Question Number: 30609

Law 11 - Offside 7/15/2016

RE: Any Other

former youth ref of Hordaland, Norway asks...

Thank you very much for your answers.
I am mostly very pleased with the new wordings of the Laws, but this one could have been clearer.
I would like some clarification on one detail. In James Sowa's answer it is stated that the phase of play is ended when 'the ball [is] cleared up-field and out of the penalty area'. In the laws it is clear that this clearance must be made by the defending team. This leaves us with the case in my original question (#30590), where the attacking team retains possession and regroups, perhaps starting a new attack from their own half.
The requirement of the laws regarding phases of play has not been met, so the attacking player should not be allowed to re-enter (or if allowed to re-enter - the wording of the law implies to me that they don't need pemission if they left to avoid interfering with play - be considered on the goal line for offside), and an injured defending player off the field still counts as on the goal line.
Is this correct?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
Again outlier situations are always difficult. For me if the attacking team regroup and move the ball back say towards halfway with the defending team pushing out then an AR can take it that a new phase of play has commenced. That in my opinion meets the principle and spirit in the law.
Anyway this does not happen very often so it is not a situation that is going to test officials very often. I cannot recall the last time I saw a player step off the FOP in such fashion.
On the injury one I believe that when the ball gets played away by either side play tends to get stopped for such situations.

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

See Question: 30611