[rsk111]

[ QUOTE ]

It doesn't, really, mostly because I can't let it. You make a very good point, but there are a couple of considerations. If I make that call because the defender _might_ be worried about what that player in the offside position _might_ do, then I have to judge intent, what a player is _thinking_ at that time. This is fine when, for example, a very hard unfair tackle comes in. I HAVE to judge intent there, because that intent will probably be the deciding factor in whether I book the player, send the player off, or just call him or her over and warn him or her that they had better not do that again. For an OFFSIDE call, though, I don't think it's as important. Also, when you think about it, it's kind of a moot point anyway. If the ball is played anywhere in the direction of the player in the offside position, the flag is going up because I'm going to deem him as gaining an advantage. If the ball is played to the other side of the field, he's not going to have that advantage because he HAS TO COME BACK ONSIDE if the ball is played towards him or he's still going to see the flag. He has to gain a TANGIBLE ADVANTAGE from being in the offside position, and a shift in the defender's state of mind I don't think qualifies. Plus, one of the points of emphasis they've really been hammering into us in the meetings of the past few years is that, if it's a very close offside decision, you should tend to decide in favor of the attacking player.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think the way that you are applying the rule is correct, but I think the advantage can sometimes be more tangible than it might appear. The reason why I even thought about this is because of a scenario that my buddy who coaches middle school boys told me about several years ago. Here's what happened in a nutshell:

Attacking player is dribbling the ball up the middle of the field and has one defender to beat. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees another attacking player run past him down the left sideline. As the defender looks quickly to see where the second attacker is and if there is someone coming to mark him, the attacking player with the ball dribbles around the defender and quickly shoots and scores. Since the second attacking player was still at the sideline and nowhere near the ball or goal, no offside was called. However, I think that an advantage was gained.

My friend's player was the defender and that was his explanation for why the attacking player got past him.

I realize that it's impossible to say what you would have done since you weren't there, but any idea what you might have done in this scenario.