User:Grover cleveland/Offside Article

Traditional games
A law similar to offside was used in the game of hurling to goals played in Cornwall in the early seventeenth century:

"[H]ee who hath the ball [...] must deale no Fore-ball, viz. he may not throw it to any of his mates, standing neerer the goale, then himselfe."

School and university football
Offside laws are found in the largely uncodified and informal football games found at English public schools in the early 19th century.

An 1832 article discussing the Eton wall game complained of "[t]he interminable multiplicity of rules about sneaking, picking up, throwing, rolling, in straight, with a vast number more", using the term "sneaking" to refer to Eton's offside law.

The novel Tom Brown's School Days, published in 1857 but based on the author's experiences at Rugby School from 1834 to 1842, discussed that school's offside law: "My sons! [...] you have gone past the ball, and must struggle now right through the scrummage, and get round and back again to your own side, before you can be of any further use"

The first published set of laws of football (Rugby School, 1845), stated that "[a] player is off his side if the ball has touched one of his own side behind him, until the other side touch it." Such a player was prevented from kicking the ball, touching the ball down, or interfering with an opponent. Many other school and university laws from this period were similar to Rugby School's in that they were "strict" -- i.e. any player ahead of the ball was in an off-side position. These included Shrewsbury School (1855), Uppingham School (1857), Trinity College, Hartford (1858),, Winchester College (1863), and the Cambridge Rules of 1863.

An exception to this was provided by the Eton games. In the 1847 laws of the Eton Field Game, as player could not be considered "sneaking" if there were four or more opponents between him and the opponents' goal line. A similar "rule of four" was found in the 1856 Cambridge Rules and the rules of Charterhouse School (1863).

Club football
In contrast with the school and university games, surviving rules of independent football clubs from before 1860 tend to lack any offside law. This is true of the brief handwritten set of laws for the Foot-Ball Club of Edinburgh (1833), the published laws of Surrey Football Club (1849), the first set of laws of Sheffield Football Club (1858) and those of Melbourne Football Club (1859). In the early 1860s, this began to change. In 1861, Forest FC (who would later rename themselves Wanderers FC) adopted a set of laws based on the 1856 Cambridge Rules, with its "rule of four". The 1862 laws of Barnes FC featured a strict offside law. Sheffield FC also adopted a weak offside law at the beginning of the 1863-64 season.

J. C. Thring


The work of J. C. Thring was notable. A resident master at Uppingham School from 1859 to 1864, Thring was an impassioned advocate of the strictest possible offside law. He criticized most existing offside laws for being too lax: the Rugby laws, for example, were at fault because they permitted an offside player to rejoin play immediately after an opponent touched the ball, while Eton's rule of four allowed "an immense amount of sneaking" when the number of players was unlimited.

Thring expressed his views through correspondence in the sporting newspapers such as The Field, and through the publication in 1862 of a proposed set of laws known as The Simplest Game, including a strict offside law which required a player in an offside position ("out of play", in Thring's terminology) to "return behind the ball as soon as possible". The influence of Thring's views is shown by the adoption of his proposed offside law in the first draft of the FA laws (see below).

The F. A. laws of 1863
On 17 November 1863, the newly-formed Football Association adopted a resolution mirroring Thring's law from the Simplest Game:" "A player is "out of play" immediately he is in front of the ball and must return behind the ball as soon as possible. If the ball is kicked by his own side past a player he may not touch or kick it, or advance until one of the other side has first kicked it or one of his own side on a level with or in front of him has been able to kick it."

This text was also reflected in the first draft of laws drawn up by FA secretary Ebenezer Morley, and presented by him to the FA meeting on the 24 November for final approval. That meeting was, however, disrupted by a dispute over the subject of "hacking" (allowing players to carry the ball, provided they could be kicked in the shins by opponents when doing so, in the manner of Rugby School). The opponents of hacking brought the delegates' attention to the Cambridge Rules of 1863 (which banned carrying and hacking): Discussion of the Cambridge rules, and suggestions for possible communication with Cambridge on the subject, served to delay the final "settlement" of the laws to a further meeting, on December 1st. A number of representatives who supported rugby-style football did not attend this additional meeting, resulting in hacking and carrying being banned.

Although the offside law was not itself a significant issue in the dispute between the pro- and anti-hacking clubs, it was completely rewritten. The original law, taken from Thring's Simplest Game, was replaced by a modified version of the equivalent law from the Cambridge Rules: "When a player has kicked the ball any one of the same side who is nearer to the opponent's goal line is out of play and may not touch the ball himself nor in any way whatever prevent any other player from doing so until the ball has been played; but no player is out of play when the ball is kicked from behind the goal line."

The law adopted by the FA was "strict" -- i.e., it penalized any player in front of the ball. There was one exception for the "kick from behind the goal line" (the 1863 laws' equivalent of a goal kick). This exception was necessary because every player would have otherwise been "out of play" from such a kick.

Three-player rule (1866)
At the first revision of the FA laws, in February 1866, an important qualifier was added to soften the "strict" offside law: "When a player has kicked the ball, any one of the same side who is nearer to the opponents' goal line is out of play, and may not touch the ball himself, nor in any way whatever prevent any other player from doing so, until the ball has been played, unless there are at least three of his opponents between him and their own goal; but no player is out of play when the ball is kicked from behind the goal line."

Contemporaneous reports do not indicate the reason for this change. At the FA's meeting, the alteration "gave rise to a lengthy discussion, many thinking with Mr. Morley that it would be better to do away with the off side [law] altogether, especially as the Sheffield clubs had none. It being found, however, that the rule could not be expunged without notice, the alteration was passed."

Charles Alcock, writing in 1890, suggested that this change was made in order to induce two public schools, Westminster and Charterhouse, to join the Association. If this was indeed the motivation, it was not immediately successful: the two schools did not become members of the FA until 1867-1868.

Early proposals for change (1867-1874)
Over the next seven years, there were almost constant attempts to change the three-player rule, but none were successful:

Offside was the subject of the biggest dispute between the Sheffield Football Association (which produced its own "Sheffield Rules") and the Football Association. However, the two codes were eventually unified without any change in this area; the Sheffield Clubs accepted the FA's three-player offside rule in 1877, after the FA compromised by allowing the throw-in to be taken in any direction.
 * In 1867, Barnes FC proposed that the offside rule should be removed altogether, Morley arguing that "a player did not stop to count whether there were three of his opponents between him and their own goal".
 * It was also proposed that the FA should revert to its original "strict" offside rule. This change was introduced in 1868 (Branham College), 1871 ("The Oxford Association") and 1872 (Notts County).
 * There were attempts to introduce the one-player rule of the Sheffield Football Association in 1867 (Sheffield FC), 1872 (Sheffield Football Association), 1873 (Nottingham Forest), and 1874 (Sheffield Association).

Offside in own half (1907)
The original laws allowed players to be be in an offside position even when in their own half. This happened rarely, but was possible when one team pressed high up the field, for example in a Sunderland v Wolverhampton Wanderers match in December 1901. When an attacking team adopted the so-called "one back" game, in which only one defender and the goalkeeper remained in defensive positions, it was even possible for a player to be caught offside in his own penalty area.

In May 1905, Clyde FC suggested that players should not be offside in their own half, but this suggestion was rejected by the Scottish Football Association. It was objected that the change would lead to "forwards hanging about close to the half-way line, as opportunists". After the Scotland v England international of April 1906 ended with the Scottish wingers being repeatedly caught offside by England's use of a "one back" game,  Clyde again proposed the same rule-change to the Scottish FA meeting: this time it was accepted.

The Scottish proposal gained support in England. At the 1906 meeting of the International Football Association Board, the Scottish FA announced that it would introduce the proposed change at the next annual meeting, in 1907. In March 1907, the council of the [English] Football Association approved this change, and it was passed by IFAB in June 1907.

Two-player rule (1925)
The Scottish FA urged the change from a three-player to a two-player offside rule as early as 1893. Such a change was first proposed at a meeting of IFAB in 1894, where it was rejected. It was proposed again by the SFA in 1902, upon the urging of Celtic FC, and again rejected. A further proposal from the SFA also failed in 1913, after the Football Association objected. The SFA advanced the same proposal in 1914, when it was again rejected after opposition from both the Football Association and the Welsh Football Association.

Meetings of the International Board were suspended after 1914 because of the First World War. After they resumed in 1920, the SFA once again proposed the 2-player rule in 1922, 1923, and 1924. In 1922 and 1923, the Scottish Association withdrew its proposal after English FA opposed it. In 1924, the Scottish proposal was once again opposed by the English FA, and defeated; it was, however, indicated that a version of the proposal would be adopted the next year. .

On 30 March 1925, the FA arranged a trial match at Highbury where two proposed changes to the offside rules were tested. During the first half, a player could not be offside unless within forty yards of the opponents' goal-line. In the second half, the two-player rule was used.

The two-player proposal was considered by the FA at its annual meeting on the 8th of June. Proponents cited the new rule's potential to reduce stoppages, avoid refereeing errors, and improve the spectacle, while opponents complained that it would give "undue advantage to attackers"; referees were overwhelmingly opposed to the change. The two-player rule was nevertheless approved by the FA by a large majority. At IFAB's meeting later that month, the two-player rule finally became part of the Laws of the Game. The two-player rule was one of the more significant rule changes in the history of the game during the 20th century. It led to an immediate change in the style of play, with the game becoming more stretched, "short passing giv[ing] way to longer balls", and the development of the W-M formation.

Attacker level with second-last defender (1990)
In 1990, IFAB altered the offside law so that an attacker who is level with the second-last defender would be considered onside, whereas previously such a player would have been considered offside. This change, proposed by the Scottish FA, was made in order to "encourage the attacking team" by "giving the attacking player an advantage over the defender.

Parts of body (2005)
In 2005, IFAB clarified that, when evaluating an attacking player's position for the purposes of the offside law, the part of the player's head, body or feet closest to the defending team's goal-line should be considered: the hands and arms are excluded because "there is no advantage to be gained if only the arms are in advance of the opponent". In 2016, it was further clarified that this principle applies to all players, both attackers and defenders, including the goalkeeper.

Defender outside the field of play (2009)
In 2009, it was stated that a defender who leaves the field of play without the referee's permission must be considered to be on the nearest boundary line for the purposes of deciding whether an attacker is in an offside position.

Halfway line (2016)
In 2016, it was clarified that a player on the halfway line itself cannot be in an offside position: part of the player's head, body or feet must be within the opponent's half of the field of play.

Goal kick
Since the first FA laws of 1863, a player has not been penalized for being in an offside position at the moment a teammate takes a goal kick. (According to the "strict" offside law used in 1863, every player on the attacking side would automatically have been in an offside position from such a goalkick, since it had to be taken from the goal line).

Throw-in
Under the original laws of 1863, it was not possible to be offside from a throw-in; however, since the ball was required to be thrown in at right-angles to the touch-line, it would have been unusual for a player to gain significant advantage from being ahead of the ball.

In 1877, the throw-in law was changed to allow the ball to be thrown in any direction. The next year (1878) a new law was introduced to allow a player to be offside from a throw-in.

This situation lasted until 1920, when the law was altered to prevent a player being offside from a throw-in.

Corner kick
When first introduced in 1872, the corner kick was required to be taken from the corner-flag itself, which made it impossible for an attacking player to be in an offside position relative to the ball. At the International Football Conference of December 1882, it was agreed that a player should not be offside from a corner-kick; this change was incorporated into the Laws of the Game in 1883.

Free kick
The laws of football have always permitted an offside offence to be committed from a free kick. The free kick contrasts, in this respect, with other restarts of play such as the goal kick, corner kick, and throw-in.

An unsuccessful proposal to remove the possibility of being offside from a direct free-kick was made in 1929. Similar proposals to prevent offside offences from any free-kick were advanced in 1974 and 1986, each time without success. In 1987, the Football Association (FA) obtained the permission of IFAB to test such a rule in the 1987-88 GM Vauxhall Conference. At the next annual meeting, the FA reported to IFAB that the experiment had, as predicted, "assisted further the non-offending team and also generated more action near goal, resulting in greater excitement for players and spectators"; it nevertheless withdrew the proposal.

Subsequent developments: prohibited activity
The original law of 1863 stated that a player in an offside position might not "touch the ball himself nor in any way whatever prevent any other player from doing so".

In 1898, the prohibition was changed to "touch the ball himself, nor in any way whatever interfere with an opponent". 1910, a writer complains that "referees give free kicks merely because a player is in an offside position".
 * Brief discussion here.


 * https://refereeingbooks.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2004Colwellsphd.pdf
 * Opinion in 1933 on interfering with play: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000653/19311212/111/0004


 * More diagrams: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002077/19380222/109/0006
 * "Effects of changed offside law" (1935): https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60064504/the-guardian/

Name

 * 1832 Eton "sneaking" [1863 Cheltenham]
 * 1845 Rugby School "off side"; "off his side" [1857 Uppingham] [1862 Blackheath] [1863 Charterhouse] [1867 Sheffield FA] [1938 IFAB]
 * 1856 Cambridge ["loiter"]
 * 1858 Harrow "behind"
 * 1861 Thring "out of play" [1862 Barnes] [1863 Cambridge, FA] [1867 Sheffield FA] [1857 used in Tom Brown's School-Days to mean "in touch"]