# Some football/soccer questions(World Cup) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 15, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-football-soccer-questions-world-cup/360832 "2006-06-15T17:57:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-football-soccer-questions-world-cup/360832/61 "2006-06-16T18:45:08Z")
[QUOTE=asterion] Exactly. I don’t think soccer will ever catch on in the US until they start making the clock go the correct way and stopping it every time the whistle is blown. [/QUOTE] This was how it was done during the first years of Major League Soccer. It had the remarkable effect of alienating purists who were the league’s natural market. Besides, it has to be remembered that soccer rules are 100% consistent the world over. And there are lots of places where the game is played that don’t have scoreboards. Hence, the rule that the referee is the official timekeeper. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-football-soccer-questions-world-cup/360832/62 "2006-06-16T18:53:33Z")
Can somebody talk to me about the offside rule? I was watching a bit of the Netherlands-Cote d’Ivoire game earlier, and you had a situation (just before the Dutch scored), where two of their strikers were clearly offside. However, before the ball was crossed to them, they (or the defenders) retreated, putting them back onside again. At that point one of the strikers was passed the ball and scored. My understanding of the rule is that the officials will only call offside if the offside player is actually in on the play. So am I correct, that it’s a judgment call by the officials as to exactly _when_ they become involved? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-football-soccer-questions-world-cup/360832/63 "2006-06-16T19:10:12Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] Can somebody talk to me about the offside rule? I was watching a bit of the Netherlands-Cote d’Ivoire game earlier, and you had a situation (just before the Dutch scored), where two of their strikers were clearly offside. However, before the ball was crossed to them, they (or the defenders) retreated, putting them back onside again. At that point one of the strikers was passed the ball and scored. My understanding of the rule is that the officials will only call offside if the offside player is actually in on the play. So am I correct, that it’s a judgment call by the officials as to exactly _when_ they become involved? [/QUOTE] You can be offsides, but if the ball isn’t played to you they won’t call it. Also, if a player is offsides, but far away, not affecting the play, a ref can choose not to call offsides. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-football-soccer-questions-world-cup/360832/64 "2006-06-16T19:22:06Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] Can somebody talk to me about the offside rule? [/QUOTE] [This PDF](http://images.fifa.com/fifa/handbook/laws/2003/LOTG2003_e.pdf) covers it pretty well with pictures and everything. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-football-soccer-questions-world-cup/360832/65 "2006-06-16T19:33:59Z")
Thanks. Looks like I guessed correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-football-soccer-questions-world-cup/360832/66 "2006-06-16T19:44:57Z")
One of the big changes in recent years has been the more liberal interpretation of the offside law. You are penalised if you are in an offside position and interfering with play or when the ball is passed forward, but what is considered interfering with play, or seeking to gain an advantage, has been narrowed down considerably - you have to actually receive the ball, or be close enough to a defending player to impede his movement or line of sight to the ball. Before, you could be deemed to be interfering merely by being in the vague vicinity of where the ball was heading. As the saying went, “if you’re not interfering with play, what are you doing on the pitch?” A lot of goals you see now would have been disallowed for offside a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-football-soccer-questions-world-cup/360832/67 "2006-06-16T19:47:19Z")
Correcting a misleading typo - that should say “You are penalised if you are in an offside position and interfering with play when the ball is passed forward”. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-football-soccer-questions-world-cup/360832/68 "2006-06-17T06:16:59Z")
[QUOTE=Fat Chance] One good thing about the ref keeping time and added time, is the game will never end in the middle of the ball rolling over the goal line or something, just because the horn blows to end the game. The ref should never end the game on a clear goal scoring chance. [/QUOTE] Why not? It’s not exactly fair to the defending team to allow the attacking team to keep playing when time has ran out. [QUOTE=Airblairxxx] This was how it was done during the first years of Major League Soccer. [/QUOTE] One of the only changes the MLS made that I agreed with. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-football-soccer-questions-world-cup/360832/69 "2006-06-17T06:47:07Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] Okay, here’s one: why is Serbia and Montenegro abbreviated “SCG”? Shouldn’t it be CSG (“can’t score goals”)? [/QUOTE] The S&M abbreviation is taken… Although I have to say S&M fans are looking forward to the next whipping. 🙂😉 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-football-soccer-questions-world-cup/360832/70 "2006-06-17T07:56:36Z")
[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold] I’m not a fan of Rugby, but I have to agree that the level of respect shown to the ref is much higher. For those that don’t know of it, the ref in (possible either Union or League, or both) Rugby has a microphone, so you not only hear what he says but also what the close players say to him. It’s great to hear (generally) level tones and respect from the players, as opposed to lip-reading expletives in football. [/QUOTE] This is partly because in Rugby, if a penalty or free kick has been awarded against you and you get lippy with the ref., he marches it ten yards up the field at the first hint, and if you haven’t buttoned up by the time he gets there, he’ll carry on. For this reason your own side will be quite vehement in persuading you to shut up. But also, partly, it’s a tradition - just as in cricket, where if the batsman can clearly see that a catch has been held he won’t wait for the appeal to the umpire to give him out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-football-soccer-questions-world-cup/360832.md?page=3)