Question Number: 18889

Law 11 - Offside 4/26/2008

RE: Competative Under 14

Greg of Boise, ID USA asks...

An attacking player is in offside position. The 2nd to last defender attempts to clear the ball, but it deflects off another attacking player to the player in offside position, who makes a play on the ball. Is this offside? It appears as a deflection (bad play by the defender), not as if the attacking player was playing the ball to his teammate in offside position. Thank you.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Greg,
offside position is not an offence!
However, if a player is offside restricted by nature of his position on the field at the team mate's last play of the ball a DEFLECTION/miss kick of the ball by an opponent means this restriction REMAINS and as such that offside restricted player will be guilty of gaining an advantage! For the offside restriction criteria to be reset the opponents require a controlled possession of the ball.

Deflections by any opposing player do not affect the status of a player in an offside position; the attacking team's player must be called offside if he or she becomes involved in play (as defined in Law 11). Unsuccessfully "making a play" for the ball does not establish possession. Nor, for that matter, does successfully "making a play" for the ball if it then deflects to the player in the offside position who becomes involved in play as in your case.

Note that there are differences here between "being involved in play," "playing the ball," and "making a play" for the ball. (As noted above, see Law 11 for involvement in play.) "Playing the ball" in these circumstances means that the opponent possessed and controlled the ball. However, if the opponent possessed and controlled the ball badly, while still "making a play," it wasn't possessed and controlled, it wasn't played in the sense you suggested in your scenario it is deflected.

A rule: Being able to use the ball subsequent to contact equals possession; deflection is not possession
Cheers

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Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

If the player in offside position originally is still in offside position at the moment the ball touched his second teammate then he would be guilty of offside if he plays the ball. That said, it would appear from the tone of your question you believe the second attacker had to make a deliberate play on the ball for offside to occur. Remember that offside is judged at the moment the ball is TOUCHED or played by a teammate. In your example it sounds as if the opponent (2nd to last defender) has played the ball and exhibited control so offside was reset. When the ball deflects off the second attacker, we again judge offside.

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Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Law 11 says offside position is judged every time the ball is touched or played by the attack. You say the ball goes forward to someone in an offside position at that instant then is deflected by a defender then from that deflection it touches another attacker and thence winds up at the feet of the offside team mate. He makes a play for the ball thus interfering with play. Law 11 states he is prohibited from interfering with play or an opponent or gaining advantage if he's in an offside position when the ball is touched or played by one of his team.

Greg you indicate yo9u are a referee. Your question indicates you don't have a complete understanding of offside. I hope asking it and this answer corrects the problem. Touched or played, that's the criteria, intent doesn't mean anything -- touched or played...

Regards,

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