Question Number: 29761

Law 11 - Offside 10/1/2015

RE: Rec Under 11

Lacey of temple, GA United States asks...

On one of my games, i had another referee doubling center with me. So, on my side of the field, there is a player in an offsides position. That person's teammate kicks the ball past the defenders while he/she is still in an offsides position. As soon as the nonoffside player kicks the ball past the defenders i see the offside player go toward the ball. So i call offsides. The other ref with me said that it was a bad call, because that persons teammate didn't pass the ball to him/her. Did i call it correctly?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Lacey
It is only a poor call if the player in an offside position decided not to interfere with play or with an opponent and a player in an onside position played the ball or had the potential to do so. So making the call too early can cause a problem for the referee should say an onside player might run on to the ball or the passer decided to follow up on the pass.
Now the Laws allow for offside to be called *early* without the need for a touch when there is absolutely no hope of an onside player touching the ball or there is a danger of a collision between the offside position player and an opponent as they both run towards the ball.
Here is an example why an early call is incorrect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAyWNXtCLWE
Clearly the player who touches the ball was without doubt onside despite there being a White team mate in an offside position.
By the way who the ball is played to makes no difference. It is what is likely to happen that matters. If Im 110% certain that the ball is going to be played by the offside position player then there is no issue. Having said that once there is a touch the question does not arise.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Lacy,
offside requires some patience at times because being offside POSITIONED is NOT an offence. The INVOLVEMENT portion is the key component to make the call. We wait until that crucial moment when we are 100% certain involvement by the PIOP (player in offside position) has actually impacted play.
It is likely your colleague felt you reacted too early. Whether or not the ball was passed it does not CHANGE that a TEAM MATE last touched it to set up the positional determination! Perhaps the ball would have gone out of play or an onside player might get to it. Perhaps the keeper could easily grab a ball and punt it out rather than stop for the offside.
As my colleague Ref McHugh suggested there is precedent to make an early call but ONLY in very rare cases where it is a CERTAINTY that PIOP will in fact get to that ball. A late correct flag is always better than a too early one!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Lacey,

Simply running for the ball is not enough to be considered 'actively involved in play' - the attacker needs to touch the ball, physically interfere with an opponent (or, say, block the keeper's view), or touch the ball after a deflection from a defender, keeper or goalpost/crossbar. Even if the run pulls a defender out of position it's not an offence. So in most cases, you're going to 'wait and see' until the attacker touches the ball. For instance, that attacker may stop their run, or the ball may go out, or the ball may go straight through to the keeper.

Having said that, sometimes an early flag is permissible. If it's 100% clear that the attacker in the offside position is going to get the ball (eg no chance of it going out or another player getting it, either attacker or defender) and they're running for it, then you can stop it early. Otherwise, if it looks like a 50-50 with the keeper, also stop it early to prevent the challenge with the keeper (as these are often quite dirty!).