Question Number: 16743

Law 11 - Offside 9/17/2007

RE: womems' senior Adult

phil of hamilton, ont canada asks...

This question is a follow up to question 15000

I was an AR recently, scenario,white team had a throw in, the player(white) took the throw in, the ball hit the head of the defender and ricocheted to another white team member, who was behind the last defender, I raised my flag to indicate offside,and the referee did not call it offside.At half time the referee informed me since the ball hit a defender it was not offside.The rule states a player cannot be offside on a throw in,at what point does the throw in start and finish? Can you please clarify (explain) to me why this was not offside.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Phil, you have two choices here.

(1) If the ball was deflected by an opponent, you don't count that in determining offside - last touch by a teammate was the throw-in, so it's still considered "direct" from the throw-in.

(2) If it wasn't a deflection but a deliberate controlled play by the opponent, then offside doesn't apply at all. Offside is only considered when the ball is last played by a teammate.

I hope these concepts are covered in the referee training classes in the OFA.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Phil,
the throw in is one of the three exemptions of offside position!
You are aware of that I think. What you fail to pick up on is the word directly refers from team mate to team mate and that a DEFLECTION of the ball off an opponent does not CHANGE anything when considering offside. If there was no offside prior to the deflection then no offside is still alive and well and involvement is not restricted. Just as if there was offside a deflection will not change the restriction of involvement.
Read part three of the criteria for calling an offside, gaining an advantage and you will note the deflection of the ball off an opposing player, post or crossbar does not save a player previously offside positioned.
In essence a DEFLECTION of the ball changes nothing what WAS in effect remains in effect. Thus the no offside exemption remains on the three exemption restarts!
Note that there is an exemption for offside in the restart of a throw in corner and goal kick.
No offside call is possible in these three exemptions until a teammate of the thrower or kicker actually touches the ball. Now we can consider the whereabouts of that teammate's companions but the teammate touching the ball is never considered because of the exemption
On that throw in even if the opposition achieved total control and settled the ball at their feet if an offside positioned white player came in from behind and stripped the ball no offside is possible! The exemption does not matter as the ball is no longer last touched by a teammate!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Phil I think you are missing one significant thing. That is when offside is to be judged. The Law states at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his own team. This little sentence defines when you start looking for the participation of those players found in offside positions. When their guy touches. The caveat about throw-ins means that touch doesn't count, start counting the next touch a team mate makes.

What you saw was a player in an offside position, that was correct! Good observation. What you did was say to the referee penalize that player for an offside offence. What he said to you was "Nope, thanks anyway". These were correct exchanges in information, this is good too. After reading the first paragraph of this you now see, hopefully, your request for the referee to penalize the player in an offside position was ill timed. Good that the referee was on his toes, too many times the referee will blow for this offence and take away a goal. Keep working with this referee, you can learn from her.

Regards,

Regards,