There's one thing I'd like to say to every fan who has emailed me this week bemoaning the offside rule or shirt-pulling in the box: I share your frustration.
When it comes to interpreting the rules, there has been a lack of consistency on the part of officials for as long as I can remember. It is not a new problem.
However, I think we were all under the impression that when referees became professional there would be less grey and more black-and-white areas. That decision-making would be more clear-cut.
I should have had one: Defoe (right), whose effort was ruled out, talks to Jermaine Jenas
Certain events this week have shown that is not the case and that referees will always interpret the laws of the game in different ways to some extent.
Debate
In one sense that is no bad thing and we should allow them some tolerance because differences of opinion help the world go round.
Every night of every week you can hear people in the pub or on the train giving their take on the big talking points in football. I think that's healthy. I would hate to come to the end of a weekend and find there are no topics of conversation to discuss and debate.
I can't stand shirt-pulling because it's cheap defending; if a player has a handful of shirt it shows they are not good enough to mark their man.
Andy Gray
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But there is room for opinion and transparent decision-making in the game. This was brought home to me by Jermain Defoe's disallowed equaliser against Liverpool on Wednesday.
I've played and worked in this game for the best part of 36 years and I've never been more unsure than I am now about what is offside and what isn't.
We're not in danger of making the rules too complex to understand - that's already the case.
Control
Officials can now use the ambiguity of the offside rule to defend every decision that they make but to me disallowing Defoe's strike was a clear case of getting it badly wrong.
I understand what the offside rule in its current form is trying to achieve. We don't want to see 40-yard strikes into the top corner ruled out because a player is standing in an offside position on the wing.
But if the ball hits the post or the goalkeeper and comes back to a striker who makes himself active by scoring from an offside position, then that can't be right either.
On Wednesday two Liverpool players - Sotiros Kyrgiakos and Pepe Reina - touched the ball before Defoe did so I can't see how he can be deemed to be getting an advantage.
Kyrgiakos was in control of his actions when he played the ball back to his goalkeeper and any pressure he may have been under from Defoe - who incidentally made no attempt to play the ball when he was offside - was token at best.
Perhaps the problem is this: I've asked many referees 'when does a new phase of play start?' - and they don't know.
If we can't get the officials singing from the same hymn sheet what chance have the rest of us got?
The answer might be to rule that a player who is coming back from an offside remains offside until he is back onside AND a defender intentionally touches the ball. Let me know your thoughts on that one below.
Fact
Defoe's goal should have stood but that is not an argument for bringing in instant, pitch-side video replays similar to the review system used in cricket.
I want video replays for matters of fact: was the foul inside or outside the box? Was the ball across the line or not? The other decisions we'll have to live with.
Alan Wiley has been criticised for not punishing a blatant foul by William Gallas on Mark Davies in the build up to Arsenal's equaliser against Bolton.
Now, 98 referees out of 100 would have given that free-kick - it just so happens that Wiley didn't see it and waved play on.
And what about Liverpool? They had a blatant penalty turned down at Stoke last weekend in a game they desperately needed to win but then got the rub of the green on Wednesday, when Spurs' equaliser was disallowed. Sometimes you have to take it on the chin.
Cherry-pick
I feel the same about shirt-pulling in the box as I do about the offside rule because it seems entirely open to interpretation.
Mike Dean gave a penalty against Nemanja Vidic for pulling Frederic Piquionne's shirt in Manchester United's 4-1 win at Portsmouth in November.
Fine - but I watched Dean closely a couple of weeks later when Stoke played Wigan and three or four times he gave nothing when players were pulled to the ground in the box.
You can't do that. Officials can't cherry-pick when they are going to give a decision and when they are not. We have the same problem with encroaching at penalty kicks. What's that all about?
What point was Howard Webb trying to make on Wednesday by making Dirk Kuyt retake his penalty? Javier Mascherano clearly strayed into the penalty area second time around and he lets it go. What is the point? I don't get that, I really don't. Either make a player take it every single time until no-one steps into the box or don't. Don't cherry-pick when you enforce the rules to make a point.
Stronger
Shirt-pulling is a pet hate of mine. I hate it. How can Peter Crouch get hauled to the ground by Kyrgiakos and have a free-kick given against him?
I can't stand it because it's cheap defending; if a player has a handful of shirt it shows they are not good enough to mark their man.
I would love to see a spell where every time that happened it was either a free-kick to the defending side or a penalty to the attacking side depending on which side was guilty of the offence.
The only reason the players continue to do it is because the officials allow them to get away with it so blatantly.
If I was a referee, I would tell the managers and captains of each side when I had the team-sheets to tell their players that if there is any shirt-pulling in the box it will be penalised.
If referees keep highlighting the issue, players will be deterred from committing the offence because the punishment is too costly - especially for defenders.
I believe we need to be stronger on this issue and I'd love to see the men in grey suits at FIFA and Uefa trying to do something positive about it.
Comments (102)
Rob Jones (Liverpool fan) says...
To start with we beat Totenham fair and square and andy gray does have a point, i think it should be like rugby no arguments, the players shouldnt even have the right to argue with the referee , they would get sin binned if they did so there should be a yellow card for the player who is questioning the referees decision, there under a lot of pressure as it is.
Posted 13:49 27th January 2010
Johnny Walmsley (Manchester City fan) says...
I didn't see the Tottenham Liverpool match so can't comment on whether or not Defoe was offside, however I do agree with Andy on the fact that referees need some help in these decisions. So many times I've seen offside decisions given one minute, and then identical situations in the same match have been ruled onside. If a player's body is level with the last defender when the ball is played, is he onside? There is no set answer as sometimes these are given and sometimes they are not. Same applies to shirt-pulling, sometimes the ref decides its a penalty and sometimes he decides there is nothing wrong with it. It must be a difficult job for the refs so why do they get absolutely no help from the people above them??
Posted 12:38 27th January 2010
Pete Mander (Stoke City fan) says...
why all the fuss shirt pulling is an offence as is obstruction and goalkeepers coming out there area with the ball still in there hand whilst the linesman is on the halfway line. hand ball is hand ball which ever way you look at it. all the rules are at a refs discreation that is why when 16 teams do it in the prem it is an offence and when the other 4 no name mentioned but you all know what we are talking about it is not.
Posted 10:59 27th January 2010
Graham Scofield (Arsenal fan) says...
Shirt pulling is not a reflex action but entirely premeditated and an intentional form of cheating. Unfortunately, with some players, it has almost become habitual. If is was a sending off offence, which it should be, it would end immediately. The game doesn't need it!
Posted 05:27 27th January 2010
Tim Cords (Chelsea fan) says...
This debate is hilarious...the facts are when defoe was jogging onside he IMMEDIATLY chased down the greek defender BEFORE he even touched the ball therefore this is before the 2nd phase. Dont make up stuff now especially spurs fans my god. Look at it again, he begins to chase down kyriakos as soon as he is onside, kiriakos has yet to touch the ball at this point, defoe is now 5 yards away from kyriakos, he plays it back to reina which is now the 2nd phase of play...BUT defoe had already interfered with play before the second phase, stop being biased and watch it again...instead of praising officials for a correct decision, anti liverpool man andy gray and spurs fans just make up stuff claiming defoe had scored after 2 players touched the ball...get the facts right people, fair is fair
Posted 02:40 27th January 2010
Peter Owen (Bury fan) says...
The offside rule used to be so simple; complications appeared only when the numpties tried to interpret it, usually erroneously. The law was altered in order to give the referee more leeway in its interpretation. Actually, I thought that the change made a more sensible rule with the caveat of it being applied correctly. Aye, and there's the rub. At the Bury game on Saturday last, Bury players were called twice for offside when they were not even in offside positions, so how can we expect a reasonable easy law (to interpret) to allow the referee and his assistants when they do not have the gift to do so. For all the offsides I have seen, a goodly proportion (say about 15-20%, yes as high as that) of them have been wrong. Many would say, take the rough with the smooth, rather than go down the route followed by say American Football, however, I say that we pay darned good, hard-earned money to watch a game of football that is fair and transparent and if a rule such as the Offside Rule cannot be interpreted effectively all the time then it is not a good rule. As for the shirt pullers, send them off and that will stop them!
Posted 23:21 26th January 2010
Darren Trow (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
Has to laugh cos most the liverpool supports say it's not a goal and defoe was offside but they wouldn't be saying that if it was torres or sum1...Yes he was offside but how long do u have to wait till he became's active??? 2 liverpools players touched the ball so he then became active, end of it's a goal...
Posted 23:10 26th January 2010
Paul Pedder (Liverpool fan) says...
This really is a simple one. Defoe was offside, so it's a free kick to Liverpool. Who in the right mind would allow advantage to be played when a defender has the ball in his own half? Unfortunately, we have too many people who have rarely played the game, misinterpreting different rules and over complicating things!
Posted 08:51 24th January 2010
Alan Dickinson (Huddersfield Town fan) says...
Interesting comments why Defoe was offside, but consider this. My understanding of interpretation of the offside rule is: Defoe was in an off-side position when the ball was played, but being in an off side position does not mean that play will stop. Years ago the liner would have flagged to indicate to the referee that Defoe was in an off-side position, but this would not mean that the referee would have given offside, but usuall in those days the referee would have done so, without taking into account the "in the opinion of the referee was he interfeering with play" overide to this. This then prompted FIFA to look at the offside rule. The FIFA directive I believe allows the Defoe goal to stand, as the referee and liner has to allow play to develop, and I do not think that Defoe interferes with play in any shape, until the Liverpool player touches the ball, as soon as this happens, this entitles Defoe to become active once again, and thus the purpose of the FIFA directive bears fruit and a goal is scored. The referee (if in doubt) when the goal was scored, before restart ofplay, should have quickly talked to the liner, and I am sure that a better descision could have been reached. All referees seem to disregard the liner is only indicating a possible offside should be taken into account, a flag should not mean an offside descision is automatically given, the referee should still have the final say.
Posted 23:48 23rd January 2010
Stephen Handley (Nottingham Forest fan) says...
A very interesting article. Referees will always make mistakes and howlers. That is part of the game. Offside should be simpler that for sure. What I would like to see is more honesty from players and managers. I was brought up on a diet of Brian Clough football. His mantra was to entertain the public and not to cause problems with the referees. It wasn't win at all costs, it was win within the rules and spirit of the game. If the players crossed the line, even if the ref didn't see it, Cloughie would deal with them. Crucially, he did not defend the indefensible. Sadly, the modern football players and managers don't subscribe to such old-fashioned views. As talented and successful Ferguson and Wenger have been, they defend their players come what may. They'd have a lot more crediblity of they held up their hands and admitted when their players are out of order. If they cannot see that, that is part of the problem. How can Wenger defend Gallas for his horror tackle the other night? An eye for eye? That will leave us all blind. I have great respect for the football Arsenal play - and Wenger is a genius but his reasoning is badly flawed. Last season he called for Taylor to be banned for life on his horror tackle on Eduardo. Double standards? I think so. Ferguson is equally at fault - if not more so. What I'm getting at is not to put the emphasis on the ref. Put the responsibility on the players to play honestly. Put the responsiblity on the managers to send out their players with highest standards of integrity and honesty ringing in their ears. I've heard recently retired players such as Shearer say that it's not the responsibility of the players to play honestly - that it's the ref job. What they miss and the players get away with - well that's just the game. It isn't. THAT is the problem.
Posted 21:50 23rd January 2010
Trent Schofield (Wigan Athletic fan) says...
Howard Webb does give penalties for shirt pulling in the box. He awarded one to Wigan when Stearmen of Wolves pulled McCarthy's shirt who then fell to the ground. He even red carded him for a second yellow card offence. Fair play to Mick McCarthy though he made no complaints about the decision. If only all the other managers would do the same. I doubt very much that Sir Alex would have behaved in a like manner.
Posted 21:30 23rd January 2010
Hakan Mild (Newcastle United fan) says...
I agree. Shirt pulling and also tactical fouls (i.e. chopping down a player thus avoiding a dangerous counter attack) should be taken more seriously. From my point of view, these actions interfere with play as much as diving, and should be refereed against.
Posted 21:13 23rd January 2010
Fadi Chalouhy (Chelsea fan) says...
i couldnt agree more andy once agian a well written argument . the same thing hapened when lamprad took the penalty 3 times . the third one had players also stepping into the box . like the crouch case you mentioned i was watching it live and i just couldnt believe it . and the chelsea barca semi finale last year . im a chelsea fan and im telling that abidal should not have get a red card but also lampad could of gotten a hat trick from the spot kick . i think fifa should punish these bad decisions and hard as well . it cost us the champions league . and all we got was ballack and drogba getting the heat
Posted 20:33 23rd January 2010
Jonny Melbourne (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
Once again super spurs have been robbed by howard webb, jermains goal should have stood, how can they call offside after 2 liverpool players have played on????? howard webb should be fined or called to explain why he doesnt know the rules.
Posted 14:57 23rd January 2010
Ryan Jones (Liverpool fan) says...
Defoe was offside but a free kick weren't given in an attempt to allow Liverpool to play on and gain an advantage. So my question is what kind of advantage did Liverpool get? I think it was the correct outcome in the end but the ref should have made the decision earlier, like when Defoe became active
Posted 14:29 23rd January 2010
Paul Highton (Manchester United fan) says...
Defoe was in a offside position when the ball was played forward but he made no attemt to chase the ball down untill the defender collected the ball and was back in a onside position.therefore he was not interfearing the play.It was the defender that played the ball back to the keeper which put him under preasure in the first place.If this had at the other end of the field you liverpool fans would be going mad.
Posted 13:50 23rd January 2010
Jon Wickham (Manchester City fan) says...
It's about time to either simplify the offside rule or scrap it alltogether. To those who say having no offside wouldn't work, go and watch a game of Hockey. No offside would hopefully stretch the play rather than concentrate it in the middle third. I'm sure the better tacticians amongst the managers would soon get to grips and use the system constructively. As regards shirt pulling, its simply cheating and is used by the attack as much as the defence. It is all part of the general cheating going on throughout the game, gained yards at throw-ins, encroachment of walls, diving, encroachment at penalties, etc , etc. Ideally it should all be stamped out, but players/managers can't complain when a referee gets a decision wrong when they have gone and deliberatly cheated themselves or someone outcheats them. Watch any corner and you can give numerous penalties or free kicks to the defence, does a ref let them go or which infringement does he punish. If a ref blew for every infringement, there wouldn't be any football played! It's time for players and managers to take responsability for the game and CUT OUT ALL CHEATING!
Posted 13:29 23rd January 2010
Leslie Newcombe (Burnley fan) says...
trouble with football ever body as opinion and will never agree as specialy if it is for or against your team and as a referee for 26 years and i like to think i make disicion as honest as ican i must say that some refs think they are bigger than the game and make disicion which should not happen but some off theses pundits should talk more about the football and not the ref or go out and referee them selves
Posted 12:58 23rd January 2010
Tim Hembry (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
Yes it was a penalty for shirt pulling , yes Defoe's goal was a goal . Did these dereadful decissions affect the outcome of the game ? Of course they did . A draw woulod've been the correct result , as two very poor teams on the night did very little to warrant the price of a ticket . However ,come the end of the season if Spurs finish 1 point behind the top 4 , then is the ref going to pay the 20 million quid Spurs will lose out on ? Maybe , just as suggested in teaching players a lesson , Referees need it as well . How about their fees are only agreed after a game , once their performance has been assessed by an independent body . A financial credit for each correct decision and a debit for each wrong one . In some cases , like wednesday night , a ref would go home with less money than he arrived with . He would've got grief from his wife and kids for not being able to buy any food etc etc....This would soon stop all the wrong decisions I am sure , LOL!!!
Posted 12:03 23rd January 2010
Darron Cole (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
I think we should have had 2 penalties and the defoe goal should clearly have stood, 2 Liverpool players touched the ball which clearly indicates that they had full control of the ball, The crafty kick out on ledley king in the penalty are should not only have been a penalty but an instant red card, and who could miss the deliberate shirt pulling on peter crouch which remarkably resulted in a free kick against him lol, Is this the way the people inside fa head quarters keep the top 4 as the top 4, ask yourselves this what chance has anyone got of breaking into it referees persistantly give ecisions to them week in and week out, Football is defiantely a money game.
Posted 11:54 23rd January 2010
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