Question Number: 15759

Law 11 - Offside 6/11/2007

RE: Adult

Reo of New York, New York United States asks...

Wasn't he offsides?

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/324/tamudooffsidesje8.jpg

Hopefully, you can answer this. I appreciate and thank you for anything you can offer.

Reo

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

No there is no offsides here. Simply because there is no such thing in Football. Now if you ask us to second guess a decision of a perfectly positioned assistant and a referee watching the touch the answer is If In The Opinion Of The Referee.

This is a fact connected with play and, either way it went, is correct because the referees were there, evaluated what they saw, came to a conclusion and followed through. That's the result of the referee being a match condition and what he says goes, regardless what the commentators of GOL-TV have to say.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Reo,
based SOLEY on the picture assuming the ball is being kicked
no offside position has yet occured so likely no offside (lose the "s" it is not required! If the AR made an error and flagged later for involvement and the referee accepted that input as a fact of play it remains a match condition. Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

Does not look like it. Looks like the attacker is even or a little bit behind the defender. Of course the AR is in the best position.

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

Hard to say as the photo doesn't show us everything that happened in this play.

Based on this photo... assuming this is the moment the ball was played and the lead attacker gets to the ball and plays it - I would have to say he was not offside and play should continue. However, the photo is taken from an angle and the AR will have the best view of it. So we as spectators have no real way of knowing for sure.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 15784