Question Number: 18965

Law 11 - Offside 5/2/2008

RE: Rec Under 15

Steve C of Ottawa, Ontario Canada asks...

FIFA rules say:
"For any offside offence, the referee awards an indirect free kick to the opposing team to be taken from the place where the infringement occurred."
and also states
"It is not an offence in itself to be in an offside position."

The scenario I am asking about involves a player standing in offside position who runs forward onto a long ball played forward by one of his team mates and collects the ball some distance up field from where he was standing at the moment the ball was kicked forward by his team mate. Most referees bring the ball all the way back and award the free kick from where the offside player was standing at the moment the ball was kicked forward by the team mate, but I have seen some referees award the free kick from where the offside player actually touches the ball. Given that it is NOT an offence to be in an offside position, but that it is an offence to interfere with play while offside, and that the free kick is to be taken from where the infringment occurred I see the logic of those referees that award the kick where the ball was played by the offside player, since the act of touching the ball in this example is surely is the actual infringement?
I'd like to hear your comments please.
Thanks
Steve

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Steve ,
the restart location is in fact determined by the initial position of the offside restricted player at the last touch/play of the ball by the team mate even if the infringment is not completed until invovment later on or at another location on the field. The restart location for offside is rarely required to be a blade of grass restart and if the team awarded an INDFK places the ball further away and is ok with it the referee rarely needs to interject.
Cheers

Read other questions answered by Referee Richard Dawson

View Referee Richard Dawson profile

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

FIFA has authorized a re-write of the Laws. Perhaps the next version can get some of the complicated wording in Law 11 straightened out. And a few of the other Laws while they're at it.

What happens here is that the Law writers know what they mean, and the words that they put down on paper seem to them to say what they mean. Then someone else who doesn't have the same perspective on the game reads it, and takes the words literally - and we get a difference of opinion and a difference in how the game is called. This happens in all lines of work. I had a programmer friend who called it DWIM - Do What I Mean. Sometimes that involves a little bit of mind-reading, or at least knowing the back-story, to determine what the author meant.

Read other questions answered by Referee Gary Voshol

View Referee Gary Voshol profile

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

What we see in the Laws of the Game, English Language Version is Fifaese. This is a written version of the famous Fifaspeak we have all heard. This language assumes the person reading KNOWS the history and traditions of The Game. It assumes mothers and fathers teach their sons and daughters what The Game is about and give them a solid background on The Game. That is not necessarily the case on this side of the Atlantic. So it falls to others to translate. Offside is a two part offence, position and activity. Being offside positioned is not an offence in itself BUT than and some activity defined in Law 11 is an offence that began from the offside position. It is entirely possible [however improbable] for an offside attacker, on his opponents goal line, to run back to his own goal line and interfere with play AND complete the offside offence at that point. The correct restart of play would be 90-120 metres away on the other goal line. That will win you wager after wager should you be so inclined.

Regards,

Read other questions answered by Referee Chuck Fleischer

View Referee Chuck Fleischer profile

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

The restart is always at the spot where the player was in offside position when the ball was played. NOT where he gathered the ball.

Read other questions answered by Referee Keith Contarino

View Referee Keith Contarino profile