Question Number: 26453

Law 11 - Offside 6/14/2012

RE: AYSO REC Under 15

Bill of Santa Clarita, CA USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 26402

1. Defender kicks ball back towards his GK, ball deflects off offside opponent to another offside opponent who scores, Goal counts?
2. Attacker kicks ball hard towards opponents' goal, ball (a) deflects off opponent to offside teammate who scores. Goal counts? (b)opponent attempts to play ball that deflects off offside opponent to another offside opponent who scores. Is not the opponent/s gaining an advantage being in offside position?
Please give example/s of 'gaining an advantage' situation/s.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Offside position is reset when an opponent has possession and control of the ball. Offside position is reevaluated each time a teammate touches the ball.

1. When D1 plays the ball, both A1 and A2 are eligible to play the ball. At the moment the ball touches A1, if A2 is still in an offside position, A2 is not eligible to play the ball. Goal would not count.

2. (a) When A1 kicked the ball, if A2 is in an offside position, A2 is not eligible to play the ball even if it deflects off D1 (b) When D2 'attempts to play the ball, ' D2 does not have possession and control of the ball. Thus, A2 is still ineligible to play the ball.

'Gaining an advantage' is defined as touching the ball after it deflects off an opponent or the cross-bar/goal post.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Bill
The wording of Law 11 is precise and I quote
'A player in an offside position is only penalised if, at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play'. the key words are touches or is played.
In your 1st scenario the last person to touch the ball before the player in an offside position was a team mate. That is offside due to that touch however inadvertent.
In your 2nd scenario A again the last person to touch the ball before the play by the PIOP was a team mate so offside must be called. In B again it is offside as the ball was again touched by a team mate before the play by the PIOP.
Those are not gaining an advantage by being in an offside position situation. Just straightforward offside.
To consider what is meant by ?gaining an advantage by being in that position? again to quote the Laws it "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."
So let's say that a player takes a shot at goal and it rebounds off the frame of the goal to a player in an offside position then that is offside when the PIOP touches the ball. Similarly a player plays a ball at speed to a team mate and the ball rebounds off a defender to the player in an offside position that is also offside when the PIOP touches the ball. The touch here by the opponent does not reset offside.
I would refer you to FIFA helpful tool on Offside
http://www.fifa.com/lotg/football/en/flash/start.html
The relevant slides for this question are 27 through 31

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

1. No, assuming the player who scored was in an offside position when the ball hit his teammate.

2.a. No. Offside resets when the ball is deflected off another attacker but a defender must exhibit possession and control of the ball in order for offside to reset. b. Offside yes, but for interfering with play, not gaining an advantage which is narrowly defined as receiving the ball after it deflects off the goal post/cross-bar or an opponent.