Question Number: 26629

Law 11 - Offside 8/14/2012

RE: Competitive Under 13

RickB of Stittsville, Ontario Canada asks...

An AR correctly raised his flag to indicate offside close to the center line. The ref did not see this and play continued up the field for about a minute, including the defence touching the ball during this time and ultimately kicking it out of bounds.
After awarding a throw in, the ref then noticed the AR and brought the play back to center to award the free kick.
I've never seen anything like this before, and it struck me as odd. Did the ref do the right thing?

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The AR who raises the flag for an offside infringement should lower the flag only if: (a) the referee waives down the flag; (b) the defense gains clear possession of the ball; or (c) the ball goes out of play with a throw-in or goal kick for the defense.

The referee who fails to notice the raised flag needs to work on positioning. It should not take a minute to recognize the flag.

I detest it when I miss a flag for 5 seconds.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Rick
There is nothing new in a missed offside flag and play being brought back to the location of the offside offence. Most referees advise their assistants on a missed offside flag to hold the flag up if the offence has a material effect on play. They will also advise assistants to lower the flag when play has continued for an extended period and when the defence has gained complete control of the ball with play advanced beyond the half way line.
The offence then can be seen as trifling and bringing play back while still an option is not required.
So in this case the referee was technically correct to award the IDFK although I think that after a minute of play the AR could have dropped the flag. However had the throw in been taken then any prior offence is then nullified and the referee could not go back..

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

There's no time limit on how long a referee has to respond to the AR's flag. However, if play has been restarted (eg ball goes out of play then the throw in is taken), then the referee cannot go back to the offside.

However, if play had not been restarted, then he can go back to the offside.

However, the refereeing team should also consider advantage at this point. If the defence has gained control of the ball and gained an advantage from play continuing (generally, we'd want to see the defence control the ball and move it some distance upfield whilst retaining possession), then the AR should lower the flag (or the referee should tell the AR to lower the flag).