Question Number: 18917

Law 11 - Offside 4/28/2008

RE: rec. Adult

joyce of Honokaa, Hawaii usa asks...

This question is a follow up to question 18889

Yesterday I was AR1 in an adult match, here is an offside situation for you guys, and kind of a follow up to 18889, please correct me if I got it wrong. There was a through ball from the center mid field, on the far touch line there is a player in offside position, who does start down toward the goal, I turned to face the field, but before I put up the flag, I see two onside attackers from the center of the field streaking towards goal. I decided these players had a good chance of getting the ball. So I too ran, logging the player on the far touchline in my mind, just in case. So, two attackers streaking and two defenders going with them, but the high kicked ball must of had some kind of back spin because they all misjudged the ball and it came down right behind them inside the penalty area (close to the goal area). One of the attackers gets turned around to make a play for the ball, the low flick, to put it up and over. The ball does come up and strikes the other attacker who is in an onside position in his back, popping it back 5 yards to the player who had been in the offside position when the ball had been put through. He gathered it up and put it into the net, I turned and trotted to the 18. My dilemma was that I was not sure if that attacker had got his foot under that ball, or not. My eyes were on the five players converging (the goalkeeper too) looking for fouls. I knew IF that ball had only bounced on the ground next to his foot, then off attacker's back, the shooter was guilty of being in an offside position. I have been told over the years that when in doubt allow the attack, so in that moment I signaled a good goal. I could have stood my ground, and called the ref over to ask him if from his angle if he had seen if the player got his foot under the ball, but we were in the 88th minute, it was the first goal for the team down 3 points. (Well second, but I had called the first one back, just 10 minutes earlier. The ref had called an IFK, but forgot to put up his arm, they put the ball straight in, I stood there looking at the ref. who got my message) So I called this goal good, logging it in my "discuss later" file. So here is follow up question, if I had been sure the attacker had not played the ball, and it had just deflected off the back of the attacker, to the offside player. Would the correct procedure be for me to put up my flag, then after the whistle trot back up the field, stopping at the original spot and signal far side, or from where the player received the ball off the attackers back? Please advice for me, Thanks

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Joyce, I'm not sure if I understand your question. Any touch of the ball by a teammate, in any manner - deliberate, accidental, deflection, it doesn't matter how - any touch sets the offside considerations. If the ball then makes its way to the teammate who was in an offside position at the time of that last touch, offside is satisfied and the call must be made.

Deflections only affect offside when the ball is deflecting off an opponent. In that case, offside considerations are NOT reset. It takes a deliberate controlled play by an opponent to reset offside.

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Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

The far offside positioned player offside criteria was reset because there were additional touches by his team mates.
When the ball later deflected off the back of his team mate where was he? If he was still offside positioned at the time of the NEW play/touch of the ball then the goal is not awarded an indfk out is!

Whether a teammate or an opponent was responsible for getting the ball to hit that player's back is not relevant! Was the ball touched/played by that team mate albeit accidently and at that critical incident of impact was the scorer closer to the opposing goal line than the second last opponent and or the ball?

It could be you are confused in that it was a defender who tried to clear it onto the back of the attacker but again deflections of the ball off an oppnent does not reset the offside restrictions ALLREADY in place for the opposition. What any deflection does do is count as a touch or play of the ball against that team resetting his own team's criteria but NOT yet changing the opposition's criteria. If you can grasp that it is in these cases possible for BOTH teams at the same time to have offside restricted players unable to play the ball you will be the master of understanding the distinctions of deflections.

Cheers


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