Linesmen not making on-field decisions is the unintended consequence of having someone in a back-room in Bedfordshire available to look at game-changing moments.
They are, it’s just that the guidance says not to flag, allow play to develop and then flag (or not) at a point where you won’t influence the outcome.
So as per yesterday’s type of scenario, if the lino thought that was offside, they wouldn’t flag. Allow play to go on and see what happens…. goal scored, then flag for offside because that’s what they thought. VAR (with all its imperfections) then decides. It’s important the lino still makes a decision though because there has to be evidence to overturn, otherwise stay with on field.
If they flag at point of the apparent offence, and the player stops, or hesitates, and play is influenced and THEN on review it was wrong – well, chance could be gone by then.
If it’s absolutely clearcut, then they can flag anyway.
The process is actually sound despite the arguments. It breaks down when toenail-sized measurements are needed, hence there should be more benefit of doubt to attackers, etc. And also there’s the possibility that in the ensuing play, that shouldn’t be happening because it was offside, a player is injured or whatever. But that’s a real edge case.