What to do when your offside view is obstructed as an AR?
At the most critical moment, your direct line of sight for an offside call is blocked. What do you do?
Check out Inside Video Review: MLS #9. Lots of good calls here to learn from.
Offside, IFK (4:06)
This is an interesting call because of a little obstruction.
There’s nothing too crazy about the VAR review in general. It’s well executed and catches the left foot of the attacker in a clear offside position.
When I first saw the play happen, my initial reaction was that the attacker was offside. But it seems it wasn’t called that way on the field by the AR.
When you get into the VAR replays, you understand why…
See the screenshot below. There’s another attacker right in the sightline of where the AR should be.
What are your options as AR here?
These seem like the only 3 options. They’re in order of what I’d choose to do.
As you’re running, try to crouch a bit and get a view through the legs of the blocker. While not ideal, it’s the only option that pushes you to stay right on the offside line.
Be a little ahead of the play to get a direct sightline. The second-best option but far from ideal because you’re not right on the offside line. You have a direct sightline but an imperfect angle to make the right offside call.
Be a little behind the play to get a direct sightline. Feels like a golden rule to never purposefully be behind the offside line as an AR. This gives you the same disadvantages as 2 above while you’re also behind the play, making it the last option.
There is an option 4 here but only for referees backed up by VAR. It’s do your best, make the best decision you can and let VAR confirm or change the call. But for 99% of referees, we don’t have this safety net so it may affect how we get set for a situation like this.
Know a soccer ref? Feel free to share this with them 💙