During the World Cup Qatar tournament, during Japan's historic victory against Germany, the word "offside" was often seen on social media.
Offside is complicated and difficult, and even those who play football don't know the details.
However, in some cases, this foul is closely related to goals, and it may be necessary to understand it in order to enjoy soccer more.
So, what kind of foul is offside?
What is offside?
Offside is one of the fouls.
This rule was created to prevent attacking players from ambushing the defending team's field.
If a player in an "offside position" participates in an attack and receives a ball kicked by a teammate, an "indirect free kick" is given to the opposing team as an offside.
An "offside position" is a position that satisfies the following three conditions:
(1) within the field of the defending team
(2) closer to the goal line of the defending team than the ball
(3) closer to the goal line than the second defending player from the back
However, just being in an offside position doesn't mean you'll get fouled.
A goal kick, corner kick or throw-in does not count as offside.
For example, if an attacking player waits for the ball alone in front of the opposing goalkeeper, and if he joins the attack and receives a teammate's pass, he is offside.
Do you have a little image?
Next, let's take an example of offside against Germany.
Both teams were called offside when the ball entered the goal.
The most obvious moment was in the 8th minute of the first half, when MAEDA Daizen ran in and scored a shot, making Japan look like they were going to take the lead.
Daichi Kamata stole the ball and passed it to Junya Ito.
Ito played a cross ball.
Maeda, who ran in there, took a shot, and it seemed that the goal had been scored.
In this scene, when Ito passed the ball, Maeda was in an “offside position” closer to the goal line than the opposing players.
He continued to attack and was ruled offside after touching the ball on a pass.
However, just being in an offside position doesn't mean you'll get fouled.
A goal kick, corner kick or throw-in does not count as offside.
Introduced "AI" new technology for offside judgment
Furthermore, from this tournament, the latest technology of AI (artificial intelligence) was introduced for offside judgment.
This state-of-the-art technology uses 12 dedicated cameras mounted under the roof of the stadium to track up to 29 points, including the ball and individual player limbs, 50 times a second to pinpoint their exact location. measurement.
Inside the official ball, there is a sensor that transmits data 500 times per second to accurately detect the point where the ball was kicked.
By using AI with the data obtained in this way, it is expected that it will help to judge offsides more quickly and accurately and prevent oversights.
"Offside" is an esoteric concept that everyone will worry about once they start watching soccer.
Did your understanding progress?
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*The rules are based on the "JFA Competition Rules" of the Japan Football Association.