Question Number: 16244

Law 11 - Offside 8/7/2007

RE: REC Adult

john shinew of DEDEDO, GUAM USA asks...

REFEREE MAGAZINE SEP 2005--FIFA HAS FURTHER INTERPRETED WHAT INTERFERING WITH PLAY AND GAINING AN ADVANTAGE MEAN IN CONCRETE. AS A RESULT USSF ISSUED O MEMO TO ASSIST REFEREES--IN BRIEF AN ATTACKER IN AN OFFSIDE POSITION IS NOT INVOLVED IN ACTIVE PLAY BY INTERFERING WITH AN OPPONENT OR GAINING AN ADVANTAGE UNLESS AND UNTIL THE ATTACKER ACTUALLY MAKES CONTACT WITH THE BALL. YET IN YOUR PUBLICATION --ADVICE TO REFEREES ON THE LAWS OF THE GAME USSF--UNDER LAW 11 OFFSIDE 11.5 STATES INTERFERING WITH PLAY MEANS PLAYING OR TOUCHING THE BALL. IF YOU MUST TOUCH THE AS REF MAGAZINE STATES THEN WHAT AND WHY DOES PLAYING THE BALL MEAN? NEXT QUESTION REF MAGAZINE IN A 2004 EDITION STATED ON A THROW IN IF THE BALL GLANCED OFF AN OPPONENT OR TEAMMATE WHO WAS NOT INTENTIONALLY TRYING TO PLAY THE BALL AND WENT TO A TEAMMATE WHO WAS OFFSIDES THE OFFSIDES WOULD BE IGNORED FOR IT WOULD BE AS IF THE THROW IN HAD GONE DIRECTLY TO THE OFFSIDES TEAMMATE. IS THIS THE CORRECT INTERPRETATION. IS THE SAME TRUE OF A CORNER KICK WHERE THIS SAME THING HAPPENS? john.shinew@yahoo.com

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

FIFA and USSF have already clarified their positions on offside and nothing has changed. There's no magical "new interpretation" just clarification. I don't know what soccer magazine in 2004 you are referencing, but it's absolutely 100% incorrect if they say the ball glancing off a teammate is the same as if it glances off an opponent when considering offside. If a player is in offside position on a throw-in and it glances off an opponent, no offside because it's a throw-in and even if it wasn't, a glance off an opponent does not reset offside. Totally different if the throw glances off a teammate. There is no offside offence at a throw-in ONLY if the ball is received DIRECTLY from the thrower. Once it touches a teammate, offside is now based on where the player receiving the ball is in relation to the teammate on whom the ball just touched. If he is in offside position and receives and plays the ball, he is guilty of an offside offence. Whatever magazine you are referencing, I'd re-read it. If they say what you have stated here, I'd throw it away as they are wrong.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

I read your question as this: you consider that which is written in Referee Magazine to carry more authority than US Soccer's Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game. You are mistaken.

The policies of US Soccer are transmitted to referees in Advice and Memorandum, not through a NFHS publication. Law 11 is clear in that it says "touches or is played by" and the meanings of the two words have always been as found in the Oxford Dictionary.

A ball glancing off of an opponent and changing the offside equation was straightened out in 1974 following discussions at the IFAB Annual meeting when the Welsh FA asked that "the ball is touched or played by an opponent" be removed from Law XI. One diagram was altered from "Not Offside" to "Offside" that year. In July 1978 the aforementioned words were removed from the text of Law XI.

We, at AskTheRef.com, have been using a small explanation of Offside since 2003. That appears on the front page and is unchanged since it first appeared on the site. It remains valid to this day and even though many pundits and their magazines thought Law 11 changed in July 2005 we knew there was only an amplification so that those misunderstanding might, just, find it easier to fathom. Sadly the pundits and magazines thought it a change and do so, to this day.

I have taken the liberty of forwarding your question, together with your e-mail address to the Ask A Referee section of US Soccer. I trust you will find their answer most satisfactory and reflect the opinions given here. Theirs will be official US Soccer policy.

By the way, there is no "s" in offside...

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

I am trying to understand if you are wording the question poorly or I am reading it incorrectly?

You must wrap your mind around that a deflection is a TOUCH to set offside position for that team that does in fact touch the ball even if inadvertently, HOWEVER, the touch does NOT undo the offside restrictions ALREADY in place for the opposition when they last played the ball OR if there was no offside restrictions there remains no offside restrictions.
What was stays as it was!!
In fact both teams could have offside restricted players within a same period of time. And a deflection of the ball off an opponent on a corner, throw or goal kick will not change the DIRECT portion of the offside exemption

Offside requires a physical touch of the ball, on purpose or accidentally, to set in motion the offside phase of position for any team. An accidental *DEFLECTION* or a stab at a passing ball can involve the touch but the play is uncontrolled. Play generally refers to a controlled possession but even a simple redirect is sufficient touch to be thought of the ball as played.

Offside can be reset when the opposition regains control of the ball with a *play* of a CONTROLLED touch. For example a through ball played by a blue player rolls towards the red keeper; a blue attacker was offside positioned nearby and knows he CANNOT participate in play! The red keeper is aware of this and allows the ball to come to a dead stop near him but he has not yet touched the ball with his feet or hands. The blue offside positioned player waits 5 to 6 seconds but the red keeper still has not yet touched the ball. In exasperation the blue coach yells to him, "He has played it under control go ahead and get the ball!" This is in fact wrong; the control is not applied without a physical touch of the ball. Any onside blue player could challenge for that free ball but as an offside positioned blue player he is still RESTRICTED and the correct call of offside will be made by the astute referee!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee MrRef

John, Your question was forwarded to us by the kind folks at AskTheRef.com. I will respond as carefully as possible to your question. You would appear to have missed the fact that Referee magazine is a totally unofficial publication.

1. Interfering with play, etc.
The most recent Advice to Referees now on the street was published in 2006, after the announcement of the Laws for 2006-2007. It contains the most up-to-date information on the matter at that time, August 2006. That information, cited below, was accurate under the Laws of the Game and any subsequent memoranda from FIFA until the changes in the Laws announced in March 2007. Please note that in the text cited below, the pictures are not included.

The 2006 edition of Advice to Referees says:
Law 11 - Offside

11.1 OFFSIDE POSITION
An offside position exists when a player is nearer the opponents' goal line than the next-to-last opponent and is ahead of the ball when the ball is touched/played by a teammate. Measure relative position by players' torsos, heads, and legs. No part of the attacking player other than the arms may be nearer the opponents' goal line than the torso, head or legs of the second-last defender. It is not necessary to "see daylight" between them for one to be considered nearer than the other. A player cannot be considered to be in an offside position under any circumstances when it is this player who last played the ball.

Here are two examples:

11.2 JUDGMENT OF OFFSIDE POSITION
The referee and assistant referees must judge offside position only when the ball is played by a teammate of the attacking player. The referee's decision to penalize the player for being in that position can be made at the moment the offside position is judged if the other requirements of Law 11 are met, but it can also be made at any time from that point forward until a new action on the field puts the attacker "onside" (see 11.15). The condition of being in an offside position (and the possibility of being penalized) continues no matter where that player may move, no matter where the ball may move, and no matter where the defenders may move. Only the occurrence of one of the events described in 11.15 can end this period.

It is not an offense to be in an offside position; it is an offense to interfere with play or with an opponent or to gain an advantage when in such a position. In such cases the referee is the sole judge and makes the final decision accordingly.

11.3 ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT
A player becomes "actively involved" in the play only when he or she is in the "area of active play." This area shifts, widens, narrows, lengthens, or shortens, according to where the ball is going and who is "involved." Involvement includes attempting to play the ball or preventing others from having a fair play at the ball. Active involvement can occur without the ball being directly nearby. There are three elements in "active involvement." They are "interfering with an opponent," "interfering with play," and "gaining an advantage."

Active involvement may begin at any moment during the sequence of play. Here is a series of pictures showing how a player (A1) could be penalized for being offside, depending upon how the action unfolds.

In the first diagram, A moves toward the opponents' goal while player A1 looks on. When A shoots and the ball rebounds from the goalkeeper to A1 (second diagram), the subsequent goal attempt by A1 must be disallowed because A1, who was in an offside position when the ball was last played by A, was in active play and gained an advantage by being in that position. The offside position was noted when A shot the ball, but the offside infringement did not occur until the ball rebounded from the goalkeeper and was clearly moving toward A1. (The indirect free kick would be awarded where A1 was when the teammate shot at goal, just outside the goal area.) However, if A shoots for goal and scores (third diagram), the goal must be allowed. Although A1 is in an offside position, he or she is not involved in active play.

11.4 INTERFERING WITH AN OPPONENT
"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. Interference can also include active physical or verbal distraction of the goalkeeper by an opponent as well as blocking the view of the goalkeeper.

A player who is in an offside position when the ball is played toward him by a teammate and who attracts the attention of an opponent, drawing that opponent into pursuit, is guilty of interfering with an opponent.

11.5 INTERFERING WITH PLAY
"Interfering with play" means playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a team mate. "Touching the ball" is not a requirement for calling offside based on a player in an offside position interfering with play, with one limited exception. Since a player can be considered "playing the ball" without touching it if, in the opinion of the referee or assistant referee, that player is making an active play for the ball with a likelihood of successful contact, the offense can be called when that decision is reached. The exception is when an attacker in an offside position and a teammate in an onside position are both making an active play for the ball and no decision can be reached as to which attacker will get to the ball first. In this case, it may be necessary to wait until it is clear which attacker will succeed and to call the offside offense if the conclusion is that it is the attacker in an offside position who will be successful.

However, if the attacker in an offside position makes a gesture or movement which deceives or distracts an opponent in the process of making a play for the ball, the offside offense must be called but the basis would be interfering with an opponent rather than interfering with play.

The referee should only decide that a player is interfering with play or with an opponent if that player-in the opinion of the referee, not in the opinion of the opponents-truly interferes with play or with an opponent in the area of active play. If so, then the player should be called offside. Mere presence anywhere on the field should not be considered a distraction for the opponents.

An attacker in an offside position is not considered to be interfering with play if, in the opinion of the referee, another attacker in an onside position will clearly make contact with the ball first. Officials must refrain from calling an offside offense until such a determination has been made. However, if the attacker in the offside position deceives an opponent other than the goalkeeper, that attacker is considered to be interfering with an opponent.

11.6 GAINING AN ADVANTAGE
"Gaining an advantage by being in an offside position" means playing a ball that rebounds to the player off a post or crossbar or playing a ball that rebounds to him off an opponent having been in an offside position. It also means being near enough to the play to capitalize immediately on a defender's mistake, having gained the advantage solely by being in the offside position. It is most often seen in situations where the ball rebounds from the crossbar, goalposts, or keeper (whose contact with the ball is not controlled).

11.7 MAKING THE OFFSIDE DECISION
The assistant referee must not signal simply because a player is in an offside position, but must look for active involvement. Furthermore, if an assistant referee is in any doubt as to whether a player is actively involved or not, the assistant referee is expected to decide in favor of the attacker; in other words, to refrain from signaling offside. The referee, too, must be certain that there is active involvement before deciding for offside.

NOTE: In no case should a player be declared offside for simply being in an offside position; being "offside" means that the player has been actively involved in the play-see Advice 11.3-11.6.

The 2007 version of the Advice, currently in the final stages of editing, says:
Law 11 - Offside

11.1 OFFSIDE POSITION
An offside position exists when a player is nearer the opponents' goal line than the next-to-last opponent and is ahead of the ball when the ball is touched/played by a teammate. Measure relative position by players' torsos, heads, and legs. No part of the attacking player other than the arms may be nearer the opponents' goal line than the torso, head or legs of the second-last defender. It is not necessary to "see daylight" between them for one to be considered nearer than the other. A player cannot be considered to be in an offside position under any circumstances when it is this player who last played the ball.

Here are two examples:

11.2 JUDGMENT OF OFFSIDE POSITION
The referee and assistant referees must judge offside position only when the ball is played by a teammate of the attacking player. The referee's decision to penalize the player for being in that position can be made at the moment the offside position is judged if the other requirements of Law 11 are met, but it can also be made at any time from that point forward until a new action on the field puts the attacker "onside" (see 11.15). The condition of being in an offside position (and the possibility of being penalized) continues no matter where that player may move, no matter where the ball may move, and no matter where the defenders may move. Only the occurrence of one of the events described in 11.15 can end this period.

It is not an offense to be in an offside position; it is an offense to interfere with play or with an opponent or to gain an advantage when in such a position. In such cases the referee is the sole judge and makes the final decision accordingly.

11.3 ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT
A player becomes "actively involved" in the play only when he or she is in the "area of active play." This area shifts, widens, narrows, lengthens, or shortens, according to where the ball is going and who is "involved." Involvement includes attempting to play the ball or preventing others from having a fair play at the ball. Active involvement can occur without the ball being directly nearby. There are three elements in "active involvement." They are "interfering with an opponent," "interfering with play," and "gaining an advantage."

Active involvement may begin at any moment during the sequence of play. Here is a series of pictures showing how a player (A1) could be penalized for being offside, depending upon how the action unfolds.

In the first diagram, A moves toward the opponents' goal while player A1 looks on. When A shoots and the ball rebounds from the goalkeeper to A1 (second diagram), the subsequent goal attempt by A1 must be disallowed because A1, who was in an offside position when the ball was last played by A, was in active play and gained an advantage by being in that position. The offside position was noted when A shot the ball, but the offside infringement did not occur until the ball rebounded from the goalkeeper and was clearly moving toward A1. (The indirect free kick would be awarded where A1 was when the teammate shot at goal, just outside the goal area.) However, if A shoots for goal and scores (third diagram), the goal must be allowed. Although A1 is in an offside position, he or she is not involved in active play.

11.4 INTERFERING WITH AN OPPONENT
"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. Interference can also include active physical or verbal distraction of the goalkeeper by an opponent as well as blocking the view of the goalkeeper.

A player who is in an offside position when the ball is played toward him by a teammate and who attracts the attention of an opponent, drawing that opponent into pursuit, is guilty of interfering with an opponent.

11.5 INTERFERING WITH PLAY
"Interfering with play" means playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a teammate. A player can be considered playing the ball even without touching it if, in the opinion of the referee or assistant referee, that player is making an active play for the ball and is likely to touch it. If contact is likely, the offense (offside) can be called when the official makes that determination, even if there is no contact with the ball.

An attacker in an offside position is not considered to be interfering with play (and, therefore, is not judged offside) if, in the opinion of the referee, another attacker starting from an onside position will clearly make first contact with the ball. In this situation, officials must refrain from calling an offside offense until they make this determination.

However, if in the process of playing the ball an attacker in an offside position makes a gesture or movement which deceives or distracts an opponent, then the offside offense must be called immediately, even if there is no touch on the ball. Note that in this situation the basis for judging offside would be "interfering with an opponent" rather than "interfering with play." Mere presence in the general proximity of an opponent should not be considered a distraction for that opponent.

The referee should only decide that a player is interfering with play or with an opponent if in the opinion of the referee, not in the opinion of the opponents, that player truly interferes with play or with an opponent in the area of active play. If so, then the player should be called offside.
Finally, note that a player in an offside position is not interfering with play if that player moves to avoid making contact with the ball.

11.6 GAINING AN ADVANTAGE
"Gaining an advantage by being in an offside position" means playing a ball that rebounds to the player off a post or crossbar or playing a ball that rebounds to him off an opponent having been in an offside position. It also means being near enough to the play to capitalize immediately on a defender's mistake, having gained the advantage solely by being in the offside position. It is most often seen in situations where the ball rebounds from the crossbar, goalposts, or keeper (whose contact with the ball is not controlled).

11.7 MAKING THE OFFSIDE DECISION
The assistant referee must not signal simply because a player is in an offside position, but must look for active involvement. Furthermore, if an assistant referee is in any doubt as to whether a player is in an offside position or if a player in an offside position is actively involved in play, the assistant referee is expected to decide in favor of the attacker; in other words, to refrain from signaling offside. The referee, too, must be certain that there is active involvement before deciding for offside.

NOTE: In no case should a player be declared offside for simply being in an offside position; being "offside" means that the player has been actively involved in the play-see Advice 11.3-11.6. See also the decision diagram at 11.16.

You will notice that the paragraphs on Interfering with Play have been slightly altered.

As to your question on playing the ball: Playing the ball means that a player has touched, played, or made contact with the ball, or has attempted to do so.

2. Offside and Corner Kick
A player in an offside position who receives the ball from a throw-in can never be declared offside. Nor can a player who is in an offside position be declared offside if he receives the ball from a throw-in that has deflected or glanced off an opponent. And the same is true of a corner kick.

I hope this is helpful. If you have further questions, please feel free to send them our way.

Jim Allen, USSF National Instructor Staff