Question Number: 20915

Law 11 - Offside 3/1/2009

RE: Rec Under 19

Geoffrey of Orange County, CA USA asks...

I have an offside question. Attacker B is in an offside position as Attacker A takes a shot on goal. The goalkeeper is well off his line and as the ball goes by, the goalkeeper tips the ball. The ball hits the crossbar and bounces down but not in the goal. Attacker A and the goalkeeper both scramble for the ball and arrive nearly simultaneously at the ball. The goalkeeper bats the ball away as Attacker A tries to head it. The batted ball goes to Attacker B who shoots it in the goal. The question I have is, does the goalkeepers batting the ball away constitute enough control that Attacker B is now no longer restricted or is the goalkeeper's batting of the ball more like a deflection off the defense and Attacker B is still restricted. For the record, I considered attacker B to still be restricted and called offside but I am wondering if I made the right call.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Good Call!
The FACTs are Attacker B was offside positioned thus restricted from future involvement WHEN Attacker A shot!
Attacker A shot the ball and has never retouched the ball after the miss, so Attacker B is still restricted from the initial shot phase because the keeper did not ( IN MY OPINION) have controlled possession when he tipped the ball onto the crossbar or knocked the ball away from Attacker A during the following up rebound attempt.
It is an easy decision. Well Done!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

It sounds like you made a good call in a difficult situation. Sometimes you have to wait a bit before resetting the offside equation. I had one game where the ball pinged off a few defenders without control before the player who was originally in an offside position played it. Offside.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Sounds like a good call. I don't see anywhere in your scenario where the keeper gained control of the ball so B still was restricted from playing the ball.

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