Offside enforcement for the betterment of the game

I enjoyed this editorial from usssoccerplayers.com. The subject is on how MLS referees should understand the spirit of the Offside law and use it as a tool not only to prevent the game from degrading into skill-less kickball (the original intent of the law), but also to encourage creative, attacking play.

The editorialist uses an incident during the recent Chivas USA - FCD goalless draw as an example. I have to agree that, as in baseball, ties should go to the offense in order to err on the side of attacking (which is by nature creative, since the opposition will not create the opportunities for you), rather than to err on the side of stodgy defense (which, though a necessary and admirable skill, is still destructive since it seeks to undo what the opposition is creating). This could also have the side effect of slightly increasing the goals in a game due to increasing the number of goal-scoring opportunities in a game -- and that would help the game in the US.

(As an aside, we Dynamo fans should relish this draw as it keeps the Dynamo safely in the top four of the league, thus ensuring our berth in SuperLiga next year, while still keeping Chivas USA within reach of us...for now. This is a short term benefit, but a long-term benefit would arise from enforcing the spirit rather than the strictest letter of the offside law. Such a policy could help improve the style of play league-wide by creating more attacking opportunities and forcing defenders to improve their marking, tackling, and decision-making skills. The risk is that defenders will be put in more desperate situations and resort to Ty Harden-style fouling tactics -- brutality over skill.)

Other ways changes in enforcement could have a positive effect on the game: allowing cards to be issued for gamesmanship (e.g. diving, intentional handballs, pushing/pulling) based on video review after a match. While post-facto review wouldn't reverse an injustice committed in a previous match, it should serve as a deterrent and would ensure that those who bring disrepute to the game are punished. Belated punishment is better than none. Violators would sit out future matches for severe fouls (as with any red card) or if there has been an accumulation of such incidents (like any Yellow accumulation would do). The details of such a policy would need to be worked out, preventing fickle punishments and perhaps dictating that such punishments would have to be announced within a certain period (perhaps 5 days or so) after the match, but that is minutiae that could be easily determined.

BTW, ussoccerplayers.com is a great website that I've just stumbled across within the past month or so. Under the "Exclusives" tab you can find some great editorials on various facets of the game.