Question Number: 25145

Law 11 - Offside 6/27/2011

RE: Intermediate Under 12

Phil of Tarzana, CA United States asks...

I had thought, after months of looking at this site every day, that there wasn't an offside question that I couldn't answer. However...

If a teammate plays a ball & a PIOP accidentally touches the ball or interferes with an opponent, is it still offside? i.e. suppose Attacker 1 kicks a ball at the goal & it deflects off the back of Attacker 2 (a PIOP), is there an offside infringement? (Something tells me the answer is 'yes', but I want to be sure.)

In other words, must the requirement of active play, interfering with an opponent, or gaining an advantage from the offside position be intentional?

Thanks in advance,

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Phil
The type of touch by the player in an offside position is immaterial. It can be inadvertent and it is still offside. The same applies to interfering with an opponent. If through his position the player in an offside position interferes say with the movement of an opponent or the line of sight of the goalkeeper even if it is not intentional it is still offside.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

There was a film used in USSF training about a decade back in which a player was down on the field about 5-10 yards out from the goal. The player had either tripped or was non-seriously injured. The ball was kicked a yard or two outside this player, so the goalkeeper had to vault over him to get to the ball. The correct call was offside for interfering with an opponent - even though the player on the ground had made no effort to interfere and presumably had no intention of interfering. It was the position of the player that caused the call.

Similarly, a player may not know the ball is coming toward her while she is in an offside position. Or she may see the ball and attempt to move out of the way because she knows she is in an offside position. But if the ball touches her, even if she doesn't know about it or tried to avoid it, it is still offside for interfering with play.

On page 100 of the Laws of the Game (the Interpretations and Guidelines section) we are told:
"interfering with play" means playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a team-mate

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Accidental is irrelevant for law 11. A player may be in offside position even though the last touch of the ball by a teammate (e.g., a deflection) was unintentional. A player in offside position will be offside even if touching the ball was not deliberate.