Question Number: 28746

Law 11 - Offside 9/18/2014

RE: Rec Under 19

Dale Gray of Omaha , NE USA asks...

If the Goalie comes out of the goal box, is he the last defensive player for offside purposes?

We had a game where the AR didn't call offsides because the goalie was standing outside of the goal box.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Offside position is based on where the second last defender is located. Any defender.

For example, on a free kick, some teams place a defender at each goal post. With two defenders at the goal line, the 'offside line' is on the goal line regardless of the position of the keeper.

While the keeper is usually positioned behind the other defenders, players are constantly changing position. (When the keeper punts the ball near the 18, defenders often remain behind.) Whether the goal keeper is inside or outside the penalty area doesn't matter. It is simply the relative position of any two defenders. If an attacker is even with or further from the goal line than the second last defender, the attacker is eligible to play the ball.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Dale
Offside is determined by the position of the 2nd last opponent. That calculation may or may not include the goalkeeper. For instance if the goalkeeper has two defenders behind him then one of those two defenders is the 2nd last opponent. The goalkeeper is irrelevant in that offside calculation.
Generally the goalkeeper on the goal line or close to it is one opponent and we then look for a 2nd opponent. That may not hold in every situation.
Have a look at this video which explain nicely the answer to your question
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iND8HoYDL-I&t=9m40s
Note that when the author moves Yellow 20 back towards goal how the Red goalkeeper is then not part of the offside calculation with the red line changing as a result of that player movement.
I hope that helps.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Dale,
I can make no sense of your statement as to why the AR didn't call offside because the goalie was standing outside of the goal box? What is goal box? Is it the 6 yard goal area or the 18 yard penalty area? No idea why the AR did or did not call offside but I hope it was because there was no offside to call. The keeper is allowed to go where he wishes?

When thinking offside, consider the keeper as but one of 11 opponents, two of which must be closer to their goal line than an attacker. The keeper is permitted to play anywhere on the pitch, his only advantage occurs in his penalty area, where he is permitted the legal use of his hands. The keeper is often the last opponent by the nature of his position on the goal line but changing dynamics of fluid play create movement whereby defenders can easily be in behind the keeper and change that in an instant. An aggressive keeper can go far afield, even score at the other end! lol
Cheers