Actually, if you have four players in an offsides position near the goal and interfering with the keeper's ability to react to the ball, they can be ruled offsides whether the ball is passed to them or not--and nothing that hinges on "the opinion of the referee" is ever "as simple as that." Fact is, offsides is a rather complex combination of situations, and any simple, one-sentence explanation is bound to be inaccurate in some way. We all just hope the guys calling the match can MAKE the right call, even if they're not so good at explaining it.
While you guys have definitely been the most entertaining thing on the board for a while, maybe it's time to shake hands and admit both sides were inaccurate without being defensive about it?
