Question Number: 29187

Law 11 - Offside 2/18/2015

Tom of Vancouver, BC Canada asks...

is this a offside ?

The Goalkeeper positioned in front of a Defender who was the last player closest to the goal line. If a Attacker received a ball in between the above mentioned defence

was there a OFF-SIDE ?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

If the LAST opponent is a defender closest to his own goal line inside his own half and the 2nd last opponent is his KEEPER. ( a keeper is but one of 11 players who USUALLY is the last opponent by nature of his position but can move up, placing teammates in 1st or 2nd opponent position when offside is being evaluated) In this case the keeper is the offside line.

A striker INBETWEEN the 1st and 2nd last two opponents is in an offside position. HOWEVER<, It is NOT an offence to be OFFSIDE POSITIONED

Whether he is guilty of an offside offence is dependant on the circumstances leading up to his acquiring the ball!

If he WAS at his present offside position location, or was offside positioned elsewhere when a team mate last touched the ball, then upon receiving that ball, he IS guilty of an offside infraction, with a INDFK restart out in favour of the defence.

If he ran into the position to get to the ball but was not offside positioned or restricted in starting out? NO, he is not offside Play On!

If that ball was not last touched by his team mates but deliberately played by an opponent the offside criteria is reset and again, NO, he is NOT offside , Play On!

lf he WAS at his present offside position location, or was offside positioned elsewhere, when a team mate last touched the ball, but on its way to him the ball deflected , rebounded or was played to him off an opponent as a deliberate save then YES he IS guilty of an offside infraction, INDFK restart out in favour of the defence.

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Law 11 mentions the second to last opponent. It doesn't say what position the opponents are playing. One of them is usually the goalkeeper, who is often the opponent closest to the goal line. But it doesn't have to be. In fact, it could be two players other than the goalkeeper, if the keeper was playing way out. And let me say from personal experience when that happens, the AR has to really keep on his toes to remember where the offside line is - it looks really weird!

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Tom
It is offside.
Law 11 states that *A player is in an offside position if: he is nearer to his opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent*. In offside the goalkeeper is just an opponent the same as a team mate
Typically the goalkeeper is one opponent as he is stood close to the goal line and we look for a second opponent. Move or take away the goalkeeper from the offside calculation through his movement forward, ahead of team mates and we have to find the last two opponents which may or may not include the GK. The 2nd last opponent is the offside line
Here is a video that explains it very nicely and shows your type of scenario.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK9OvAlAUVE
So in you situation as described it is offside as the attacker only has one opponent between himself and the goal line that is the defender. The GK in your scenario is the offside line

Answer provided by Referee James Sowa

Tom,

From your wording, it is offside. This is a common error people make because they tend to forget that the goalkeeper also counts as a defender. In this case, the goalkeeper is the second to last defender and we apply offside as normal from there. The attacker is behind the second to last defender (goalkeeper) and is nearer the goal than the ball (assumed) therefore offside.