Question Number: 25922

Law 11 - Offside 1/25/2012

RE: Adult

charels of gardengrove, calif usa asks...

Attacker-1 is dribbling ball towards goal,
Defender-1 tackles and ball rolls to Attacker-2,who was offside postion.Is this Onside because it was last touched by defender?

Is it onside if was deflected or tackled as long as touched by defender?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The defender made a deliberate play of the ball, so there is no offside consideration for the attacker.

If the ball merely deflected off a defender after being propelled by an attacker, offside does apply.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Charles
If the ball deflects off the defender in the challenge then that is deemed to be offside as the player in an offside position has ''gained an advantage by being in that position''
If on the other hand the defender plays the ball away from the attacker deliberately then that is not offside

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

This happened in a professional match in a European Tournament a few years ago. The referee overruled the offside flag and a goal was scored. The Referee Committee concluded that the referee was correct (and courageous). At the highest levels, this is a play of the ball by the defense that meets the requirement for 'possession and control' and makes A2 eligible to play the ball.

IMO, in a U10 match, it is probably a 'deflection' that should result in an offside decision.

In all matches, the referee alone must decide if the defender's action was a 'deflection' (offside) or 'possession and control' (not offside).