Question Number: 24577

Law 11 - Offside 2/12/2011

RE: Comp High School

William Ocampo of Houston, TX USA asks...

Player A is in an offside position but Player B is not in an offfside position (both are attackers). Both run on to the same pass. Player B (who is not offside) plays the ball and scores.

My contention is that it is a valid goal. Although player A is offside, he was not the one to play the ball.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Player A did not play the ball, so he did not interfere with play. You used the 'wait and see' technique, and B ended up being the one who played the ball.

The other thing you need to determine is if A interfered with an opponent - for example, getting in the way of a defender who might have been able to intercept the pass before B got it. If so, then A was offside.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi William
This is not offside as Player B who was not in an offside position plays the ball. Unless Player A interfered with an opponent it cannot be offside.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

You followed FIFA's and USSF's instructions to the letter and correctly allowed the goal. When there is an onside player AND an offside player both contending for the ball, we must wait and see which one actually touches the ball. This was the reason for the memo from USSF that stated for a player to be guilty of interfering with play, he must make contact with the ball.

Good job.