Question Number: 24617

Law 11 - Offside 2/26/2011

RE: Competitive Adult

Octavian of Saskatoon, SK Ca asks...

This question is a follow up to question 24339

'Over and back situations are pretty clear. Player in an offisde position returns and plays(touches) the ball (generally defenders don't see him/expect him to come from behind). If the situation happens in the middle of the field, I deem it to be similar even if the player eventually plays the ball in his own half. To be more explicit, attacker A is in an offside position when the ball is played towards him(with no other teammate around). Attacker comes back in the play in his own half and touches the ball back to one of his teammates. I have blown the whistle, with free kick taken from the place of the initial offside(in the attacking half) and not from where the ball was touched. A fellow referee(a player in that game) challenged the call politely stating that 'you cannot be in an offside in your own half'. As his statement is true in Law 11, this relates to the initial pass towards the attacker and not for the development of the 'over and back'. The play itself has had no relevance to the outcome of the game; as a 'perfecyionist' IU want to make sure I interpreted Law 11 properly and if not, I want to make sure I won't do it again.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

If the player was in an OSP when the ball was last touched or played by a teammate then that is the position from which we determine whether he becomes involved in play or not.

If the player comes back into his own half from the OSP he cannot play the ball legally unless it was again touched by another teammate after he came back into his own half. A player in an OSP cannot put himself back onside. By simply returning to his own half he makes it possible for a teammate to put him back onside. The only other way to become onside again other than by a teammate's touch is if the defense controls and possesses the ball first or the ball goes out of play.

Your referee friend was wrong if your understanding of his argument was as stated. While it is true that a player who was in his own half when the ball was last played or touched by a teammate cannot be called for offside - the reverse is not true. If a player starts from an offside position he cannot become onside again simply by re-entering his own half. He has to re-enter and there must be a new touch on the ball by a teammate.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
So many people get this call wrong. Yes a player cannot be offside in his own half but the offence as you rightly state happened in the attacking half of the field of play. It just so happened that the player in an offside position, when the ball was played/touched by a team mate, met the final condition of offside by either interfering with play or interfering with an opponent in his own half when he touched or challenged for the ball. The indirect free kick is taken from where the player was located when the ball was touched/played by his team mate.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

You are both correct but in this instance you are more correct. What? It's true that you cannot be in an offside position in your own half of the field. That's a true statement by definition. But what your fellow referee/player should know, and what you apparently DO know is that offside is judged when the ball is played or touched by a teammate NOT when he collects the ball.

Your understanding is 100% correct. The player was in an offside position when the ball was played. End of story. You know he may not become actively involved in play until offside resets AND you know that a player cannot put himself onside once the ball has been played by a teammate. That is to say, returning to an onside position does not reset offside.

Good call!! Keep at it and by all means educate your fellow referee who should know better.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

No, you cannot be offside in your own half. But the player WASN'T in his own half, not at the time the offside position is noted. Once a player is in an offside position, he cannot become involved in play one of 3 things happens:
1 - A teammate touches/plays the ball again
2 - The ball is controlled and played by an opponent
3 - The ball goes out of play.

That didn't happen in your game, so no matter where the player moves to - either side of the field - he cannot become involved in play or he will be called offside.

You recognized this, and even restarted correctly from the point that the offside position was determined. Your colleague needs some remedial work.

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

See Question: 27010

See Question: 27195