Question Number: 30925

Law 11 - Offside 10/19/2016

RE: competitive Adult

Jacob Mungoma of Malindi, Kenya Kenya asks...

White 8 on a breakaway on the left about 15 yards diagonally from the near post curves the ball at 450. The ball rolls across behind White 10 who is heading towards the farthest post and leaving a Blue Defender slid on the ground after missing to tap it out of the field in the action. Keeper runs the other side to cover up. White 4 meets the ball and kicks it hard and low straight towards the direction where White 10 was, on an offside position, just a foot or so from the post and in between the post and the goalkeeper. White 10 sees the ball coming, spreads his legs to allow the ball to pass without touching him and into the net. Eye contact with my AR, no flag but also no movement! I instantly whistled for an offside cutting short the scorers celebration for a goal. An IDFK was taken by the Blues. After the match, some senior referees criticized me and said it was a clear goal. How was it to be? Spreading the legs to me appeared to either mean playing the ball or distracting with the goalkeeper from freely playing the ball. I dont know! It looks confusing somehow. Help please.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Jacob
The answer lies in the these questions
1. Did White 10 touch the ball?
2. Did White 10 interfere with an opponent by challenging an opponent, by nterfering with an opponents line of vision to the ball? by clearly attempted to play a ball which was close to him when this action impacts on an opponent? or finally did he make an obvious action which clearly impacted on the ability of an opponent to play the ball.
So as described by you I do not read a YES to any of the questions in which case there is no offside.
Just because the ball went through the offside positioned players legs does not mean he interfered with an opponent in the offside sense. Had he stopped the goalkeeper diving to save the ball or prevented the goalkeeper from seeing the ball or the goalkeeper dived expecting the ball to be played by the player then that is offside. I did not get any sense of that happening here

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Jacob,
The fact the player has NOT played the ball by touching it is one point in favour of no offside for not interfering in play
The 2nd point is interfering with the opponents. DID the OPP block the keeper from seeing or being able to get to that ball or interfere with any opponent in their attempt to get to that ball?
In other words, imagine you REMOVE the OPP at the time of the shot in your mind, would the ball still have entered into the goal?
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Jacob,

Allowing the ball to run between the legs does not constitute playing the ball. The only way this could be an offside offence is if the player interfered with an opponent in one of the ways enumerated by ref McHugh.

From your description I'm a little unclear as to how near (or far away) the player was from the goalkeeper. If the player was on the opposite side of the goal from the keeper, I'm having difficulty seeing how he interfered with the opponent. If he was on the same side as the goalie and close enough to him to block his view or prevent him getting to the ball, then it becomes more of a possibility