Question Number: 29629

Law 11 - Offside 8/24/2015

RE: Professional

Romeo of Toronto, ON Canada asks...

https://vimeo.com/137069845

In this video, a defender and Attacker A tumble off the field of play. Both remain off the pitch when ball is played by Attacker B. Keeper (2nd last opponent) has foot inches from the goal line. However, his hand is on the post.

Is keeper's foot or hand (since keeper is allowed to play ball with hand) considered in this situation?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Romeo, nice spot!
admittedly I believed the returning player was marginally offside and as such that PK is a nice gift instead of the INDFK that could have occurred. Yet as a playable body part the keeper was in contact with the goal line as the post is part of that goal line. Yet offside specifically discounts the arms hands as used for positioning. As my colleague points out likely difficult to spot in real time but definitely offside.
cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Romeo
The advice on Law 11 tells us that the arms are not included in the offside calculation and the goalkeeper is not differentiated from other players in that. So in this case it would have been the goalkeepers right foot that was the offside line. That placed the returning player marginally offside probably by some 4/6 inches. It would have been an extremely difficult spot for an assistant referee with the goalkeeper stood next to the post with his hand on it and his foot next to the post. The small margin, at speed, would have been difficult to detect as would have been the exact moment of the touch by the team mate.
You will also note that offside was not queried by anyone nor was the penalty call.

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

See Question: 29632