Question Number: 30794

Law 11 - Offside 9/21/2016

RE: Rec Adult

Russell of Sydney, Australia asks...

A question or two regarding the updated LOTG related to offside that (at this moment) I am struggling to understand.

The infringements and sanctions text in regards to the positioning of a player off the field of play in relation to offside, now has conditions... 'or the defending team has played the ball towards the halfway line and it is outside their penalty area'.

The full text is:

A defending player who leaves the field of play without the referees permission shall be considered to be on the goal line or touchline for the purposes of offside until the next stoppage in play or until the defending team has played the ball towards the halfway line and it is outside their penalty area.

An attacking player may step or stay off the field of play not to be involved in active play. If the player re-enters from the goal line and becomes involved in play before the next stoppage in play, or the defending team has played the ball towards the halfway line and it is outside their penalty area, the player shall be considered to be positioned on the goal line for the purposes of offside.

Why have these conditions been added? What prompted this addition?

What if the defending team have played the ball towards the halfway line from inside the penalty area?

What if the (previously off the FOP) attacker has moved beyond the second last defending team player to what would normally be considered an onside position (and the defending team have the ball) and the ball is not yet outside the PA, or is outside the PA however not yet played towards the halfway line - is the attackers still consider to be on the goal line.

What constitutes 'played towards' ?

If the defending team have the ball anywhere on the FOP and they fluff their lines and the previously off the field attackers comes back on (after only going off the FOP as natural movement) and receives the ball from a teammate in what would be an otherwise considered onside position - are they now offside because there has been no stoppage or the ball not played towards the halfway line while outside the PA.

What is the call if (with the ball itself still in play and the keeper on the goal line) defender A and attacker A move off the FOP over the goal line as a natural phase of movement after attacker A crosses the ball, and the ball is now with attacker B on the top of the PA, and attacker A re-enters the FOP. while defender A is still off the FOP.. Attacker B passes the ball to attacker A who is only a few steps into the FOP.
Are they onside because the defender A is considered to be on the goal line, or offside because there has not been a stoppage, nor the ball played towards the halfway line by the defending team while it is outside the PA.

H E L P

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Russell
This addition to the Law has been introduced to deal with certain situations such as an injured player sliding off the field of play and not returning immediately due to injury. As he is there without the referees permission under the old Law 11 advice he was taken into account for offside until the next stoppage. Under the new advice once the attack is broken up and the ball cleared away outside the penalty area he is no longer taken into account for offside which in my opinion is fair.
In the attacker case the law change advice is to prevent the scenario where an attacker stays off the FOP for a period and then rejoins onside disadvantaging the opponents by doing so. For instance the player could come back onto the field of play without the other team being aware of him being there and then receive a pass or make a challenge. If the player is penalised for offside no advantage has been gained so there is no need for a caution.
So in your scenarios as long as the ball stays in or around the penalty area with the attack still going on the player off the field has to be taken into account for offside. Once the ball is cleared away a new phase of play begins and the player is no longer counted for offside.
In your example Defender A is considered to be on the goal line so Attacker A is in an onside position so play continues.
If the ball was cleared by the defending team well outside the or penalty area towards half way then Defender B if he stays off the FOP due to injury then he is not counted in the new calculations. If he stays off deliberately then that is an offence for which he is cautioned. In the caution situation he is placed on the goal line for offside purposes so play continues until the next stoppage worn the caution is issued.
Have a look at this video
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ePFjXxbJdz0
The Blue defender who fell of the field of play behind the goal line played everyone onside including the goal scorer. As the ball was only cleared inside the penalty area there was no reset and that does not change under the new advice.
Had the ball been cleared away outside the penalty area towards half way the defender on the ground behind the goal can be taken out of the offside calculation.
It is reasonably rare so it us not something that us going to challenge referees too often.