Question:
This question concerns an event during a competitive U17B match for which I was the center. During the run of play, team B crosses the ball into the box. The A team goalie comes out, jumps with his hands up, and “flaps” at the ball making just enough contact to spin the ball backwards to a waiting team B player who heads the ball into the net. The B player was in an offside position at the time of the cross.

I ruled this a good goal on the basis that the goalie had made a play on the ball which effectively changed possession. Since the ball played back from a defending player, the B player could not be offside and was free to attack the ball.

I will add that the goalie had made previous successful clearances of crosses and corners with his hands in addition to catching the ball.

Follow up question (which depends on the answer to above). If the keeper had attempted to catch the ball but just missed it off his finger tips, would this be the same as a deflection and, hence, offside judged against the B player?

Answer (October 29, 2007):
Deflections by any opposing player do not affect the status of a player in an offside position; the attacking team’s player must be called offside if he or she becomes involved in play (as defined in Law 11). Unsuccessfully “making a play” for the ball does not establish possession. Nor, for that matter, does successfully “making a play” for the ball if it then deflects to the player in the offside position who becomes involved in play.

Note that there are differences here between “being involved in play,” “playing the ball,” and “making a play” for the ball. (As noted above, see Law 11 for involvement in play.) “Playing the ball” in these circumstances means that the defender (in this case the goalkeeper) possessed and controlled the ball. However, if the defender possessed and controlled the ball badly, it’s still “making a play,” but if it wasn’t possessed and controlled, it wasn’t played in the sense you suggested in your scenario.

A rule: Being able to use the ball subsequent to contact equals possession; deflection is not possession.…

Question:
I know this has been addressed previously but I just can’t seem to locate the answer. I award a free kick and one or more defenders runs over and stands directly in front of the ball about a foot away. I actually hear their coach telling them to do so. (The coach later tells me that he coaches his players to do this so as to make the attacker ask for the 10 yard “cushion.”) It is my understanding of the laws that this is a violation of the letter and spirit of Law 13 and that the player are interfering with the restart of play and could, perhaps should, be cautioned. Notwithstanding what we see in the EPL and MLS, what is the position of USSF on this scenario?

Incidentally, I did caution the player who did this.

Answer (October 24, 2007):
Coaches will do almost anything that aids their team, including teaching the players to cheat in this and other ways. There is only one way to stop it and the Law is quite clear on what should be done. Every player who “fails to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick, free kick or throw-in” should be cautioned for that offense. That applies to your current situation; however, very often minor transgressions of this requirement can be taken care of by talking to or warning the player, but violations as blatant and cynical as this one call out for an immediate, no-questions-asked caution.…

Question:
This issue came up during a BU16 game recently. Blue team subs in 4 players at a stoppage of play in second half. Only 3 players come off, leaving blue with 12 players on the field. Game is restarted and within two minutes or so, a blue attacker is fouled by red team player in the penalty area. The referee blows his whistle and signals for a penalty kick. The fouled player was not one of the four players who came on the field at the previous stoppage in play.

While the players are in position to take the penalty kick, the Referee notices the extra player on the field. The Referee cautions the player who should have come off the field (not the player who improperly came onto the field) and that player leaves the field. The Referee changes the restart from a penalty kick to an indirect free kick from the goal area for the red team.

After the game, it is suggested that the proper restart should have been the penalty kick. The Referee insists at first that there is an express ATR mandating a restart by an indirect free kick. When that mandate cannot be found, the Referee insists that ATR 3.20 instructs that if a goal is scored when the team has too many players on the field, that goal should be disallowed and the game is restarted with indirect free kick from the goal area. Because a penalty kick is similar to a goal, the indirect kick was mandated by the spirit of the game, if not the laws of the game. The Referee also concedes that logically, any other restart should be changed to a indirect free kick if, during stoppage in play,

Questions: What is the proper restart when, during stoppage in play other after the scoring of a goal, it is discovered that one team has too many players on the field? Does it make any difference ifÊplay was stopped to award a penalty kick to the team with more than 11 players on the field? How important is it to identify and caution the correct player — the substitute who came onto the field to give a team a twelfth player? Whose responsibility is it to assure that too many players do not come on the field, the AR or the CR?

Answer (October 23, 2007):
The only reason for the entire problem was lack of attention to detail by the entire officiating crew, who failed completely to do their duty. In this case, it is impossible to know which player to caution and the referee and assistant referees must bear the blame for that. There are too many imponderables: The player who was already on the field at the substitution is not at fault, nor is the substitute who came on as a new player, clearly expecting that his/her teammate had left the field. The only possible solution is to remove the additional player (as determined by the referee) from the field.

The correct restart is the penalty kick. Play was stopped for the penal offense, not for the additional player on the field, who was discovered only accidentally.

The error lies entirely with the referee and the assistant referees, all of whom should have monitored the substitution process more carefully, as directed by common sense and the Advice to Referees:

3.17 MORE THAN THE CORRECT NUMBER OF PLAYERS
If, while the game is in progress, the referee finds that a team has more than the allowed number of persons on the field, play must be stopped and the extra person identified and removed from the field. Other than through referee error, this situation can occur only if someone enters the field illegally. The “extra player” can include an outside agent (such as a previously expelled player or a spectator); a player who had been given permission to leave or been ordered off by the referee for correction of a problem, but re-entered without permission; or a substitute or substituted player who enters without permission and/or during play.In all competitions, especially those that allow substituted players to return, the officials must be extremely vigilant in counting the number of players who leave and substitutes who enter to prevent problems of this nature. Similarly, players off the field temporarily who require the permission of the referee to re-enter must be monitored to ensure that they do not participate in play until this requirement and any others (e. g., inspection to confirm the correction of the equipment or bleeding problem) are met.

And some advice that every referee should now know by heart, but obviously these officials did not:

3.4 SUBSTITUTION PROCEDURE
After the player being replaced has left the field, the referee must signal permission for the substitute to enter. A substitution is not complete and the substitute may not take part in the game until he or she has entered the field of play. Referees who deviate from the formal process by which a substitute becomes a player — whether in the interest of saving time or because the steps are thought to be too complex and cumbersome — do so at their own peril and will eventually discover that the Laws of the Game specify the procedure for very good reasons. Deviations may lead to situations that the referee cannot settle within the Law.//rest snipped//

How much trouble would have been saved if the officiating team had followed this advice and done their jobs correctly?…

Question:
During a recent adult match, a player from the losing team at the 85th minute after the 7th goal is scored decides to sub. While on the middle of the field, removes his jersey and starts to walk off the field. Should he be cautioned for this behavior? if only a caution can be issued during the celebration of a goal then what is the difference between this player and the celebrating one? Both remove article of their equipment while on the field. Please clarify.

Answer (October 23, 2007):
The reason for the restriction on removing the jersey after the scoring of a goal is that removing the jersey is considered to be excessive celebration and is usually also considered to be an act that is provocative, derisory or inflammatory and thus could cause problems with the opposing team. Unless the referee is CERTAIN that the player who removes his jersey while walking from the field is making a “statement” against the other team, that is not an offense — but see below.

As points to ponder, consider using common sense in these cases. “Excessive celebration” equals playing time lost. In addition, some cultures do no accept displays of body skin; in such a place the referee would take that into consideration when a player removes his jersey while leaving the field. The referee must use common sense.…

Question:
This happened to me & our crew in a HS playoff game: During the normal course of play, an attacker & defender, running shoulder-to-shoulder, go over the goal line, out of play, just to the right (AR’s side) of the goal. The ball is shot wide of the goal, and while still out of play, and with the ball barely on the end line, the attacker stabs at the ball with his foot, passing it back into the center of the penalty area, leading to a shot & goal.

At the time of the pass the defender was still off the field as well, and roughly even with the attacker who passed the ball. They were roughly equal in their distance from the goal line (about 1 foot or so), as they were attempting to get back onto the field. At the time the shot was taken from inside the penalty area, both of these players were about 3 feet off the field, and had stopped & turned to get back into play. Thus when the player in question played the ball they were still clearly out-of-play, but heading back towards the field.

Had the defender been back on the field, would this have constituted offside? Or is it not legal to penalize an attacker for offside who is in fact off the field of play? If a player off the field IS penalized for offside, where is the ball placed?

In the end, the Center & I (the AR dealing with this bang-bang play), ruled the goal legal. Were we correct? Fortunately, the goal had no bearing on the outcome.

Answer (October 22, 2007):
We do not and cannot give answers to questions on high school rules or games, as they do not fall under the aegis of the U. S. Soccer Federation. That said, here is what the response would be if the game had been played under the Laws of the Game. Although we can point out several indisputable principles, the answer is not conclusive; there are simply too many imponderables. Therefore, we have presented the matters that must be considered. The final decision is up to the referee on the game.

Part of your answer will be found in the USSF publication “Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game”:

3.9 LEAVING THE FIELD IN THE COURSE OF PLAY
If a player accidentally passes over one of the boundary lines of the field of play or if a player in possession of or contesting for the ball passes over the touch line or the goal line without the ball to beat an opponent, he or she is not considered to have left the field of play without the permission of the referee. This player does not need the referee’s permission to return to the field.

The rest of the answer is to be found in a combination of general principles to be found in “Advice to Referees” and “Questions and Answers”:

A defender who is momentarily off the field legally (not attempting to place a defender in an offside position) is still considered, in determining the second to last defender, as being on the perimeter line nearest to his off the field position. Although there is no specific rule or tradition governing this, the same rule could be applied to an attacker. A player who has left the field and returns to play the ball is ON the field of play, even if only his (or her) foot enters the field. In this case, the attacker was clearly on the field when he played the ball — no matter where the bulk of his body was, we MUST count him as being on the field because (a) the ball was on the field and (b) he played the ball.

According to your description of the event, the two players in question were approximately even with each other while off the field when the attacker’s teammate last played the ball. Considering only these two players (the attacker and defender off the field) plus the last defender who is on the field (let’s say it was the goalkeeper), what are the possibilities?

1. If the GK is on the goal line, this puts both the defender and the attacker off the field past the GK if we have to look at their actual physical positions. The attacker is therefore in an offside position under all circumstances (and therefore violating Law 11 when/if the attacker moves back toward the goal line and inteferes with play). No goal.

2. If the GK is on the goal line, and we are to treat the attacker as being where he physically is but the defender is considered to be on the goal line, then the attacker is past both defenders and is in an offside position. Coming “back” from an offside position to play the ball is a violation of Law 11. No goal.

3. If the GK is on the goal line and we are to treat BOTH the attacker and the defender as though they were on the goal line, then the attacker is even with both the last two defenders and is therefore NOT in an offside position. When he moves “back” to play the ball (entering the field by stretching his leg back to play the ball), he is coming from an onside position and cannot be violating Law 11. Goal counts.

4. If the GK is above the goal line, it doesn’t matter how we resolve the question of whether the attacker off the field is on the goal line or not because, under all circumstances, the attacker HAS to be in an offside position and therefore CAME FROM an offside position to interfere with play. No goal.

As you can see, only one of these possibilities produces a valid goal and that possibility requires the goalkeeper to have been on the goal line when the play started.

Thanks for providing us with a very interesting challenge.…

Question:
I was wondering the correct restart for giving a warning for dissent. In hindsight, I should not have stopped play since the offense was not severe enough for a yellow card but I wanted to calm the player down before things escalated. I gave a drop ball at the site where the ball was when I blew my whistle, but I think I should have given an indirect to the opposing team at the site where the infringement occurred. The infringement was made by a player on the field of play.

Answer (October 15, 2007):
Ah, the beauty of hindsight! And the beauty of the dropped ball in cases of referee error.

In this situation you could not have restarted with an indirect free kick, because you stopped the play for a warning, not an actual infringement. We have covered this in the USSF publication “Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game,” ATR 5.7:

5.7 STOPPING PLAY
The referee has the power to stop the match for any infringement of the Laws, to apply advantage under the appropriate conditions, or to decide that an infringement is trifling or doubtful and should not be called at all. However, the referee also has the power to stop play for other reasons, including misconduct for which the referee intends only to warn the player regarding behavior and not to issue a caution. In these circumstances, the referee should take care that ordering such a stoppage would not disadvantage the opposing team. As the stoppage will not have occurred for a foul or misconduct, play would be restarted with a dropped ball*.

Question:
In a recent travel game, team A was awarded a DFK, one of the players from team A positioned himself to take the kick, then after a short period of time another player came to take the direct free kick. He took his time, in all about 30 seconds ran off the clock before the kick was attempted. After a warning to speed things up, the referee blew his whistle and awarded the kick to the other team. The were no substitutions made which would have given cause for the delay.

Is there a time limit on taking DFK? If it was deemed a delay of the restart should the player have been cautioned?

Answer (October 15, 2007):
This would be one of those cases where referees invent their own rules, rather than following the Laws of the Game. The referee in this situation had no authority under the Laws of the Game to take away the free kick from the kicking team, no matter how long they delayed the restart. In this case, the referee can only caution a player (or players) for delaying the restart of play. Then, despite the delay(s), the restart must be in accordance with the reason the ball was out of play, in this case a direct free kick for the “injured” team. The referee will then add time as necessary to make up for the delay.…