Question Number: 24126

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 10/10/2010

RE: competitive Under 17

bill of dfw, texas usa asks...

U16 upper level competitive game.

An offensive player is clearly in an offside position as the ball is played to him, over the last defender. The defender, recognizing his opponent is behind him, jumps up and knocks the ball away with his hand, obviously on purpose. AR raises his flag and indicates offside, although the offensive player did not contest the ball, and was in fact 5 or so yards behind the defender. The offside player would have had every opportunity NOT to play the ball if it had cleared the defender.

Bedlam ensues.

So, is offside the correct call and a resulting IDFK for the defense? Or is it a cautionable offense on the defender?

Or something else?

A B or C

I think I vote B, but am waiting for C.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
The answer to this depends on whether the referee accepts the flag by the AR or not
As described it would appear that the AR has made an error of judgement on the offside and the flag should not have gone up. He should have adopted a 'wait and see' position rather than an early flag.
The correct decision is a direct free kick and a caution for the defender.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The handling offense interrupted the potential offside offense. Had the handling not occurred, the player in an offside position (PIOP) would have had an opportunity to decide to play the ball or not, which would have determined an offside call or not. But because of the handling, there can be no offside - it is not an offense to be in an offside position.

So the correct restart is a direct free kick for the handling, and a possible caution as necessary for the game situation. The AR should have waited on making an offside call until participation by the PIOP was determined.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

What happened here illustrates why USSF and FIFA have been pounding on ARs for several years to WAIT before raising the flag for offside. We can't raise the flag because we THINK the PIOP will become offside in the next second or three. We have to wait, wait, wait until we are certain that the PIOP has played the ball (touched it or is very likely to touch it momentarily), or she has interfered with an opponent - blocked their view or path to the ball, etc., or otherwise distracted or deceived the opponent; and lastly, that the PIOP has gained an advantage by that position, receiving a ball from a rebound or deflection off a defender or the goal.

Until the AR is certain, which the AR in this scenario could definitely NOT be, that flag should stay virtually velcroed to the leg. If for any reason, the referee didn't see the handling, the AR could help by raising the flag, giving it a wiggle and a direction (as we all know, that's the signal for a DFK offense with the direction telling the ref who is at fault).

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 24145