Question Number: 30771

Law 11 - Offside 9/16/2016

RE: Intermediate Under 13

Phil of Tarzana, CA United States asks...

This question is a follow up to question 30759

Referee Joe McHugh said there are no offside infringements when receiving the ball directly from a restart where the ball had gone over a boundary line. Additionally, there are no offside infringements when receiving the ball directly from a dropped ball (although you can't score a goal unless at least 2 players have touched it). (And I've never seen a dropped ball where the referee drops it before defenders get back into position).

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Phil
A player can be in an offside position at a dropped ball which is in itself very unusual as players usually set up on their respective sides. I personally have never seen an offside positioned player ever at a DB. So the only player that cannot be adjudged offside at the dropped ball is the player that plays the ball after it touches the ground.. The ball has come from the referee. If the ball is played by a player at a dropped ball to a team mate in an offside position that must be called offside.
I guess that the reason it is never mentioned is that it never happens and to do so it runs the risk of perhaps confusing matters for those that might think that the kick by the player at the DB is exempt from subsequent offside consideration which it is not.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Phil,

I think the reason that it is often mentioned that players cannot be given offside when receiving the ball from a restart after the ball has gone over a boundary line is that absent that exception, the other offside criteria could be met. However, when a player receives the ball directly from a dropped ball, the ball is not coming from a team mate so there is no possibility of an offside offence in the first place.

On a historical note, the law did actually used to say that a player could not be offside from a dropped ball but that wording was dropped in 1990, precisely because it was realised that it was redundant to even mention it.

The actual wording given by the IFAB to explain the change was as follows:

'The [...] new text eliminates the phrase concerning the ball being dropped by the referee. Since the Law was reworded some years ago this phrase has not been appropriate, as a player may only be considered in the context of an off-side offence if the ball was touched or played by one of his team.'