Category: Law 11 – Offside

Law 11 – Offside

Advice to Referees

PUZZLED ABOUT COMING FROM AN OFFSIDE POSITION

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Question:
Player A is in the offside position. His teammate player B is the ballcarrier. Player A realizing he is in the offside position does not get involved in the play and backs off. The Ref and AR are aware of this and let play continue. Player B loses control of the ball to the defender who takes over and starts his dribble in his own end of the field. Player B who is still in the offside position the entire time comes up from behind the defender who is still in his end of the field and player A takes the ball away from the defender and player A begins his attack… possible scoring.

Is player A called for offsides or a delayed offsides? Or is it that once the opposition has taken control of the ball offsides is no longer a concern for player A?

USSF answer (October 20, 2010):
Note: No player can ever be “offsides.” There is no such offense in soccer; a player can only be called “offside.”

Please study this excerpt from the USSF publication “Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game.” Pay special attention to the second paragraph, beginning “The result . . ..”

11.14 BECOMING “ONSIDE”
The possibility of penalizing a player for being in an offside position must be reevaluated whenever:
1. The ball is again touched or played by a teammate,
2. The ball is played (possessed and controlled, not simply deflected, miskicked or misdirected) by an opponent, including the opposing goalkeeper, or
3. The ball goes out of play.

The result of such a reevaluation, of course, may be that the player remains in an offside position based on still being beyond the second-to-last defender, the ball, and the midfield line. Referees must remember that a player cannot simply run to an onside position and become involved in play. The player’s position with relation to the ball and the opponents must change in accordance with the Law.

In the case of the ball leaving the field in favor of the team whose player was in an offside position and actively involved in play (e. g., a corner kick or throw-in for the attackers), it is traditional to call the original offside offense. If the restart would be in favor of the opposing team (e. g., a goal kick or throw-in for the defenders), it is usually preferable to ignore the offside infringement, as the defending team’s restart gives them the possession under circumstances not much different than the indirect free kick for offside-and often with less controversy.

It is best to think about taking a “snapshot” of the situation. When the defensive player takes control of the ball the snapshot shows an opponent (Player A) being in an offside position. According to Law 11 this in itself is not an offense. Player A can only be penalized for being in an offside position if, while still in that position, the ball is touched or played by one of his own team. Since the defender is dribbling the ball, player A may challenge the defender for the ball and take control of the ball if possible. There is no offense here.…

"Inventive" Refs

RAISING THE FLAG FOR OFFSIDE WITH NO TOUCH OR PLAY

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Question:
I would like clarification on when an AR should raise the flag for an offside offense.

Seminars I attend and some more experienced center referees state not to raise the flag until the player in the offside position plays/touches the ball. However, I have also been asked to raise the flag, and have noticed that during MLS games, that the AR’s are raising their flags the moment the ball is played toward a player in an offside position prior to the player in the offside position playing/touching the ball.

USSF answer (October 15, 2010):
Your answer lies in the second bullet point in this position paper issued August 24, 2005.

From the U.S. Soccer Communications Center:

To: State Referee Administrators
State Directors of Referee Instruction
State Directors of Referee Assessment
Chair, State Referee Committee
National Referees, Assessors and Instructors

From: Alfred Kleinaitis
Manager of Referee Development and Education

Re: Law 11 – Offside
IFAB advice on the application of Law 11, Decision 2

Date:  August 24, 2005

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) revised Law 11 (Offside) effective 1 July 2005 by, among other things, incorporating definitions of what it means to “interfere with play,” “interfere with an opponent,” and “gain an advantage by being in an offside position.” The USSF Advice to Referees section of Memorandum 2005 ended its discussion of the addition of these three definitions by noting:

Referees are reminded that the reference to “playing or touching the ball” does not mean that an offside infraction cannot be called until an attacker in an offside position actually touches the ball.

Because of recent developments which appear to focus on “touching the ball,” there has been some confusion about the above statement. “Touching the ball” is not a requirement for calling an offside violation if the attacker is interfering with an opponent by making a movement or gesture which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts that opponent. What the International Board has recently emphasized is that, in the unlikely event an attacker in an offside position is not challenged by any opponent, the attacker should not be ruled offside unless and until the attacker physically touches the ball.

This emphasis is both simple and easily implemented:

• An attacker in an offside position who is not challenged by any opponent and not competing for the ball with a teammate coming from an onside position who could, in the opinion of the officiating team, get to the ball first should not be ruled offside for interfering with play or gaining an advantage unless that attacker actually touches the ball. In a close race between an onside and an offside attacker, it would be necessary to see which player touches the ball before deciding if an offside offense has occurred.
• An attacker in an offside position whose gestures or movements, in the opinion of the officiating team, cause an opponent to challenge for the ball has interfered with an opponent and should be ruled offside whether the attacker touches the ball or not.

The International Board issued a Circular on August 17, 2005, which reaffirmed the above approach. As the Board stated (emphasis added): “A player in an offside position may be penalized before playing or touching the ball if, in the opinion of the referee, no other teammate in an onside position has the opportunity to play the ball.” Further, “If an opponent becomes involved in the play and if, in the opinion of the referee, there is potential for physical contact, the player in the offside position shall be penalized for interfering with an opponent.” Finally, the Board confirmed the requirement that the indirect free kick restart for an offside offense is taken “from the initial place where the player was adjudged to be in an offside position.”

All referees, instructors, and assessors should review these guidelines carefully. It is important that officials understand and handle the offside offense in a correct, consistent, and realistic manner. Personal interpretations which differ from the approach outlined here can only cause confusion and hard feelings on the part of players, team officials, and spectators.

USSF will shortly distribute to the state associations and place on its website a PowerPoint presentation incorporating this clarification.

The PowerPoint presentation noted above is still on the USSF website.)…

"Inventive" Refs

OPPONENT CONTROL AND POSSESSION IN OFFSIDE SITUATIONS

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Question:
How much actual possession and control is needed for a pass by a defender to an attacker in an offside position to negate offside?

The following scenario happened to me recently in a high level mens amateur game where I was AR2. Right half sends a long ball intended for his teammate in an offside position behind the defensive teams back four. Pass however is woefully short and left fullback jumps to head the ball. Inexplicably, instead of heading the ball upfield, he executes a twisting header directing the ball back and square to where he believes his teammate/sweeper will be. Instead, it goes directly to the player who was in an offside position at the time the ball was played forward. I keep my flag down thinking it was a pass back. I’m told later by senior referees that it was a “continuation” of the original play and my flag should have went up. Apparently, a twisting header is NOT enough actual possession and control to be considered a pass back. Is this correct? How about if the defender was actually heading the ball downwards and back towards the offside attacker and/or where he though the sweeper may be? The impression I got from the National Level ref working the middle is that the defender basically had to have controlled the ball with his feet and passed it back.

USSF answer (October 12, 2010):
In all such cases, only the referee can make that decision, in this case with input from other officials on the game. If the defender was able to exercise as much control as you suggest, then there should be no doubt in your mind — or anyone else’s — that he had both control and possession. In such a case, there is no need for a flag, as the attacking player would appear to have had no influence whatsoever on the play.

Two further comments:
• We hope you misunderstood the statement by the “National Level ref,” as it is wrong. “Control” (for purposes of analyzing an offside position scenario like this) is NOT defined by “had to have controlled the ball with his feet and passed it back.”
• If the defender had controlled the ball with his feet and then kicked it to the goalkeeper, we get into another infringement of the Laws, provided the goalkeeper played the ball with his hands.…

"Inventive" Refs

THERE IS NO “AFTER THE FACT” OFFSIDE CALL!!!

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Question:
Offside – at a recent [college] match there was a difficult call made by the referee concerning an attacking player. Here is the scenario.

A lone attacking player is played a long ball from the back and at the time of the pass was onside. The pass was not accurate and the last defender tried to head the ball back down the field. The header ended up going backward to the attacker who had continued to run forward (now the attacker found herself between the last defender and the goalkeeper). The on-field call, after a goal was scored, was that the attacker was seeking to gain an advantage by being in the position they were in when they actually received the ball.

I’m not sure how the referee could have determined where the advantage was as the attacker could not have known the last defender would head the ball in her vicinity. This was not a deflection per se nor was the pass made by one of her team mates.

Can you clarify?

USSF answer (September 28, 2010):
We need to repeat and stress (for ALL readers) that we do not have any competence to answer questions on college or high school rules, so must address your question as if it had occurred in a game played under the Laws of the Game, the rules the entire world plays by.

If a player was in an onside position when the ball was last played by a teammate, then he or she cannot be declared offside if the ball is then deflected, miskicked, or otherwise misdirected by an opponent. Under the Laws of the Game, this referee would seem to have erred, at least in his description of his decision-making process. The word “seeking” was removed from Law 11 many years ago and the critical decision that has to be made in this scenario is whether the defender PLAYED (possessed and controlled) the ball — including situations in which the defender PLAYED the ball in what turned out to be an unfortunate direction — or whether the ball merely DEFLECTED from the defender (including situations in which the ball was misplayed). Whether the referee further erred in his basic decision we cannot say in the absence of a clip of the play.…

Interpretations/IFAB

GAINING AN ADVANTAGE

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Question:
I have pounded over tons of site to try to figure out the off sides rule on “gaining an advantage by being in that position”.

When is that position determined? At time of the offenses last attack, on the rebound from the defender, on the rebound from the goal post. I understand if the offensive player is in an offside position at the time of their teammates playing the ball and it rebounds they are offside if they play the ball.

I don’t know how many times I have seen the following scenario. Ball is played by the offense with everyone onside and no player offside, ball rebound (off the goalpost, defender) at the time of the rebound one or more offense players are between the second defender and goalie. Sometimes I see no offside called sometimes I see the offside called. I have heard AR’s explain to other people it hit the goalpost or it came off the goalie.

If the rule is where the players are at when the ball is struck by the offense what is the purpose of the “gaining an advantage by being in that position” even being said.

USSF answer (September 17, 2010):
The rule is that the offside infringements are punished at the place where the player in the offside position was when his teammate played the ball.

You will find the following guidance in the Interpretations of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees in the Laws of the Game 2010/2011:

LAW 11 – OFFSIDE
Definitions
In the context of Law 11 — Offside, the following definitions apply:
• “nearer to his opponents’ goal line” means that any part of a player’s head, body or feet is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent. The arms are not included in this definition
• “interfering with play” means playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a teammate
• “interfering with an opponent” means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or movements or making a gesture or movement which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts an opponent
• “gaining an advantage by being in that position” means playing a ball that rebounds to him off a goalpost 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

Infringements
When an offside offense occurs, the referee awards an indirect free kick to be taken from the position of the offending player when the ball was last played to him by one of his teammates.

We hope this is helpful. As to what and when it is called, we cannot guarantee that referees will always get the call right.…

"Inventive Coaches"

“TAG UP” OFFSIDE AND PLAYER UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAWS

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Question:
I was an AR in a Division 2 adult match this yesterday. At around the 75th minute, near my touchline, the ball was played forward to a player in an offside position. That player ran into an onside position, then turned around and chased after the ball that had been played. No player, opponent or teammate, touched or played the ball from the original play of the ball until he played it himself. When he “interfered with play,” I raised my flag for offside. The center referee blew his whistle. The offending player originally didn’t hear the whistle and proceeded to kick the ball into the goal. As this would have leveled the game 1-1, he was understandably upset when he saw that the goal was being disallowed for offside. He came over to me and asked why I called him offside. I answered, quite simply, “You were in an offside position when the ball was played.” He asked, “Did I run into an onside position after that?” I replied, “I believe so.” He asked, “But I was still offside?” I answered, “Yes, you committed an offside offence since you were in an offside position when the ball was played to you.” He then summoned the center referee, saying, “Ref, your linesman doesn’t know the rules!” The center official came to me and I clarified what happened. As my call was correct, the defending team restarted play with an IFK.

I take from this that the attacker thought there was some sort of clause in Law 11 allowing a player in an offside position to avoid committing an offside offence by “tagging up” in an onside position prior to running onto the ball. Obviously, there is no such clause. But I’ve heard this sort of thing before from a few players and coaches. In my situation, the offending player’s words and actions contributed to an eventual caution for dissent after he got upset over another offside call I made two or three minutes later. (The second call wasn’t protested due to a misunderstanding of the Law; it was simply a mistimed run on his part) This caution is something that could have been avoided if the player had a better understanding of the Laws of the Game. As referees, I feel it is our duty to educate the interested public about the Laws. So what is the origin of this “tag up” misconception, and what can we as referees do to combat further misunderstandings about the Laws? Could I or my center referee have handled the situation better?

USSF answer (September 14, 2010):
The Laws of the Game were not written to compensate for the mistakes of players (and undereducated coaches). The attacking player was clearly wrong, despite his notion that, if he returned to a supposedly “onside” position to play the ball, he was doing the right thing. Clearly he, his coach and those other, similarly rule knowledge-challenged coaches and players need to review Law 11.

Let it be clear to all: A player may not return from an offside position to play the ball last played by a teammate.

And, finally, to the point of how the officials should handle such a situation: First, your discussion was FAR too extended. Second, you should never have stated that the player was called for offside because “you were in an offside position when the ball was played.” The player was called for offside because he did one of the three things he is not permitted to do while in an offside position. Third, the referee should NEVER have let a player even approach an AR to debate a decision — the response should have been “If you want to discuss a decision, you talk to ME!”…

"Inventive Instructors"

NO OFFSIDE IF ALL OPPONENTS ARE IN OTHER HALF?

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Question:
The prof in a referees’ clinic explained that if all the fullbacks on a team move into the offensive half of the field, then the opponents are freed of any offsides restrictions at all. I’m dubious; I don’t see how this follows from Law XI. Can you explain it to me please, or perhaps the prof is mistaken? Thanks!

USSF answer (August 8, 2010):
You are pulling our legs, right? It makes absolutely no difference where the players on the defending team are, the player in the opposing half of the field must still be no nearer to the opposing goal line than the ball to avoid being in an offside position. On condition that we specify that the attacking player is on the halfway line, he can never be either offside or in an offside position when the ball is played by his teammate in this particular scenario. The Law is clear (emphasis added to ensure understanding):

LAW 11 – OFFSIDE
Offside Position
It is not an offense in itself to be in an offside position.
A player is in an offside position if:
• he is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than BOTH the ball and the second-last opponent
• he is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent
A player is not in an offside position if:
• he is in his own half of the field of play or
• he is level with the second-last opponent or
• he is level with the last two opponents

…
Law 11 - Offside

DEFENDER LEAVES FIELD WITHOUT PERMISSION; OFFSIDE?

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Question:
If the second to last defender’s momentum pushes him or her out of bounds while playing a ball, do you just presume that he or she is out of the play and you just line up with the new second to last defender (for offside) or what do you do?

USSF answer (July 2, 2010):
Any defender who leaves the field over the goal line without the permission of the referee, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, is still counted for offside purposes.

You will find this paragraph in the back of the Law book, under Law 11 in the Interpretation of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees:

Any defending player leaving the field of play for any reason without the referee’s permission shall be considered to be on his own goal line or touch line for the purposes of offside until the next stoppage in play. If the player leaves the field of play deliberately, he must be cautioned when the ball is next out of play.

…
Law 11 - Offside

WHAT BODY PARTS COUNT FOR OFFSIDE?

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Question:
As as assistant referee focusing on an offside situation I am mostly looking for the scoring part of the player in determining offside most time the head is the farthest point ahead. With that in mind as I am looking at players lined up along the center half I am looking for the same thing. So if a head is over the line and the feet may not be is this technically an offsides call? Many people seem to think that where feet are is an issue but referees aren’t typically looking at feet for offsides calls.

USSF answer (July 2, 2010):
Your first sentence has it all: When judging the offside position, we look solely at the body parts that can score a goal in a legal play on the ball: the head and the feet, but NOT the hands.

There is, of course, no offense called “offsides.”…

"Inventive Instructors"

OFFSIDE!!!

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Question:
While an offensive player is in the offside position a defensive player attempts to clear the ball and kicks a low line drive about 15 yards and deflects off the leg of an offensive player to the offside player who scores.

The offensive player from whom the ball deflects does not play the ball, makes no attempt to play the ball and had no opportunity to play the ball. He was just unlucky that the ball hit him.

Rule 11 says that simply touching the ball is sufficient:

“Committing an Offside Offence A player in an offside position is only penalized if, at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play by:”

I’ve been told by [a senior-level] ref that a deflection by an offensive player is not offside. But Rule 11 says “touches or played.” It seems to me that if the rule only said “played” then an offensive unintentional deflection would not be offside. But the Rule 11 has the words, “touches or played.” So shouldn’t the offensive deflection to a player in the offside position warrant the offside call since the offensive player last “touched” the ball?

USSF answer (May 27, 2010):
The senior-level referee has his facts wrong. If the ball is played by a defending player and it bounces off one opposing player to another of his opponents who is in an offside position, that player in the offside position is offside because he or she was interfering with play. You will find this information in the Interpretation of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees 2009/2010, under Law 11.…