Question Number: 31167

Law 11 - Offside 1/10/2017

RE: 3 Adult

Michael Kopp of Orange, NSW Australia asks...

Law 11 (section 4) Offside ,some confusion with the new laws that you can be offside in your own half,it states a IFK is awarded where the offside occurred even if it is in your own half,I am confused as how this could happen allowing for the fact that to be offside you must be in the opponents half?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Michael,
the confusion is in not separating the FACT that offside is a TWO stage infraction. Keep in mind the ball is moving, players are moving in opposing directions at high speeds, interchanging positions until the NEXT phase of play occurs! It is a chaotic situation to keep track of!

FIRST the official determines if a player is IN an offside position WHEN the ball is last touched by his team mate! You are 100% correct that for THIS phase of offside the player must BE INSIDE the opposition half closer to the opposing goal line then either the 2nd last opponent or the ball if there is no 2nd last opponent in the equation.

What you NOW need to grasp is the OPP (offside positioned player ) is RESTRICTED from involvement, NO MATTTER where on the field he goes . That includes his crossing back over the midline into his OWN half to play the ball, WHILE, he is in restricted status!

During his restricted status if our OPP actually becomes INVOLVED and interferes with play by touching the ball or interferes with an opponent in challenging for the ball inside his OWN half, that is WHERE the INDFK will occur!

This is a major change as the LOTG used to always send the INDFK back to where the POSITION of that player was at the moment of the team mates last touch of the ball which as you noted ONLY occurs if INSIDE the opposition half.

You see there is NOTHING an OPP can do on his own that will reset the offside restriction of involvement, which CREATES the offside infraction of an INDFK.

Remember simply being in an offside position is NOT an offence!

To be able to rejoin active play be it inside their own half or the opposition half one of 3 things MUST occur,
(a) The opposition deliberately play the ball.
(b) A new touch of the ball by a team mate and at that moment the OPP is no longer in an offside position
(c) The ball goes out of play for a restart

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Michael
All that has changed is that the indirect free kick for offside is now taken from where the offence was completed that is where the ball was touched / played or the PIOP interfered with an opponent not from the offside position.
In rare instances a player coming back from an offside position plays the ball or challenges an opponent in his OWN half. In the past the IDFK was taken from where the player was located in the opponents half at the MOMENT the ball was played by a team mate.
IFAB the law making body has decided that as all free kicks are taken from the location of the offence and that in the case of offside it should be no different. So yes a player can only be in an offside position in the opponents half yet the offence can be completed in the players own half which is where the IDFK will be taken from.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Michael,
I think the key to your confusion is in the phrase you are using where you say, ''you can be offside in your own half'' and what exactly is meant by ''being offside.''

Offside, as has been mentioned, is an offence in two parts. The first part is being in an offside position when the ball is played by a team mate. It is still the case (and has been, ever since 1907) that a player can only be in an offside position in the opponent's half.

However as we all know (or should do) it is not an offence simply to be in an offside position. The second part of offside is becoming involved in active play. This part of the offence can take place in a location quite different from the original offside position, including in the player's own half of the field. A typical scenario is when a player in an offside position in the opponent's half when the goalkeeper punts the ball forward, comes back into his own half to receive the ball or challenge for it.

Since, as Ref McHugh states, the IFAB has opined that the free kick for an offside offence must be taken from where the player became active, this means that it can now be taken from within the player's own half.

So to sum up: you cannot be in an offside position in your own half but you can become involved in active play in your own half.