Question Number: 26873

Law 11 - Offside 10/2/2012

Steve of Elkins, WV US asks...

Will a player be called offside if he is in an offside position and his opponent accidentally plays the ball to him? In other words, is he only offside if his own teammate plays it to him, or is the position of the receiving player the only issue, regardless of who plays the ball?

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

When the defending player has clear possession and control of the ball, every opposing player is eligible to play the ball regardless of position. Note: a deflection off an defender is not enough to reset offside position. So, a goal can be scored if the defending player foolishly passes the ball to the opponent,

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Steve
A player can only be offside when the ball is last played / touched by a team mate with the one exception of a rebound / deflection off an opponent.
So if the ball is played deliberately by a player to an opponent in an offside position that is not offside and play continues.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Depends what you mean by 'accidentally plays'. If the defender has the ball under control, turns and passes it to the keeper not realising the attacker is there and the attacker intercepts, then that's not offside.

If an attacker is in an offside position and a teammate plays the ball to him and a defender tries to intercept, fails to control the ball and it goes through to that attacker (or is redirected to a different attacker), then the attacker should still be penalised - this is specifically covered in the laws of the game as 'gaining an advantage from being in an offside position'.