Question Number: 24231

Law 11 - Offside 10/25/2010

RE: Travel Under 13

Mark Corbett of phillipsburg, nj usa asks...

This question is a follow up to question 24189

Player A is in an offside state but not involved in a play about 10 yards away. Player B from same team breaks through 2 defensive players and then scores a goal. When Player B broke through the defense one of the 2 covering defensive players 'peeled off' to cover Player who was originally in the offside state. Was this offside as the second defender left the play to cover player A. Player A never became involved in the play except to draw off 1 defender.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Unless A did something to distract the players - such as running very close to where the ball was going - it's not offside. It's just a decision made by the defender.

The Interpretation and Guidelines section of the Laws of the Game states:
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"interfering with an opponent" means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent's line of vision or movements or making a gesture or movement which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts an opponent
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Note that 'distracts an opponent' doesn't mean that the defender just looked at the offside-positioned attacker. Mere position on the field is not defined to be a distraction. The player has to be doing something.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Mark
First off it is not an offense to be an offside position. It was the defender's choice to peel off to cover the PIOP. That is not interfering with an opponent and therefore there is no offside infraction as described.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Not offside. The attacker in offside position did not do anything that interfered with the defender's ability to see or play the ball. Simply moving from an offside position is not enough.

One of the most common errors for an assistant referee is to assume that the ball is headed toward the player in offside position and not wait before raising the flag. Waiting a second usually reveals the player running in from an onside position.