Question Number: 16579

Law 11 - Offside 9/7/2007

RE: Competitive High School

Dave of Portland, OR USA asks...

The Brown team is on offense and all 10 of their field players are in the cobalt team's half of the field. The keeper from cobalt team gains possession and then punts the ball to the other half of the field where his cobalt forward in an offside position. The ref calls offside. Now, same position for the players, but the cobalt keeper is taking a goalkick instead of a punt. Now his forward is onside because he is receiving the ball directly from a goal kick. Is there any logic behind this? It seems weird to me that the one is offside and the other isn't when the dynamics of play and position are so similar.

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

Well the logic rests within the text of the law.

Law 11 states that a player cannot be punished for a violation of law 11 if they receive the ball directly from a goal kick.

A punt, kick, or throw from a keeper on the other hand is a form of dynamic play and is treated the same way as any touch of the ball by any outfield player while the ball is in play.

Thats the best I can do for you. If you want a better explaination then "that's just the way it is" will have to suffice, unless you want to ask the IFAB why they chose to exempt goal kicks from consideration for offside violations.

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

This is what the laws say, There is no offside on a goal kick, corner kick, or throw in. A punt is not one listed and is part of dynamic play.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The logic comes from way back in the historical annals of the game. At one time, you were in an offside position whenever you were ahead of the ball - it didn't matter where the opponents were. And goal kicks were taken from the goal line. Do you see a problem here? At a goal kick, everyone but the kicker would have been ahead of the ball, so everyone on the team would be unable to participate in play lest they be offside. That's why offside is exempt from goal kicks. There are also historical explanations for the exemptions for throw-ins and corner kicks.

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

See Question: 16618