Question Number: 28392

Law 11 - Offside 5/4/2014

RE: Rec Adult

Michelle of Charleston, SC USA asks...

Ive was told by a senior official years ago that when an offisdes is called, the kick should be taken where the last defender was when the pass was made. However, in an assessment, an assessor told me that the kick should be taken where the offisdes was called, being where the attacker in the offsides position was when they became involved with the play. Where should the kick be taken?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Michelle
An offside IDFK is taken from where the offence took place that is the position the player in an offside position was located when the ball was played / touched by a team mate.
To illustrate that let's say that a player is in an offside position some 10 yards in the opponents' half say on the centre circle in line with the kick off mark. All defenders are on the half way line. The player in an offside position after the ball is kicked by his team mate runs back into his own half to play the ball. That is offside and the IDFK is taken from some 10 yards in the opponents half on the centre circle in line with the kick off mark, not where he touched the ball nor where the defenders were located.
Another example would be say a player stood beside the goalkeeper in an offside position with all defender positioned at half way. Once the PIOP interferes with play or the goalkeeper he will be called offside. Think about it. Why would the IDFK be taken at half way rather than the location of the offside infraction?

On tight offside calls there is rarely much difference between the location of the player in an offside position and the 2nd last defender but it is unhelpful advice from a senior officials. Better to say the IDFK is taken from where the player in an offside position was positioned when the ball was played / touched by his team mate.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Neither is correct. The restart is taken where the player in offside position (PIOP) was located when the ball was touched or played by the teammate. As Ref McHugh notes, in many cases, the location is only a step or two away from where the defenders were located.

The mechanics for the AR, however, require the AR to run with the ball until the PIOP infringes the offside law (by playing the ball or interfering with the defender). The AR then stops, squares to the field, and raises the flag. On the whistle, the AR will indicate near, end or far; drop the flag, and move along the touchline back to indicate where the restart should occur.