Question Number: 17405

Law 11 - Offside 10/20/2007

RE: COMPETIVE Under 15

Walter Di Carlo of STONEHAM , MA USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 1020

IF A TEAM ATTACKING HAS A LEFT FOWARD WITH THE BALL , THE CENTER FOWARD IS WAY OFF SIDE,THEN HE GETS BACK ON THE ON SIDE POSITION.At the moment the left striker passes the ball to him and he scores DOES THE GOAL STAND OR IS IT OFFSIDE.PLEASE LET ME KNOW REGARDS WALTER DI CARLO

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

The only concern should be on determining offside position is where was the player when the ball was last touched or played by the attack?

If not in an offside position there can be no offence.

If in an offside position that specific player may not get involved, if he doesn't there can be no offside offence. Reason: it is not an offence in itself to be in an offside position.

If in an offside position and there is some participation by that player then there is an offence and play stops.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

From your question, it is impossible to know where the center forward was located at the moment the ball was passed to him by a teammate. If the left forward had the ball, and the center forward was in an offside position, and the left forward continued to dribble toward the goal, the assistant referee will continue to evaluate the position of the center forward each time the left forward touches the ball up until the time he passes it. If, at that moment, the center forward is in an onside position, he can score. If he is in an offside position, and plays the ball, he is offside and the goal will not count. Hope that helps.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Walter you say he got back onside? For him to return to an onside position from an offside position his teammate, the left forward was required to touch/play the ball and at that exact time the ball will be closer to the opposing goal line than the position of the centre forward. But the question requires us to know was that the position when the pass occurred?
It is possible for a ball to move to A to B and players to move from C to D during the time a ball is last touched to when any player receives next it. An onside player could look offside in a one on one with the keeper and be 100% legit to score/ Or an offside positioned player could be shooting the ball with three opponents in front of him and the opposing goal and still be declared offside.

Offside is always a bit cloudy given the infringement occurs later but the restart location is based on the fixed positional evaluation earlier. Since changes of field position, players movement and ball movement things look different hence we need to KNOW where they were when position WAS evaluated to understand if they are in fact restricted from any INVOLVEMENT in law later!

It is crucial to note the ball direction or the direction a player runs is not important. Positional evaluation is the Location of ball when last touched versus position of player. It is an exact moment in time not an ongoing one where involvement could or could not occur.
Cheers