Question Number: 24876

Law 11 - Offside 5/4/2011

RE: REc,Select,Competive Adult

PK of Holland, MI US asks...

An attacking player is in offside postion and the defense makes the attacking player onside. The attacking player then receives the ball. Is the attacking player still considered offside? Ive seen where 1 referee calls it offside and another does not.

My understanding is the attacking player needs to make the affort to get back onside and its not the defense who can make a player onside again.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

I think we need to go to basics and stop trying to overthink things. The on or off side position of any player changes throughout the game, often in a matter of seconds. We only concern ourselves with the position at the moment the ball is played or touched by a teammate.
A player is in an offside position if:
1. He is in the attacking half of the field
2. He is nearer the opponent's goal line than the next to last opponent, and
3. He is nearer the opponent's goal line than the ball.

It does not matter how he got in this position. If in an offside position at the moment the ball is touched or played by a teammate, the player may not participate in play until offside resets and this is where you have some confusion. It is fair to say an offside positioned player cannot put himself onside. It's also fair to say the defenders cannot put him onside either simply by changing their positions. Remember, we are only concerned with his position when the ball is touched or played by a teammate. If offside at that moment, he is still considered offside even if he runs to an onside position or an opponent changes position and puts him in an onside position. Likewise, if a player is onside when the ball is touched or played by a teammate, he may go anywhere and legally play the ball. This is what you are seeing. The referee is not calling it one way one time and different at another time. What you see is an attacker 20 yards past the next to last defender gather a ball and no flag. That's because he was ONSIDE when the ball was played by his teammate. If the AR's flag goes up, he was in an offside position when his teammate played the ball. Offside resets:
1. Each time the ball is touched or played by a teammate
2. When the ball goes out of play, or
3. When the ball is CONTROLLED by the opponents.

For example, let's say an attacker is in an offside position when the ball is played towards him by a teammate. Before the ball gets to him, it deflects off an opponent. Does this reset offside and is the attacker now allowed to play the ball? No. A deflection is NOT control. Now look at this another way. An attacker is in an offside position when his teammate plays the ball. The ball is intercepted by an opponent. The opponent does not see the attacker and passes the ball back to his keeper, or tries to.The attacker who was in an offside position when his teammate played the ball, intercepts the ball and scores. Is he offside? No. The opponent controlled the ball and therefore the ball was last played by an opponent. Remember we only care when the ball was played by a teammate. Since an opponent played the ball, no offside

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

A player in offside position is not eligible to participate in play until:

a) the player is in onside position the next time the ball is touched by a teammate.
b) the ball goes out of play; or
c) the ball is possessed and controlled by a defender.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi PK
The key to your question is when was the ball last touched/played by the teammate of the player in an offside position. If the player was in an offside position when the ball was played then there is nothing that the player in an offside position can do to put himself onside. He must wait for another phase of play to begin either through a onside team mate touching the ball, the ball going out of play or the opponents gain control of the ball. Even if he waits to touch the ball when the defenders have moved so that he is in an onside position the offside offence will still be called.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

The attacking player can never put himself back onside.

All he can do is move, and hope that the next touch of a teammate finds him not closer to the goal line than the second to last defender and the ball, which is when a new phase of play can begin for that player. Until that touch, he is still considered to be in an offside position, no matter where he goes or what he does, until that touch occurs or a defender controls and possesses the ball or the ball leaves the field.