Question Number: 31483

Law 11 - Offside 4/25/2017

RE: Competitive all age Adult

Keeper of Sydney, Nsw Australia asks...

I saw an offside rule with the wording 'you can't be offside from a throw.'
I know you can't be offside from a throw in but the wording doesn't include the 'in'.
Would that be a mistake or could it imply that you can't be offside if a goalkeeper throws it you in an offside position?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
The official law is quoted in Law 11.
**There is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from:  
# a goal kick
# a throw-in
# a corner kick**
So what you saw was a typo or a mistake. Offside applies on throws from the goalkeeper. It is a pretty rare offence as goalkeeper in the modern game rarely throw the ball that far.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

You must have seen a poorly worded paraphrase. See Ref McHugh's post for the correct wording direct from the Laws of the Game.

This illustrates the problems people or leagues can make in trying to make the Laws 'accessible'. Things get left out, leaving ambiguity.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

As my colleagues have mentioned, the wording you saw was incorrect.

The only way to be sure what the Laws of the Game actually say, is to look at the official version. Fortunately, these days it is easily accessible to read from the IFAB website (www.theifab.com/laws). You can also download a copy from their site or from FIFA's website (www.fifa.com).