Question Number: 23924

Law 11 - Offside 9/13/2010

RE: Select Under 12

L. R. of Lehi, UT USA asks...

Player is heading in to take a shot, ahead of two pursuing defenders and one of her teammates. She was onside and had a breakaway. There is nobody between her and the goalkeeper. Her teammate reaches her just before the goal, reaches out her leg and kicks the ball into the goal. The teammate who shot the goal had stepped slightly ahead of the girl who brought the ball down the field just as she took the shot.

Offside or not?

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

It's not clear where the goalscorer was located, relative to the BALL when it was last touched by her teammate. If she was not closer to the opponent's goal line than the ball at that moment, she is onside and eligible to play the ball.

If you are the assistant referee, you need to be sure that she is closer to the opponent's goal line than the ball at that moment to raise the flag for offside. Doubts are resolved in favor of 'not-offside.'

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi LR
This is not offside on the assumption that the team mate was not nearer to the goal line than both the ball and the second last defender. While coming from behind the ball carrier the scorer I assume was behind the ball when it was last touched by her team mate that is the last touch of the dribble.
If the scorer was ahead of the ball when it was last touched by a team mate then it is offside.