Question Number: 29149

Law 11 - Offside 1/31/2015

RE: competitive High School

Mark Long of Kivermore, Ca. United States asks...

A player on offense kicks a ball off of a defender. The ball goes to a player that is in an offside position. Is the player who receives the ball offside?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Mark,
it will depend on where everyone was at the last touch of the 1st offensive kick BEFORE the ball struck the defender OR it will depend on whether the defender had deliberately played the ball and offside was reset for the offensive team.

The initial determination of the offside position occurred WHEN the team mate on offence last touched/kicked the ball.

That player who received the ball AFTER it struck the defender, (I will assume is a team mate of the offensive player who kicked the ball originally.)

Your description says the offensive player kicked the ball off a defender? It sounds as if the ball then deflected or rebounded to the other offensive team mate. If this is true then offside was NOT reset and whatever was determined earlier when the offensive player last touched/kicked the ball is still in effect.

If the team mate was offside originally , he is still offside because the ball was not deliberately played by the defender. Nothing has changed

If the team mate was not offside originally , he is still not offside, because the ball off the defender changed nothing. Remember players are on the move so running from an onside position into what looks like an offside position to play a ball is not an offence

If the defender had deliberately played the ball , in the opinion of the referee, only then would it reset offside and the offside positioned player would be free to get the ball as long as he had not challenged the defender for possession.

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Mark
The answer lies in the position of the receiving player at the moment of the play / touch by his team mate and whether the player in an offside position gained an advantage by being in that position.
Gaining an advantage in an offside context means playing a ball that rebounds to the player in an offside position off a goalpost or the crossbar having been in an offside position or playing a ball that rebounds to him off an opponent having been in an offside position.
An example would be say a shot is taken and the ball rebounds off the goalkeeper to another attacker who was in an offside position at the moment of the shot. When that player plays the rebound it will be called offside.
It is not offside when the ball is deliberately played by a defender and offside is reset when the defending team gains unfettered control of the ball.
In your example with the wording *kicks the ball off a defender* that is not a reset as it suggest rebound / deflection and the player in an offside position will be called offside when he becomes involved in active play.