This team managed to get to the edge of their opponent's penalty area with this tactic and could have gone on to score or win a penalty.
http://uk.eurosport.y...-trick-080918398.html
But surely the ref should have blown up for obstruction or unsporting behaviour.
Or why couldn't the defenders just make a bigger circle around them?
Is there such an offence as obstruction these days? One often sees the ball being aggressively shielded by a defender until it goes out for a goal kick but no free kicks are ever given.
I haven't seen the video but I'd imagine that they cannot all be in range of the ball so they can be pinged for obstruction but even if not then they can be charged shoulder to shoulder. Football is a partial contact sport. Referees though do seem to have dropped the obstruction law, even though it is still in force.
They make something like a scrum around the ball and keep tip-tapping the between them as they move slowly towards the goal and keep winning free kicks as defenders try to push in
If all the defenders had run past them, then all the players except the one with the ball would have been adjudged offside, and the defending team would have got a free kick.
I don't think that would be offside in football JJ- just like it's not offside when a team breaks away (when the oppsition has pushed forwards ) and has 3 strikers bearing down on the goalkeeper
JJ you are right about offside but the player with the ball would then break free and be in on the goalkeeper 1 to 1. You should post that men don't understand offside as most don't