Question Number: 24591

Law 11 - Offside 2/16/2011

RE: Intermediate Under 12

Phil Rabichow of Tarzana, CA United States asks...

This question is a follow up to question 24569

I know that Law 11 states that:

A player in an offside position is only penalized if, at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play.

However, isn't the law really that

A player in an offside position at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team, is only penalized if he is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play before the time of judgement restarts?

The first sentence, which comes directly from FIFA, seems to say that the PIOP must be involved in active play at the time of judgement, when actually he/she can be penalized for becoming involved in active play any time before:
1. Another teammate touches the ball
2. A defender controls the ball, or
3. The ball goes out of play

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Yes. Now you've hit on one of the wording problems in Law 11. As it applies to involvement, 'at the moment' really means 'from that moment forward, until there is a new moment' (a new touch, etc).

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Phil
The Laws of the game require an element of tacit knowledge along with reading of the relevant Law in its totality. If one is to take the wording of the Laws literally and in isolation there would be many questionable interpretations. Law 11 has a long history in the game and the principle behind offside is that once a player is an offside position,when the ball is played/touched by a team mate, that player in an offside position cannot do anything to put himself back onside again. He can only participate in play again if the ball goes out of play or the ball is controlled/played by the opponents or a new phase of play is started by an onside teammate. You will also note that Law 11 states that in the event of an offside offence, the referee awards an indirect free kick to the opposing team to be taken from the place where the infringement occurred not from where the player interfered with play or an opponent. In most offside situations the location of the offside position and where the player met all the conditions of offside are relatively close yet in certain situations they could be up to 50 yards apart and it is not time bound.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

You are exactly correct. Law 11 really means that if a player is in an offside position when the ball is played or touched by a teammate, he may not become actively involved in play until offside resets. Offside resets when the ball goes out of play, an opponent controls the ball, or a teammate plays or touches the ball.

The real problem with the wording is where the restart takes place. law 11 says it takes place where the offence was committed: where the offside positioned player was at the moment the ball was played or touched by a teammate. This can be confusing since almost never is an offside positioned player actively involved in play at the moment the ball is touched or played by a teammate. In fact, it's only possible to be interfering with an opponent at the moment the ball is played by a teammate because both gains an advantage and interfering with play require the player to make contact with the ball which is impossible until AFTER the ball is played by a teammate.

But, what Law 11 tells us is the offside positioned player from the instant the ball is played or touched by a teammate has to stay uninvolved in play from that moment onward. That's why the restart is from the point where the OPP is when the ball is initially touched or played

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

There are two judgments made for an offside infringement.

At the moment the ball is touched or played by a teammate, the first question is if anyone in offside position? That is a "yes/no" answer of fact.

All players determined to be in offside position are ineligible to become involved in play until the ball is controlled by an opponent, the ball goes out of play, or a player is determined to be in an onside position the next time the ball is touched by a teammate. Until then, the second question is if they have become involved in play (by touching the ball or interfering with an opponent's ability to see or play the ball). While touching the ball is a "yes/no" answer of fact, interfering with an opponent is a judgment call for the referee.