding is an Offence

Everton were in control and already 1-0 up against Manchester City, when just before half time a penalty was awarded for a holding offence . Everton 2 - 0 Man City.

[Micah Richards holding Louis Saha's shirt. Pic from BBC sport.]

The AR flagged the offence, and Referee Andre Marriner whistled and pointed to the penalty spot. What is interesting is the signal used by the AR to indicate a penalty.













It is important that the Referee briefs his ARs before the match, so that there is a good understanding of how they should work together. Consistency is important too, so all match officials must not let this be an isolated incident.

Everton boss David Moyes on Louis Saha's penalty:
"I don't think you can have a great deal of argument. If you pull someone's shirt and it is as blatant as that then there's no argument."

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini:
"For me, it was no penalty, 2-0 at half time it changes the situation.

Two Public Warnings: South China v Tai Po

The following occurred at the end of the Division One league match between South China and NT Realty Wofoo Tai Po on Saturday 16 January 2010 at Hong Kong Stadium.

16 Jan 2010 South China v Tai Po 2 Public Warnings




A few minutes later (after the two cautions in the 90th minute) in injury time at the end of the 2nd half, there is a direct free kick to Tai Po. Two players are pushing each other in the goal area, so the Referee whistles and publicly warns them to stop. But pushing continues and the Referee again whistles and publicly warns them to stop. Normally, when these incidents occur consecutively early on in a match, cautions will be issued after the first public warning. However, the Referee understands that this free kick is the last action of the match and it would be pointless to issue cautions unless it is absolutely necessary (i.e. when there is obvious unsporting behaviour).

The Referee used common sense and HKRef believes this is optimum officiating.

Two Cautions: South China v Tai Po

The following occurred towards the end of the Division One league match between South China and NT Realty Wofoo Tai Po on Saturday 16 January 2010 at Hong Kong Stadium.

16 Jan 2010 South China v Tai Po 2 cautions




In the 90th minute, the Referee cautions Tai Po player (green #26) for a reckless tackle. Tai Po player (green #23) cannot control himself and is cautioned for dissent.

Winning Goal for South China's New Brazilian Striker

South China's new signing, Leonardo Ferreira Da Silva, scored in the 56th minute on his debut match against NT Realty Wofoo Tai Po on Saturday 16 January 2010. The goal was the only one of the match.

16 Jan 2010 South China v Tai Po Leonardo da Silva Debut Goal




The 29-year-old Brazilian striker signed a contract in January until the end of the season.

Two Examples of Player Dishonesty: Hong Kong Senior Shield QF

The following are video highlights of two incidents of player dishonesty from a quarter-final Senior Shield match between South China and Tai Chung on 25 December 2009 at Hong Kong Stadium. The crowd attendance was 2,537.

25 Dec 2009 Senior Shield South China v Tai Chung 2 Incidents Player Dishonesty



Although the Referee was "tricked" by the South China player (red #15), the R does a good job in minimizing dissent from the Tai Chung players by publicly warning blue #13.

Referees know that they cannot trust players to always be honest and therefore must have the self-confidence to trust in themselves and to also rely on their own team (the match officials) to make decisions.

Two Good Decisions: Hong Kong Senior Shield QF

The following are video highlights of two good decisions from a quarter-final Senior Shield match between South China and Tai Chung on 25 December 2009 at Hong Kong Stadium. The crowd attendance was 2,537.

First, the R played a good advantage that allowed the attacking team to continue their attacking move. When the ball went out of play, the R then went back and cautioned the player (blue #13) for a reckless challenge.

25 Dec 2009 Senior Shield South China v Tai Chung Good Advantage




Second, the AR indicated a correct offside. Even though the offside player did not touch the ball, he was still involved in active play (because his position distracted the defender, prevented him from running back properly, and therefore denied the defender a fair opportunity to challenge the onside attacker).

25 Dec 2009 Senior Shield South China v Tai Chung Good Offside




The R and AR worked well together.

Two Fouls: Hong Kong Senior Shield QF

The following are video highlights of two fouls from a quarter-final Senior Shield match between South China and Tai Chung on 25 December 2009 at Hong Kong Stadium. The crowd attendance was 2,537.

25 Dec 2009 South China v Tai Chung 2 fouls




The R and AR worked well together.

Two Good Goals: Hong Kong Senior Shield QF

The following are video highlights of two good goals from a quarter-final Senior Shield match between South China and Tai Chung on 25 December 2009 at Hong Kong Stadium. The crowd attendance was 2,537.

25 Dec 2009 Senior Shield South China v Tai Chung 2nd Goal




25 Dec 2009 Senior Shield South China v Tai Chung 3rd Goal




The 3rd goal that made the final score 3-0 to South China came from a good passing move down the left flank.