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Offside (field hockey)
Encyclopedia
There is currently no offside rule in field hockey
. There were prior offside rules, rules that restricted the positioning of players from the attacking team in a way similar to the offside
rule in soccer. The offside rules were changed as the rules of field hockey changed. The evolution of the field hockey offside rule culminated with its abolition in the mid 1990s.
in January 1876 following the establishment of the first, briefly existing, Hockey Association (of England) the year before. (The second, and final, Hockey Association was formed in 1886.) An offside rule was included in the 1876 rules. Under this rule, a player who was nearer to the opponent team's goal-line than both the ball and the third to last opponent was said to be at an offside position (simply put: an attacking player was offside if the ball was behind them and there were fewer than three defenders between them and the goal they were attacking). The rule was applied on the whole pitch, except when the ball was hit from the goal-line.
. The aims of this change were:
New tactics were developed by many teams to exploit this new rule.
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
. There were prior offside rules, rules that restricted the positioning of players from the attacking team in a way similar to the offside
Offside (football)
Offside is a law in football which states that if a player is in an offside position when the ball is touched or played by a teammate, he may not become actively involved in the play...
rule in soccer. The offside rules were changed as the rules of field hockey changed. The evolution of the field hockey offside rule culminated with its abolition in the mid 1990s.
1876 rule
A set of rules of field hockey was drawn up by several clubs in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in January 1876 following the establishment of the first, briefly existing, Hockey Association (of England) the year before. (The second, and final, Hockey Association was formed in 1886.) An offside rule was included in the 1876 rules. Under this rule, a player who was nearer to the opponent team's goal-line than both the ball and the third to last opponent was said to be at an offside position (simply put: an attacking player was offside if the ball was behind them and there were fewer than three defenders between them and the goal they were attacking). The rule was applied on the whole pitch, except when the ball was hit from the goal-line.
1886 rule
In 1886, the second England Hockey Association drew up a code of Rules based on those used by clubs in the London area. Offside was then applied to attacking players from the half-way line only.1972 rule change
The 1886 offside rule remained unchanged until 1972, when offside was changed from 3 to 2 defenders.Offside abolished
After various amendments, the offside rule was finally repealed. "No offside" was introduced as a mandatory experiment in 1996 and it was confirmed as a rule in 1998 by the Hockey Rules BoardHockey Rules Board
The Hockey Rules Board, which is a board under the Executive Board of the International Hockey Federation , produces rules for both indoor and outdoor hockey by:...
. The aims of this change were:
- to transfer the balance of power towards the offense,
- to create more space around the circle and mid-field,
- to help the flow of play, more goals and less whistles, and
- to make the game more exciting and appealing to spectators.
New tactics were developed by many teams to exploit this new rule.
Evolution of the offside rule in diagrams
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