Question Number: 25462

Law 11 - Offside 9/19/2011

RE: Rec Adult

Keith Quisenberry of Mars, PA USA asks...

My question regards the correct position for the restart (by an IDK) after an offside call.

The second to last defender for Team Blue is say 40 yds from his goal line and a Red attacker is clearly in an offside position say 39 yds from the Blue goal line. A Red player kicks a ball forward in the air which sails over the above players heads. The Red attacker chases this ball from his offside starting position but does not actually play (touch) the ball until say 10 yds from the Blue goal line. Clearly this Red player is guilty of offside, but where is the correct point for the restart to take place? At the 39 0r 40 yd spot where the attacker was first in an offside position or from the 10 yd position where the player 'became involved in active play' by touching the ball?

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Keith: The restart is the spot where the player in offside position was located when the ball was originally kicked or played by the teammate (not where the player receives or touches the ball).

The restart would be near the 39.

This means the assistant referee must continue to run with the ball. When the PIOP participates in play, the assistant referee stops, turns square to the field, and raises the flag for the offside (on the whistle, dropping the flag to indicate near, mid or far). The assistant referee then moves up the touchline to indicate the location of the restart.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

The restart is always where the offside positioned player was when the ball was touched or played by his teammate. In this case, 39 yards away from the goal line