Question Number: 26230

Law 11 - Offside 4/24/2012

RE: State Premiere Under 14

John Panlener of Fenton, Michigan 48430 asks...

This play occurred in the attacking half of the field, within 5 yds and parallel to the touchline, and NOT near the middle of the field. Attacker "A" was two steps in front of the second to last defender, in offside position, running towards the goal line. Attacker "B" had the ball, was also running towards the goal line, and was two steps behind the second to last defender. Attacker "B" played the ball forward, past the defender, so that the ball was rolling next to Attacker "A". Attacker "A" continued to run next to the ball but, did NOT touch the ball. Attacker "B" ran a sprint fast enough to catch up with the ball and maintain possession of the ball after playing the ball. Attacker "A" made no attempt to take himself out of the play.

The AR, running with the play on the same side touchline, maintains his position, even with the second to last defender, signals OFFSIDE as player "B" plays the ball forward and the ball was rolling next to Attacker "A". The AR determined that Attacker "A" was already in offside position, and then became involved in active play. The ball was even with, and less than 1 yard away from Attacker "A". It was NOT obvious that Attacker "B" starting from an onside position would clearly make first contact with the ball. The end result of the play was two attackers moving towards the goal, with only the goalie left to defend. Therefore the AR determined Attacker "A" gained advantage by being in that offside position.

The center referee was behind the play and closer to the center of the field. He stopped play with the whistle, and then asked the AR if Attacker "A" touched the ball. The AR replied "NO". The center referee explained that, in his opinion, there was no offside penalty if Attacker "A" did NOT touch the ball. The restart was a dropped ball close to the defender, who was instructed to pass the ball to the attacking team.

Was this an offside offense?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi John
Unless Attacker A did something more than be in an offside or run towards the ball this is not offside. Did Attacker A interfere with an opponent by preventing the opponent from playing or being able to play the ball? Did the PIOP distracts an opponent? If the answer to those questions is No then it is not offside.
FIFA has opined that when two players are running towards the ball with one player in an offside position and the other player in an onside position that the AR should wait until it is clear that the PIOP has interfered with an opponent or interfered with play by touching the ball before calling offside.
In the scenario described it reads to me that Attacker A did nothing other than run ahead of play in an offside position. When the ball was played past the defender Attacker B was entitled to recover the ball which he did and there is no suggestion that Attacker A prevented the defender from playing the ball. Remember as well that the defender has to deal with Attacker B and he has the knowledge that attackers in offside positions are excluded from active play so unless the offside positioned player interferes with him there is no offence. Being there or running to the ball is not enough to interfere

Here is what USSF has to say on the matter with a video and a quote from a position paper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqmuO8WT4hM&feature=relmfu

"""In a match played in Los Angeles on April 28, 2007, between LA Galaxy and Chivas USA, an incident took place which is a classic example of one of the most contentious issues in the offside decision ? two attackers pursuing the ball, one coming from an offside position and one coming from an onside position.
The incident also emphasizes the vital need for officials to avoid hasty decisions and to wait to see how the play develops.
In the 86th minute, Galaxy #24 (Sturgis) played the ball forward into space.
At the time, Galaxy #11 (Jaqua) was in an offside position near the center of the field and his teammate, Galaxy #10 (Donovan), was onside well behind the second to last defender to Jaqua's right. Both attackers reacted almost immediately and began sprinting hard to the ball. Although Donovan started about three yards behind his teammate, he had pulled level with him within the next few strides. There is no indication that Jaqua interfered with any opponent.
In situations where an attacker is coming from an onside position and another attacker coming from an offside position, each with an equally credible chance of getting to the ball, it is imperative that officials withhold a decision until either it becomes clear which attacker will get to the ball first (even if this means having to wait until one or the other player actually touches the ball) or the action of the attacker coming from the offside position causes one or more opponents to be deceived or distracted."""

USSF elaborates further in another position paper and I quote
"" ... Miami player Romario is in an obvious offside position when the ball is last touched by his teammate, Gil, and Gil then plays the ball forward almost directly toward Romario. However, Romario neither touches nor makes any play for the ball. Furthermore, there is no opponent close enough to be reasonably obstructed or impeded in any way nor does Romario make any gesture or movement which could reasonably be considered deceptive or distracting. Gil proceeds to run forward, takes control of his own pass, moves farther downfield from Romario, and then passes the ball back to Romario who ultimately scores a goal. The goal was valid and, in particular, there was no offside offense during any part of this sequence of play.""

I believe that describes your scenario exactly so IMO the referee in your game was correct to go with the dropped ball as it was not offside. Clearly the correct decision was to not stop play in the 1st place.

On a final small point the Attacker A either had to interfere with play or interfere with an opponent to be called offside in this situation. Gaining an advantage by being in that position means playing a ball that rebounds to him off a goalpost or the crossbar having been in an offside position or playing a ball that rebounds to him off an opponent having been in an offside position which clearly did not happen. As Attacker A did not touch the ball he could only be considered offside by interfering with an opponent. The offside terminology is important as many look at gaining an advantage in the literal sense which is incorrect. A player could be in an offside position some 30 yards from an opponent which could be an advantage/ benefit in subsequent play as it develops but it is not a condition for offside.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Interesting question, and this is precisely why it's so important for an official to 'wait and see'. It's very easy to get caught out by flagging when you think an attacker is just about to touch the ball, only for him to pull away just before.

So when that happens, the considerations then becomes 'interferes with an opponent'.

Simply running for the ball is insufficient to be penalised, even if that impacts upon a decision a defender makes. The only way attacker B can be penalised here is if his run somehow interferes with the defender - ie by impacting upon his ability to play the ball.

I've had 2 relevant scenarios recently.

Last weekend, an attacker right in front of me was in an offside position. Ball was played through to him and he starts to run for the ball. I need to 'wait and see' (in case he changes his mind and an onside teammate then runs for the ball - I've seen this happen!), so I run alongside him. He stops, looks to me to see if the flag is raised. It isn't, so he starts his run again, and when he touches the ball I raise the flag. He wasn't impressed, but he doesn't realise that the 'wait and see' policy actually benefits his team - though I understand his frustration. The defence had also stopped - and that can make things very difficult if the first attacker does begin his run, stop and allow an onside teammate to get the ball. The correct decision would be to allow play to continue, but it won't be a well received decision. But, making the tough call is part of our job.

The other scenario is a player who was in an offside position, and a player nearby took a shot. The ball bounced off the crossbar, and to that attacker in the offside decision. He started to move for the ball, and when he was about a step away from taking his swing I thought 'at this point he's definitely going to touch the ball', so up goes the flag, a few moments too early. I was absolutely certain he was going to touch the ball! For whatever reason, he changed his mind at the very last moment, and pulled away from the ball, allowing it to go to a teammate. I had already raised my flag, so the wrong decision had been made.

Again though, I'd need to consider whether his presence interfered with the path of a defender, or for this sort of scenario even line of sight can be relevant.

Precisely why it's important to wait and see. If I remember the scenario correctly, there was a potential case for 'interfering with an opponent' anyway.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

It is easy to get caught up in the fast flow of play and the excitement in a stadium, but this was an error a referee at that level should not make. It cost nothing to wait another two seconds to see what happens, and flagging too early costs the referee team stroke. When the whistle is blown for an offense that did not in fact occur, the only possible restart is a dropped ball, from where the ball was when the whistle was blown. While the referee can't force a team not to participate in a DB, they can use common sense and their personality to get play started again in as neutral and fair a way as possible, as was done here.

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