Try and put all allegiances aside when judging this...
At first I was outraged like most other Pompey fans but Close is clearly trying to head the ball when it skips off his brow into the path of Pigott. The linesman didn't see that but the ref was well-placed. I believe the interpretation of the law is whether the deflection is intentional. In this case I think it was, which makes it an infuriatingly correct decision by the ref.
I just hope we don't get a similar situation on Sunday.
He's still in an offside position when the ball is headed forward though and comes into play when he touches the ball.
And if that isn't the case why don't teams permanently leave a striker up the pitch in an offside position and try to get a deflection when playing the ball forward to him?
(03-05-2021, 09:56 AM)Jizbag Wrote: [ -> ]He's still in an offside position when the ball is headed forward though and comes into play when he touches the ball.
And if that isn't the case why don't teams permanently leave a striker up the pitch in an offside position and try to get a deflection when playing the ball forward to him?
Must admit the replay I'm watching doesn't capture his position when the ball is played.
The old rule was he would have been ruled offside the moment the ball was headed forward. Fuck knows what the rule is now. Either way what a bloody mess it all is.
(03-05-2021, 10:28 AM)Gerry Hatrick Wrote: [ -> ] (03-05-2021, 09:56 AM)Jizbag Wrote: [ -> ]He's still in an offside position when the ball is headed forward though and comes into play when he touches the ball.
And if that isn't the case why don't teams permanently leave a striker up the pitch in an offside position and try to get a deflection when playing the ball forward to him?
Must admit the replay I'm watching doesn't capture his position when the ball is played.
I don't think there is any doubt he was yards offisde when the ball was played. It all seems to hang on whether Close's touch was intentional (thus creating a 'second phase of play') or just a deflection.
I think it was just a deflection, but the ref was closer to it.
How can it matter if it was intentional unless Close was passing the ball to Piggot. He was trying to intercept the ball. Piggot was in an offside position when the ball was played forward. The offside rule used to be clear. It's not anymore.
the rules used to be simple, for some reason now the rules are continually tweaked. Probably keeps someone in a job.
Exactly. When did this intentional thing creep in? Confusing or what.
I got this from a website quoting the International Football Association's Rulebook: Law 11: Offside offence
"A player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately plays the ball (except from a deliberate save by any opponent) is not considered to have gained an advantage."
As DeepBlue says, it comes down to whether you judge Close's header as intentional. It looks to me as if he is stretching to head the ball so any contact would be intentional. When this is taken into account I'm not sure if 'when the ball is played' is relevant any more.
(03-05-2021, 10:32 AM)Deebo Wrote: [ -> ]The old rule was he would have been ruled offside the moment the ball was headed forward. Fuck knows what the rule is now. Either way what a bloody mess it all is.
Fecking right Deebo.
The old offside rule was simple and easy to apply.
I’ve just looked up the current rule and it takes about half an hour to fecking read it.
Total bollox.
The offside rule is cobblers, as is the handball rule, and the red card rule is shocking - Balbuena and Vestegaard being two ridiculous examples
However the rules are interpreted these days it could so easily have been that McG on seeing the flag didn't bother to save the shot. (not what happened this time but just hypothesising). I know you play to the whistle but it doesn't help all this weird flag raising / not raising until the play is finished business. What with offsides and handballs the game is becoming bewildering.