Question Number: 24454

Law 11 - Offside 1/3/2011

RE: College

Gbenga of alimosho, lagos nigeria asks...

is the shirt of the attacker if blown past the defender or the arm or the head on the same spot is an offside?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Gbenga
Only parts of the body that can play the ball legally are considered in determining offside. A player cannot legally play the ball with the arm so it is not considered for offside purposes while the head, body and legs are all considered.
In regular play and at speed an assistant referee would make the assumption that if the ball touched a player's jersey that he in fact touched the ball.

Answer provided by Referee Gene Nagy

Gbenga, we have a problem if just the shirt is blown past the defender. The attacker should have been wearing the darn thing.
If you mean that the shirt was so large that parts of it could clearly be blown ahead of the player then we still have a problem: they need shirts that fit.
In the strictest sense, shirts and shorts are not the criteria for deciding offside. But really, at 50 yards, how can an A/R distinguish between just shirt or body part included? And all that when the A/R and players are running at full speed? So I take it that your question is a theoretical one, not a real life practical question.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

All doubts are resolved in favor of 'not offside' when determining offside position. If all of the attacker's body is even with the defender or the ball, it is doubtful that the jersey is somewhere else.