Question Number: 35140

Law 11 - Offside 10/3/2023

RE: AYSO Under 13

Fred Wild of Chesterfield , MI United States asks...

I asked our head ref and we are not positive of this one: Striker A is in offside position but realizes it and moves back into a position that will be deemed onside when play resets. The teammate (striker B) never passed to another teammate and never lost possession of the ball before dribbling past the second to last defender but now they passed back to striker A and striker A takes a shot. Are they still offsides ( my call) or does the dribbling of the ball past the second to last defender cause a reset (striker A is now behind the ball)

So I guess my real question is: if you are offsides then your teammate dribbles past 2nd to last has the play reset. My understanding is that they are still offside but apparently if a new Stryker C gets a pass from striker B play does reset.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Fred,
Base on your example no offside but think carefully,
determining offside position, which is the 1st part of the offside equation, is in essence a FREEZE FRAME picture taken at EACH physical touch of the ball by a teammate.
Whether the offside position results in the 2nd part conclusion of a later involvement is based on whether new touches of the ball occurs by the teammate when the PIOP is NO longer in an offside position.

Once a teammate dribbles the ball CLOSER to the opposing goal than the 2nd last opponent the BALL ITSELF becomes that imaginary line we follow to determine the position. The other teammates are now adjudged in relationship to the BALL position -NOT- the 2nd last opponent.

If I understand the situation correctly, teammate B has ball control and has gone past the 2nd last defender dribbling the ball. The deliberation of the position of his team mate A is now based on each touch of the ball by teammate B and the balls location relative to the opposing goal line. The moment Player A was farther away from the opposing goal line than the ball or for that matter the 2nd last opponent when Player B touches the ball that has reset any offside restriction, Player A had previously. At each touch of the ball a new restriction occurs or offside is reset to onside, depending on the circumstances of who is where and when.

Once that reset occurs, the direction of the pass becomes irrelevant, drop back , sideways or out front to run on to. As long as Player A is not closer the opposing goal line than the ball at the moment of that last touch, he can even run in behind the keeper to play the ball.
It is NOT where you end up, it is where you start from.
Player C has nothing to do with whether Player B resets Player A given Player B took the ball PAST both the 2nd last defender and teammate A closer to the opposing goal line.

If Player B had passed the ball to Player C ,assuming layer C was onside, the moment C touches the ball both Players A & B are freeze framed for positional evaluation.
Keep this in mind, you FREEZE FRAME position at EVERY touch of the ball by a teammate .

Now players move in opposing directions at high speed, ball moves very fast but also often hanging in the air for long periods as the players scramble about waiting for it to settle . Remember, it is NOT where you end up, it is where you started from when the team mate last plays the ball be it a deliberate pass or a accidental deflection. that reaffirms or resets offside position.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Fred,


Offside is reset at every single attacking touch - or when the defence plays the ball (bearing in mind the potiential for interfering with an opponent at this moment).

Every single time an attacker touches the ball - so if an attacker is running with it, every single time they touch it - we take a new mental snapshot of the position of all players and delete everything that happened until that moment.

Doesn't matter if he's offside for 27 touches - at the 28th touch, the one that's passed to them, are they in an offside position at THAT moment?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Fred
As described it is not offside. Attacker B by dribbling the ball forward of Attacker A’s position has placed A in an onside position so there CANNOT be an offside. Any other team mate behind the ball at that point is also in an onside position including Attacker C.
Offside is determined at every touch of the ball so prior positions become null and void. If you think about it. Say all the attackers are in offside positions and the ball is cleared downfield which is retrieved by the PIOPs team who now start to move it forward. All the PIOP get to an onside position either by getting behind the ball or behind the 2nd last opponent. Should offside be called if the ball is now played to the PIOPs in onside positions. Clearly NOT.
In fact it is the whole basis behind offside which is to encourage players to get to an onside position so that the players can participate again in active play.

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