Question Number: 30475

Law 11 - Offside 6/2/2016

RE: Competive Under 19

Ari of 16517 Septo Street, CA USA asks...

Player A plays a through ball to Player B who is in an offside position. A defender who is running back miskicks the ball and it goes directly to Player B. Is the player offsides?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Not offside. Interpretations were clarified over the last few years that confirmed this. Any deliberate play by an opponent, even one that is ill-advised or miskicked, will reset offside considerations. A deflection off an opponent does not change the offside considerations.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Ari
Not offside. It can only be offside if the touch by the defender is a rebound or a deflection. A deliberate kick even one that is unintentional or miskicked resets offside. The challenge can be determining the difference sometimes between what is a kick and what is a deflection. Regular visitors to the site will have seen some situations of interpretation in these scenarios and in some instances no agreement could be reached.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Ari,
we do not reward mistakes, based solely on your description it is likely the offside is reset if the miskick is rated as a deliberate action. There will always be some situations where a reaction to a ball will be compromised by speed, sight. distance and angle of impact where the deliberate action is more in line with an accidental handling it that it could not be avoided. There are always a few isolated several instances of pro and con for offside decisions where our opinions may differ with the on field match referee or even each other on certain judgements rendered or opinions reached based on speculation and criteria.
Cheers