Question Number: 17569

Law 11 - Offside 10/28/2007

RE: Level 3 Adult

Edgar of Calgary, Alberta Canada asks...

I was AR in a recent GU16 game and am unsure about a potential offside decision which I did not call.

An attacker was standing in an offside position not interfering with play. A second onside attacker was chasing towards the ball and a defender just got to the ball first and kicked it upfield on the ground away from her goal. A second defender who was chasing back to support the defense ran into the ball and kicked it forwards and the ball went to the attacker who was previously/still standing in an offside position.

I did not flag offside thinking the defence had control of the ball and just messed up the clearance. The defender could have jumped aside and let the ball go upfield and therefore choose to control the ball by kicking it, albeit towards her own goal and the offside player. Later I wondered if the attempted clearance really did count as control and/or if the defender's reflexes were just not quick enough to get out of the way.

I'm wondering how the experts would have called this?

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Ok Edgar think this thru. You have described a scenario where not just ONE but TWO opponents have played the ball!!!! Of course you were correct in not calling offside as at this point it should not have even been a consideration. Only judge offside at the moment the ball is played by a teammate. WHile you are correct that a mere deflection by an opponent does not reset offside in this case the opponents have clearly played the ball twice.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Edgar, you describe the opponents as kicking the ball, not once but twice. So who last touched the ball?
Offside describes
Gaining an advantage by being in that position means playing a ball that rebounds to him off a post or the crossbar having been in an offside position or playing a ball that **rebounds** to him off an opponent having been in an offside position.
Now in the rarest of circumstances a double deflection might be an outside shot where these kicks were more of lunges with no control or uncontested possession expert or not as an opinion you need to be certain it is so. Was there two rebounds or just one or two mistakes? See Q&A17545
Cheers