Question Number: 23857

Law 11 - Offside 8/30/2010

RE: Select Under 19

Richard of London , Ontario Canada asks...

Offside
Question 1 A player is in an offside position. The ball is kicked to them but the last defender stops the ball. The offside player attacks the defender and gets the ball. Are they offside?

Question 2 A player is in the offside position. The ball is kicked past the defenders, but the offside player makes no attempt to play the ball. As soon as the defender gets the ball the offside player attacks the defender. Are they still offside or does he have to wait till his team regains control?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

In both of these situations, we need to ask, Did the offside-positioned player interfere with an opponent?

It depends on how long it took between the defender's touch and the attacker's interception. If the defender collects the ball and gets a few good touches on it, he has established control. Offside considerations for the original attacker then end.

But if it's a bang-bang thing, and the defender doesn't get a chance to control the ball, the attacker could be called offside for interfering with the opponent.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Richard
Q1
It depends on whether the defender had sufficient time to control the ball and make a subsequent play. If the control and clearance was hurried then the player in an offside position has interfered with an opponent and the offside is called. I would suggest though a 'wait and see' approach to ascertain what actually happens with the ball. In a PL game last season involving Liverpool a situation like this happened. A hurried clearance under pressure from a player in an offside position went forward 40 yards to a team mate of the defender in an advantageous situation. The flag went up and the ref called the offside. The 'best' decision for the AR was to wait a second and then there was no need to flag in this case. The ref could also have played advantage but his 'reaction' was flag, buzzer, stop play. Had the player in an offside position got to the ball or it went to an opponent or out of play then the offside should be called.
Q2
In this situation the opponents have taken clear control of the ball and the defender has prepared it for subsequent play. Offside here has been reset and the player in an offside position is no longer offside. He can challenge for the ball and engage in play as normal.
I recall this happening in a game two seasons ago and the defender under limited pressure made a rickets of a pass to a team mate that was subsequently intercepted by an opponent who now had the offside positioned team mate well placed to mount an attack. The flag did not go up and I believe that was the correct decision. It stuck in my memory as the IDFK would have removed any doubt from the defending team that they were not disadvantaged by the no call. But that's not what offside is about.

Clearly in some situations there is a fine line between both questions. The higher the skill level the clearer the decision should be and in all cases it is a matter of opinion for the Referee and AR. In Q2 teams would rarely look for an offside call in that situation as they have the ball and expect opponents to get involved in subsequent play.