Question Number: 14857

Law 11 - Offside 2/17/2007

RE: Recreational Under 14

David Nelles of Victoria, BC Canada asks...

If a defenseman, in trying to clear a ball out of his 18-yard box and down the field, kicks it into an opposing player and the ball rebounds (but is not intentionally directed) to another opposing player who happens to in an off-side position, should the play be immediately called off-side?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI David,
ANY deflection of the ball off a player still counts as a last touch of the ball and places offside criteria into effect for his team only but it does not change offside criteria if the opposition last touched the ball before the defelection.

Once the red defender kicked the ball into the blue opposing player at that moment all blue players are looked at for part one of offside position. It does not mater that the ball was controlled or deflected by a player to set offside into effect only that a ball must be controlled posession by an opponent to reset it to zero.

A DEFLECTION (unintentional contact of the ball)
offside is initiated at the moment of last touch by the teammate of the offside positioned players.
A DEFLECTION though does not RESET the offside for the opposition. In effect there COULD be offside criteria in effect for both teams because a deflection does not eliminate a last touch and the deflection itself is a last touch but by the opponent.

The need to signal offside after the deflection is based on the involvement of that offside player. It is not immediately neccessary just because he is offside positioned we judge how does he affect the play? If the ball actually touches him yes, we stop play immediately as he has interferred with play.

There exisits a possibility he might not be the only player of his team who could play the ball or he might know he is offside and try to avoid playing the ball.

He could by simply being poorly situated interfere with an opponent long before he touched the ball. But he is not quilty of gaining an advantage BECAUSE the deflection was off his OWN teammate not the opposition!

Decision 2

The definitions of elements of involvement in active play are as follows:

Interfering with play means playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a team-mate.


Interfering with an opponent means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent?s line of vision or movements or making a gesture or movement which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts an opponent.


Gaining an advantage by being in that position means playing a ball that rebounds to him off a post or the crossbar having been in an offside position or playing a ball that rebounds to him off an opponent having been in an offside position.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

The ball only has to TOUCH a teammate in order for offside to occur, so in your scenario, if the ball bounces off a player to a teammate that was in offside poaition when the ball touched him, that player may not participate in active play.

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

Sounds like this is offside. The ball touched an attacker and rolled to the attackers teammate. Since you say he was in an offside position at time of the accidental defleciton, it wouldbe offside.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Offside is determined the moment the ball touches or is played by one of your own team. Nothing else matters, if you are in an offside position at that moment you can't get involved. Law 11 is really simple, black - white; on - off; yes - no; simple...

Regards,