Football president: Linesmen will not make offside decisions this season

Referee David Bissett in action during a previous match. Photo: Brian Gray

Linesmen will not be asked to make decisions on whether a player is offside in either the A or B leagues this season.

Shetland Football Association (SFA) president George Smith said referees would instead make the calls themselves.

Players or coaches running the line will only be asked to decide whether the ball has run out of play.

Smith said that players running the line, who were often young players, were sometimes “put under some duress” to carry the flag and then abused for making decisions.

He said Shetland was one of the few areas where referees did not already make offside calls.

“That’s the norm in amateur football.

“They’re [referees] up for it, they’ve spoken about it and they’ve decided to go for it.”

Smith said the SFA would trial the move for a season and review it afterwards.