Question Number: 35849

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 12/26/2024

RE: Adult

Anita Pearce of Basildon , UK asks...

So at a corner the opponents go behind goal line in the goal therefore technically off the pitch. Why is this allowed yet a player cannot leave the pitch without permission. Injured player has to come back round to side of pitch before coming on. Are there different rules regarding this movement as several teams go behind goal keeper and into goal area behind the line yet goals still stand ?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Anita
Thanks for the question.

There is a difference between a playing movement which can include momentum and a player intentionally and deliberately leaving the field of play not connected with play and staying there to gain an advantage. That also includes injured player conditions.

The Laws allow for a player to go around opponent/s off the field of play as part of a playing movement so essentially any player could step over the goal line or touchline as part of a playing movement to go around opponents with no offence committed.

The current Law 3 wording reflects that and it states
**A player who crosses a boundary line as part of a playing movement does not commit an offence.**

Have a look at this video
https://youtu.be/Fg88lhfeZno?si=BbPPo-OAytNmo4MC

This is NOT allowed under the Laws

A referee should not allow a player to stand off the field of play at say a corner kick in the goal area. The difficulty can be that the movement is fleeting and by the time a referee has spotted the movement the player can be back on the field of play. The movement can be to go around an opponent such as the goalkeeper and the easy route can be off the field over the goal line into the net area and then back on to the field which all referees are not going to deal with as by the time the ball is put into play the player is probably not OFF the field anyway.
Opponents know the player/s is there and deal with it accordingly.

There are other instances set out in Law

Law 4 states ** A player who enters without permission must be cautioned, and if play is stopped to issue the caution, an indirect free kick is awarded from the position of the ball when play was stopped, unless there was interference, in which case a direct free kick (or penalty kick) is awarded from the position of the interference.**

Law 11 tells us ** An attacking player may step or stay off the field of play not to be involved in active play. If the player re-enters from the goal line and becomes involved in play before the next stoppage in play or the defending team has played the ball towards the halfway line and it is outside its penalty area, the player will be considered to be positioned on the goal line for the purposes of offside. A player who deliberately leaves the field of play and re-enters without the referee’s permission and is not penalised for offside and gains an advantage must be cautioned..**

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Anita,

A player who is off the goal line but in the goal mouth is clearly still involved in play. There's no question about that. A ref should have everybody move back onto the field first, but there's no deception, the defenders still know to mark them. There isn't really a problem.

If, say, an attacker had gone into the bushes behind the goal to retrieve the ball and chose to stay there until the ball was kicked, that's a problem because they're staying off the field and clearly not involved, so they're looking to run on and get involved unexpectedly.

Similarly, players who have left the field for injury need the ref's permission to come back on, because otherwise they'd be able to run straight into play and they'd be unmarked. That would be hugely advantageous to suddenly have an extra player materialise in the middle of an attack.