Question Number: 30020

Law 11 - Offside 1/14/2016

RE: Intermediate Under 13

Phil of Tarzana, CA United States asks...

This question is a follow up to question 30017

I believe that I understand the offside rule, but don't you think the law could be better stated.

The quote by referee McHugh, 'A player in an offside position is only penalised if, at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play...' is, of course, accurate.

But isn't the law really: 'A player in an offside position is only penalised if, at the moment the ball touches one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee, [thereafter] involved in active play, [before offside resets]'...

Adding 'before offside resets' would eliminate the confusion that the offside player must be involved in active play at the very time a teammate touches the ball. Also, there is no need for 'or is played by', since touching covers both touch & play.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Phil
The wording of Law 11 is far from perfect and your point has been raised many times. With the Laws there is an element of tacit knowledge. We know that if the PIOP does not subsequently become involved in active play there is no offence. The key is where the IDFK is taken from. It is not from where the PIOP interfered with play yet rather his position at the moment the ball was touched / played by his team mate.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Phil,
looks like things are in the works we shall wait and see when they finalize everything . I intend to withhold my opinions until then

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/43adb78c46c14149b955ff9408ff2ca6/soccer-laws-overhauled-attempt-remove-inconsistencies

As to offside. FIFA attempts to explain offside over the years have tried to condense offside but if you look at our explanation on site it really is quite involved to fully grasp all the nuances correctly. There will always need to be diagrams and sundry explanations to establish clarity.

Cheers

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

See Question: 30037