Question Number: 33191

Law 11 - Offside 3/27/2019

RE: Rec Adult

Russell of Sydney, Australia asks...

This question is a follow up to question 33181

I'm still not clear on the (reasoning of the) following wording related to 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..

The word 'towards' seems a bit wishy washy.
How 'far' is 'towards' ?
Is a pass of only 1 foot in length towards another player unfield the same as a major clearance towards 'the mid-line' ?

And why does this only come into play once '...and it is outside their penalty area..'

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Russel,
the offside reset is an effort to not unfairly advantage the attackers or hamstring the defenders if indeed one of their players is incapable of making it back onto the FOP when injured . It serves to denote a controlled clearance where there is no question the defenders COULD have chosen to put it out of play if they are aware of their plight with a defender down but it clearly resets offside for the opposition and begins a new phase of play where IF there was a defender OFF The field he is not to be included as a 2nd last defender if he REMAINS off the FOP should a new attack develop
A one foot pass would NOT qualify and outside the PA is to give leeway to making advantage difficult plus as it is a NEW touch of the ball it is in fact, a one time reset
for the attackers as it resets any offside restrictions and discounts the defending player as long as he is outside the FOP legitimately. Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Russell
That is why referees are paid big money to interpret these type of scenarios. LOL
It is in my opinion deliberately loose in that as a referee I can interpret the clearance as a reset and another referee might decide otherwise based on the situation.
No two situations will be the same and it just cannot be that tightly defined. In the situation under discussion had the defender stayed off the FOP it was for me a clear reset. Ball cleared outside the penalty area towards half way and a new phase of play started.
Now compare the situation at question to this goal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePFjXxbJdz0
That goal would still be allowed as the ball does not leave the penalty area nor kicked away towards halfway

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Russell,
Before this amendment was brought in, the law said that:

''Any defending player leaving the field of play for any reason without the referee's permission shall be considered to be on his own goal line or touch line for the purposes of offside until the next stoppage in play.''

This was obviously just too open-ended. Play can continue without stopping for sometimes ten or fifteen minutes. In that time, the ball could go from one end of the field to the other dozens of times. The idea that for example, an injured defender receiving treatment off the pitch would still be counted as being involved in the determination of offside for an unlimited period just didn't make sense.

Or, as the IFAB put it:

''It is unfair that an injured defending player off the field 'plays everyone onside' until play stops. The new wording defines the end of the phase of play when the defender is no longer considered to be on the field for the purposes of offside.''

You correctly point out that the wording is a little vague and open to interpretation but as ref McHugh points out, that's probably by design.