Question Number: 27928

Law 9 - The Ball in and out of Play 10/23/2013

RE: Competitive College

Nick of Calgary, AB Canada asks...

Can a player play the ball from out of bounds provided; he was on the field at the time (not a substitute), and the ball did not wholly cross the line?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Yes. Players may go outside the lines in the normal course of play. Beside going over the line in order to play the ball, another typical example is going around an opponent.

The ball remains in play until the whole thing is outside the whole line, and players are free to play it until it is completely out.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Nick
By all means. there will be times when it is perhaps the only way of playing the ball which is is still in play. Examples include a forward who go past a defender on the wing over the touchline/ goalline. Nothing wrong with the player stepping off the field of play to go around the player and playing the ball on the field of play. Another example would be a defender who moves over the goal line while defending and he plays the ball away from an attacker in that situation.
In both instances the ball is still in play on the field of play and the player has momentarily left the field of play as part of play which is not an offence.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 28808