Question Number: 15117

Law 11 - Offside 4/3/2007

RE: Competetive Adult

C hris of Boulder, CO USA asks...

A breakaway occurs and Player A has beaten the last defender. He plays the ball backwards toward Player B, but a defender deflects the pass back to Player A. Player A again plays the ball backwards to Player B who scores. The goal is disallowed. Is player A in an offside position when the ball deflects back to him?

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

No way can there be offside. If player A played the ball backwards, then B was never in an offside position as he was not closer to goal line than ball. Player A cannot be offside on the deflection because he was the last one on his team to touch the ball.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

What the layman usually fails to understand is offside consists of two separate and distinct things. Position and activity.

In the case you relate the attacker who has beaten the "Last Defender", should be called opponent, and turned to play the ball back towards a colleague was in an offside position from the instant he was nearer the goal line than the ball and the last but one opponent or the last two opponents. The first line of Law 11 is now in effect: "It is not an offence in itself to be in an offside position".

Next thing that needs to be determined is did a player of his own team touch or play the ball? That simple thing is WHEN restrictions are imposed on an offside player.

You say no other player from the attackers side touched or played the ball before a defender deflects it back to the offside positioned player, right? Now the same player AGAIN kicks it back to a colleague who still is not nearer the goal line than the ball. Have I got this right???

You are correct, player a is an offside position when the ball deflects back to him. Absolutely!! The referee refuses the goal, correct?

Wonderful decision referee, you have just proved you don't belong on the field as one who enforces the Law, you don't know the Law.

Chris, the goal was valid. The match should have been protested because the referee misapplied the Law. Your coach did not know the Law so he could not speak up with a written protest. You didn't know the Law so you couldn't either. No other member of your team nor your parents knew the Law so they were mute as well.

Good for you in wanting to know. Take the referee qualification course and replace the guy that has no clue...

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Chris,
If player A drops the ball back towards a trailing player B
Player B does not RECIEVE the ball because the ball is intercepted by an opponent
The ball deflects off the opponent back to player A
Player A is incapable of being guilty of an offside infringment.
Reason? A DEFLECTION of the ball off an OPPONENT changes nothing with reguards to onside or offside what WAS stays as it was.
Player A had ball possession, was onside at the time he last played the ball and was in fact the LAST player on his team to touch the ball so ONLY his teammates could possibly be affected by offside criteria.
While player A COULD be in an offside position we must remember the first sentance in LAW 11
It is not an offence in itself to be in an offside position
THE ONLY way player A could be quilty of an offside infringment was at some point on the drop pass the ball not only deflected off the opponent but also player B before making its way back to player A. While a deflection off the opponent changes nothing ANY DEFLECTION off a TEAM-MATE counts as a last touch of the ball and sets in motion offside criteria for THAT team only!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

For all the reasons listed above....

GOOOOAAAAALASO!