Question Number: 15385

Law 11 - Offside 5/5/2007

RE: Under 11

matt of wirral, uk asks...

if a attacker reaches the goal line and passes back to a team mate who scores is he offside,taking that the attacker who passes the ball was onside when he recieved the ball,the player who recieves the ball has no defenders between himself and the goal,has he got to be behind or level with his team mate who passes to him,the law says that the offside occurs when the ball is played by a team mate but not whether the player recieving it is in front ,level or behind,or whether the ball is passed forward or not.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

I think you've got it. Let's just recap to be sure.

Was the player in an offside position at the time of the last touch by his teammate? Remember there's three parts to offside position, and all 3 have to be true - 1) in attacking half of the field 2) closer to the goal line than the 2nd to last opponent and 3) closer to the goal line than the ball.

The onside/offside condition of a player matters at the time of the last touch, not at the time the ball reaches him. It also doesn't matter what direction the ball was played. What matters is the 3-part position test above.

Once the player's onside/offside position is established, we know how to deal with whatever happens next. If a player is in an offside position, he cannot become involved by 1) interfering with play 2) interfering with an opponent or 3) gaining an advantage. This is an *OR* condition - if the player does any of the 3, he is offside.

Note that "3) gaining an advantage" has been very narrowly defined as the ball rebounding off an opponent or the goal to the offside positioned player.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

You may be confusing yourself. Keep offside simple. Player A has the ball. He passes the ball backwards to Player B who since he was behind the ball was onside at the time of the pass. Now Player A is in front of the ball but in order for him to be in offside position he must be nearer the opponent's goal than BOTH the ball and the next to last opponent. We don't know where the next to last opponent. EVen if Player A is now in offside position, it is NOT an offence to be in offside position only. The player must become actively involved in play and this is judged at the moment the ball is played or touched by a teammate. So, if player B shoots the ball and scores, it matters not where Player A was unless player A was somehow actively involved in play, for example, if he blocked the keeper's view of the shot. Look at Ref Fleischer's excellent synopsis of offside on our main page and get back to us if still have questions.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

If the ball is on the goal line offside is impossible because no attacker may be nearer the goal line than the ball. Simple solution.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

As the teammate of the attacker was not nearer the goal line than the ball at the moment it was played by his teammate - he was not in an offside position, hence not offside.