Question Number: 17539

Law 11 - Offside 10/27/2007

RE: Under 10

Oliver of Leeds, West Yorkshire England asks...

You cannot be offside from a thrown in, goal kick or corner kick. Fact. Now it's clear why you can't be from a corner, but not so clear why from the other two.

Here's what I think. If you could be called offside from a goal kick, the defending team would simply stand on the halfway line preventing any attackers venturing in to their half. Similarly, on a throw in, the defending team would simply stand in line with the thrower, preventing any forward attacking movement.

So is the rule to encourage attacking play and dissuade such offside traps?

Thanks,

OL.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Oliver, if you are a coach you understand that STATIC position are never going to prevent exploitation of the space in behind you. You try that against my team we will kill you on the late runs from deep positions.

I understand why you equate a corner kick as a non exemption as it could in theory be placed on the goal line and as free kick all team mates will be at least even if not further away from the opposing goal line. Yet the corner arc is a meter wide and thus could be placed further out and thus the offside positions are exempt from the initial evaluation. Same as the goal kick and the throw in.

These three restarts are not fouls are they only a restart after a ball crosses the boundary lines into touch.

The offside evaluation for position is ignored on the ball entering into play instead we wait until a second touch by either team to start the ball rolling in this regard.

I could for example on a throw in have the ball deflect off an opponent standing in his own half of the field just near the mid line, now as a touch HIS team is now evaluated for offside position, my team is still exempt from offside positional evaluation (as a defection does not alter what was) but his team is not!

Lets say that ball deflected off the side of the shoulder and goes back to his teammate who was offside positioned at the time of the throw in and was still offside positioned on our side of the mid line after the deflection, he is guilty of offside and now we get a free indfk !
The exemptions are only to get the ball back into active play!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The exemptions for the 3 restarts come from long ago in the game, where any time you were ahead of the ball you were in an offside position. Since the goal kick was taken from the goal line, every teammate would be offside. Throw-ins used to be required to be thrown perpindicular to the touch line, so without an exemption, it was too easy for the defenders to force the offside.

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

The exceptions are stated in the Laws of the Game. My colleagues have given you the history behind the laws.