An opponent is lingering in an offside position behind a defender. The ball is on the other side of the field and kicked forward. The defender runs into the other half to receive the ball and play it back in. Offside attacker gives chase.
As an AR I’m waiting and seeing at this point, they arrive within 1-2 yards of the defender and are about to make physical contact… I raise the flag. The defender plays the ball off to a teammate and team are in firm possession of the ball in the opposing half.
Have I put the referee in a pickle? In most cases, I would need to yell for the referee to get his attention at which point they will instinctively blow the whistle and react when they see me calling. Team with the ball gets upset because advantage could have been applied but me holding the flag up indefinitely can look stupid too.
Drop the flag? Premature flag? Does anything change if the attacker did make physical contact with the defender who was still able to play it off to a teammate?
Refereeing the Beautiful Game 