Question Number: 27229

Law 11 - Offside 3/7/2013

RE: Under 13

Scott Worthington of Huntington Beach, CA USA asks...

Hi refs. I'm delighted to hear about the change in wording of the offside law. The old 'deceives or distracts an opponent' was just too ambiguous. The new 'challenging an opponent for the ball' is much clearer.

Still, it raises anew the question of when to raise the flag in some common situations. Let's say an attacker is in offside position and the ball is kicked far forward by a teammate. The offside player begins a long run to catch up to the ball and is well ahead of the defenders. There are no other attackers nearby.

In this situation, I would not say the offside attacker is 'challenging an opponent for the ball' -- the opponents are well behind. So do we have to wait for the player to touch the ball to call offside? Or can we save everyone the trouble of running after the ball when it becomes obvious that the attacker will eventually touch the ball?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Scott
Since Law 11 was changed in 2005 there has been a provision to flag the lone attacker for offside in the situation you describe
'' A player in an offside position may be penalised before playing or touching the ball if, in the opinion of the referee, no other team-mate in an onside position has the opportunity to play the ball.''
Further, ?If an opponent becomes involved in the play and if, in the opinion of the referee, there is potential for physical contact, the player in the offside position shall be penalised for interfering with an opponent
That IFAB decision is now in the Interpretation of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees Page 107 Diagram 4.
It should though be used selectively and if there is any doubt about an onside team mate's involvement then the flag should be held until it is clear who touches the ball.
Se also ATR 11.4 for US advice on this.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

In your example, the offside positioned player is also not deceiving or distracting an opponent. US and IFAB guidance has been, and continues to be, to raise the flag in this situation unless there is a possibility of an onside positioned player reaching the ball first. If there's any doubt at all, the flag is to stay down.