Question Number: 22616

Law 11 - Offside 12/6/2009

RE: Adult

Doug of Torrance, CA USA asks...

A player is clearly in an offside position but before the ball is played towards him he steps off the field of play, for example, behind the opposing team's goal line and then AFTER the ball is played towards him he steps back on to the field - is he offside??

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

What you describe is not an offside!
It is not an offence to be in an offside position.
Stepping off the field to show non involvement is not really necessary but we accept it as ok and will not punish the player for leaving without permission or for returning PROVIDED the player does not try to deceive or tactically miss use this privilege.

If we assume it was a team mate who last played the ball towards him while he was in an offside position then YES he is STILL restricted from any further involvement when he steps back in.

A key point is for an attacker who is RESTRICTED from involvement nothing that player can do on his own will reset that restriction!
The opposition must regain controlled possession, the ball goes out of play or a new touch of the ball by a team mate occurs when he is no longer in an offside position

Leaving to get out of the way shows non involvement which is fine returning back onto the field as long as he does not get involved is again fine but until a reset of the criteria occur that player cannot participate in dynamic play!

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Doug
If the player in an offside position steps off the field of play to circumvent Law11 and he subsequently steps back onto the FOP and gets involved in active play after the ball has been played then that indeed would be offside when he touches the ball or interferes with an opponent on that play. As Referee Dawson states players step off the field of play to show that they are not involved in active play although this is not necessary. Those player however do not attempt to play the ball and that is not offside.
For that player, who steps off the FOP, to get involved again in active play again there needs to be another 'phase of play' whereby the player is not in an offside position and a reset criteria has occured. That reset can include the defense gaining possession of the bal lor the player moving to an onside position

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

It gets worse than being called for offside. The Interpretations and Guidelines section of the Laws of the Game says (2009-10 edition, p 101)
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It is not an offence in itself for a player who is in an offside position to step off the field of play to show the referee that he is not involved in active play. However, if the referee considers that he has left the field of play for tactical reasons and has gained an unfair advantage by re-entering the field of play, the player must be cautioned for unsporting behaviour. The player needs to ask for the referee's permission to re-enter the field of play.
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Not only does the player become involved in play for purposes of offside, he gets cautioned for his efforts. Don't do it!

USSF has reiterted that it is not necessary for a player to step off the field to indicate not becoming involved in play. The referee and AR should judge offside based on what the player in an offside position does, not merely on where he is.