Question Number: 24832

Law 11 - Offside 4/18/2011

RE: Adult

Joe Beukes of Windhoek, Namibia asks...

An attacking player is in front of the ball when it is played, in the other half, close to the touchline. An opponent is closer to his own goal line (not the goalie) but on the other side of the field, having been injured and is slow to track back.
Is the attacking player off-side?

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Not enough information.

A player is in an offside position

1. In the attacking half
2. Nearer the opposing goal line than the next to last opponent
3. Nearer the opposing goal line than the ball.

We don't know where the keeper is in relation to the attacker.
We don't know if the defender you describe is the second to last opponent.
WE certainly don't have any idea where the ball was played so even if the attacker is found to be in an offside position, how has he become actively involved in play?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Joe
Injured players on the field of play are taken into account for offside calculation even if they are lying on the ground. So if the defender is the second last opponent no matter what side of the field of play he is on or if he is injured and the attacker is not nearer to the goal line than that 2nd last player it is not offside.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

It is not an offense to be in an offside position - it only becomes an offense when the player gets involved in play.

Since we don't know whether the opponent was the only defender back, or where the keeper was located, we can't help judge whether the attacking player was in an offside position or not.

If we assume the opponent was the second to last defender, it doesn't matter which side of the field he is on with regards to whether the attacking player is offside or not. The invisible offside line is drawn through the second to last defender (or the ball, if it is closer to the goal line than the second to last defender, which can include the keeper).

It sounds like the attacking player here was ahead of the ball, but not closer to the goal line than the second to last defender who was on the opposite side of the field. If that is correct, the attacking player was not in an offside position.