Is time up for offside?

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Felipe Santana (second from left) scored Borussia Dortmund’s winner against Malaga from an offside position in the Champions Lea

Has the time come for Fifa to have a look at football’s only contentious rule? The world football body has given the green light to technology to solve the goal-line puzzle but the offside rule continues to confound fans and the hard-nosed professionals alike. The rule itself isn’t complex but its implementation and interpretation certainly are.

Europe has been reeling from high-profile offside mistakes in the last 10 days. If the results of three matches can be influenced by offside decisions, there is something inherently wrong with the rule no. 11. By embracing goal-line technology, Fifa has opened the door for calls to introduce video referrals to review debatable offside calls. Football will never be football if its flow is affected.
It all started with Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal against Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals last week. Replays proved that the Swede was a couple of yards offside when he stabbed home his team’s first goal. The failure of the assistant referee concerned to spot the infringement infuriated Barca.
On Monday, it was the turn of the irascible Alex Ferguson to feel robbed. The Scot was upset that City’s opening goal against United in the Manchester derby was allowed to stand, even though a couple of City forwards, most notably Carlos Tevez, obstructed his goalkeeper’s view in offside positions when James Milner broke the deadlock. The rulebook clearly states that attacking players can’t claim passivity when they block the view of the goalkeeper or distract defenders.
The most controversial calls came in the wonderfully entertaining Borussia Dort
mund-Malaga Champions League tie on Tuesday. Substitute Eliseu was offside when he put Malaga 2-1 up. In a way justice was done as the assistant referee at the other end turned a blind eye to Dortmund’s offside winner at the death. Maybe the official got immersed in the excitement of the German side’s thrilling comeback.
The above-mentioned incidents have raised questions on the ability of the officials to get offside decisions right in top leagues. Poor offside calls have even greater potential to spoil a match than the once-in-a-blue moon goal-line issue. In a dynamic sport like football, officials can’t be relied on to take accurate split-second decisions all the time. Maybe Fifa needs an offside blunder in a World Cup final to act.
Like field hockey, football can also do away with offside. Purists may baulk at the suggestion, but the dramatic rule change is inevitable one day. Offside is a legacy of rugby. There is no harm in dropping it. If football had been rigid, handling the ball — a point of contention between rugby and football in the 19th century — would still be permissible in the sport.