IFAB clarifies offside rule and ‘deliberate play’ interpretation for 2022-23 season
IFAB, football’s law-making body, has clarified the offside rule, explaining what constitutes defenders “deliberately playing” the ball.
Under the clarification, a player attempting to regain possession counts as a deliberate act — meaning Karim Benzema’s disallowed goal in May’s Champions League final could now be ruled onside.
Attackers standing in an offside position can be ruled onside if a defender makes a deliberate action to play the ball — but until now, there has been no explicit definition of a deliberate action.
This has led to controversy in previous matches, with debate often focusing on whether the defender made a co-ordinated attempt to play the ball, or it was an accidental act.
For example, Benzema scored a goal against Liverpool in the first half of the Champions League final when the ball rebounded off Fabinho, who was attempting to make a slide tackle.
The strike was disallowed after it was deemed Fabinho had not engaged in a deliberate action, and the ball had instead deflected off him.
Though the law has not explicitly changed, the new guidelines make clear that an offside player will not automatically become onside upon a defender touching the ball.
IFAB’s new laws state: “‘Deliberate play’ is when a player has control of the ball with the possibility of passing the ball to a team-mate, gaining possession of the ball, or clearing the ball.
“If the pass, attempt to gain possession or clearance by the player in control of the ball is inaccurate or unsuccessful, this does not negate the fact that the player ‘deliberately played’ the ball.”
Under these guidelines, Benzema’s goal could have stood, with Fabinho attempting to gain possession from Federico Valverde.
In addition, IFAB provided the following indicators that a player “deliberately played” the ball:
The ball had travelled from distance and the players had a clear view of it
The ball was not moving quickly
The direction of the ball was not unexpected
The player had time to coordinate their body movement
A ball moving on the ground is easier to play than a ball in the air
The laws will be in place in all competitions across the world for the 2022-23 season.
https://theathletic.com/3454447/2022/07/27/ifab-offside-law-rule/
IFAB clarifies offside rule and ‘deliberate play’ interpretation for 2022-23 season
IFAB, football’s law-making body, has clarified the offside rule, explaining what constitutes defenders “deliberately playing” the ball.
Under the clarification, a player attempting to regain possession counts as a deliberate act — meaning Karim Benzema’s disallowed goal in May’s Champions League final could now be ruled onside.
Attackers standing in an offside position can be ruled onside if a defender makes a deliberate action to play the ball — but until now, there has been no explicit definition of a deliberate action.
This has led to controversy in previous matches, with debate often focusing on whether the defender made a co-ordinated attempt to play the ball, or it was an accidental act.
For example, Benzema scored a goal against Liverpool in the first half of the Champions League final when the ball rebounded off Fabinho, who was attempting to make a slide tackle.
The strike was disallowed after it was deemed Fabinho had not engaged in a deliberate action, and the ball had instead deflected off him.
Though the law has not explicitly changed, the new guidelines make clear that an offside player will not automatically become onside upon a defender touching the ball.
IFAB’s new laws state: “‘Deliberate play’ is when a player has control of the ball with the possibility of passing the ball to a team-mate, gaining possession of the ball, or clearing the ball.
“If the pass, attempt to gain possession or clearance by the player in control of the ball is inaccurate or unsuccessful, this does not negate the fact that the player ‘deliberately played’ the ball.”
Under these guidelines, Benzema’s goal could have stood, with Fabinho attempting to gain possession from Federico Valverde.
In addition, IFAB provided the following indicators that a player “deliberately played” the ball:
The ball had travelled from distance and the players had a clear view of it
The ball was not moving quickly
The direction of the ball was not unexpected
The player had time to coordinate their body movement
A ball moving on the ground is easier to play than a ball in the air
The laws will be in place in all competitions across the world for the 2022-23 season.
https://theathletic.com/3454447/2022/07/27/ifab-offside-law-rule/
