By Toby Prince
Organisers of the English Premier League introduced a new offside rule among other rules for the 2015/2016 football season.
The new tweak, effective in both the Premier League and all three divisions of the Football League, dictates that if a player makes a move towards the ball while in an offside position – even if they don’t touch it – then they will be ruled offside.
“A player in an offside position shall be penalised if he: ‘Makes an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball.'”
This would mean that if one player took a shot on goal and another stuck out a leg, the goal would be disallowed even if that second player made no contact whatsoever with the ball.
The tweaks to the offside rule came under the microscope in Liverpool’s controversial win over Bournemouth on Monday night.
The new interpretation of the offside rule was meant to make things clearer – but in the Premier League’s first major test, the officials blundered.
Christian Benteke’s winning goal for Liverpool against Bournemouth was contentious – it appeared Philippe Coutinho’s involvement was enough to constitute an offside call under the new rule.
In recent seasons, players have been allowed to occupy offside positions without necessarily being penalised depending on whether they were thought to be actively involved in play or not.
Now they will be punished if they clearly attempt to play a ball close to them when their actions have an impact on an opponent’s ability to play the ball.
Speaking before the start of the new season, Dermot Gallagher, a Premier League referee for 15 years until he retired in 2007, thinks it makes the game more straightforward.
He told Sky Sports News HQ: “A player has got to make an obvious action and clearly impact on their opponent’s ability to clear the ball.
“I actually think it will simplify it. When you see the season unfold on Saturday, you’ll think that it’s one thing on paper and another in practice.
“Don’t forget the managers and coaches have had referees visiting them throughout pre-season to go through clips and it won’t be a shock to them.
“When this was issued in the summer, referees took this into their games so hopefully they will be as up to speed as the players.”
Gallagher talked through a number of scenarios from last season to highlight how the rule might change which decisions are reached, including these three goals:
Juan Mata (Manchester United) v Stoke City, 02/12/14
Harry Kane (Tottenham) v Burnley, 20/12/14
Kevin Mirallas (Everton) v Manchester United, 26/04/15
