Question Number: 28720

Law 11 - Offside 9/10/2014

RE: Competitive High School

Kelly of Madison, AL USA asks...

I coach a U12G team as well, and the following happened on Sunday. Playing 8v8, we took a goal kick. My forward was at the center line but stepped back over the line to the attacking side just before kick. The opponnents 2 defenders were just level with the circle on our defending side. The goal kick was misskicked and landed just at our D and my forward came back across the line and won the ball. The opposing coach went absolutely nuts yelling for offsides, the referees did not grant it but he remained adamant and for the entire game complained. I made the comment the ball never crossed the center line so therefore she couldn't be offside but he called me an idiot. I want my players to be knowledgable of all laws of the game so don't want to tell them the wrong thing. So was she offside? and if so what was penalty...a direct kick at the D where she touched it or at the half where she was when the ball was kicked?

Thank you
Coach Kelly

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Coach Kelly
I'm surprised that offside is being played in 8 v 8 @ U12. But anyway that is another matter
As regards the offside decision a player cannot be offside directly from a goal kick. So no matter where the player was located or touched the ball play should continue as there could not be offside.
Now had it not been a goal kick then the player was deemed to be in an offside position the moment the ball was played / touched by a team mate. It makes no difference where the player in an offside position touches the ball which can in in an onside position or for that matter in her own half. The indirect free kick is taken from the offside position the player was in when the ball was kicked by her team mate. So it make no difference whether the ball crossed the half way line or not.
In summary both of you were incorrect. There was no offside though for a very different reason which the referee got correct.
Keep up the good work of coaching and well done on asking the question so as to educate your players.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Anyone can play the ball received directly from a goal kick, regardless of the location of the player at the time the ball was put into play. It is an exception to the offside law (the other two exceptions are: corner kick and throw in).

But, at all other times, law 11 judges offside position where the player was located when the ball was touched by a teammate - not where they received the ball. So, a player in offside position may not run back to her own half of the field and play the ball. The restart will be an indirect free kick where the player was when the ball was kicked by a team mate (i.e., on the opponent's side of the halfway line).

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Kelly,
Bloody hell calling people names in front of the wee ones is a mark of a complete twit! 8 versus 8 is an unusual configuration for u-12. I recommend you read over many of our latest offside questions! I think it could help you clarify a few things!

I am not entirely certain from your explanation but dare I assume the goal kick traveled as far as the edge of the centre circle in the middle of the field on your side of the midline. Your striker was standing possibly just inside the opposition half, then ran back across the midline into her own half to collect the ball?

Or is it the top of the penalty arc just outside your penalty area? Your striker was standing possibly just inside the opposition half, then ran back across the midline into her own half to collect the ball?

If the FIFA laws have not been readjusted in this micro league there is NO OFFSIDE on a goal kick! It does not MATTER where your player was! It does not matter where the opposition is. A goal kick is one of the three restarts exempt from offside.

If the free kick was a DFK or an INDFK taken from within your goal/penalty area then offside criteria is a consideration. Your striker, if she WAS in the opposition half and there was no 2nd last defender even beside her or closer to the opposition goal when her team mate struck the free kick she would be in an offside position when her team mate last touches the ball. She then could NOT put herself BACK onside, simply by running BACK into her own half, she is still restricted from active play. The fact the ball did not cross the midline plays absolutely no part in determining if there is offside present.
There is a little bit of a debate if standing on the midline you are in fact in both halves of the field at the same time but playable body parts will likely play a role on close call situations. When an offside positioned player becomes actively involved the infraction occurs but the indfk restart is where the position itself was first determined NOT where the actual touch of the ball occurs. If indeed in your striker case there was offside it would be back on their side of the field where the AR or referee had ajudged her to be !

Answer provided by Referee Joe Manjone

Coach Kelly,

As stated in high school NFHS Rule, 11-1-2, 'A player shall not be penalized for being in an offside position if the ball is received from a goal kick.................'

In high school competition, the situation that you describe would not be offside.

Answer provided by Referee James Sowa

Kelly,

As Refs McHugh, Wickham and Dawson have stated above, a player can not be guilty of an offside infraction on:

1) A throw-in

2) A corner kick

3) A goal kick

So, the simple answer is that there can't be offside since it was a goal kick. It is a bit more difficult to determine what the income would have been if this had been a free kick. You say: 'My forward was at the center line but stepped back over the line to the attacking side just before the kick'. Assuming that your players foot had crossed the line BEFORE the ball was kicked, then this sounds like offside.

The easy (at least easier) way to think of offside is to 'take a picture' every time the ball is touched by the attacking team or played by the defending team. If your forward is in an offside position in this 'snapshot', then the player remains offside until another player (either team) kicks (or heads) the ball.

That said, in your scenario, there can not be offside because the restart was a goal kick. As to your other question, if a player is guilty of an offside infraction, then the restart would be and Indirect Free Kick from the spot the player was when the ball was kicked. So in your scenario, the IFK would be from just over the half line.