Question:
After years of officiating, I find this question almost funny… but then I realized (at the higher level of play) the play begins once the whistle is blown, not when the ball is kicked… so can a player be offside if he/she receives the ball from a kick-off?
USSF answer (March 9, 2009):
At a kick-off play does not begin until the ball is kicked and moves forward. No, a player cannot be offside directly from a kick-off; however, that player would have failed to follow the requirement of Law 8 that “all players must be in their own half of the field” and the kick-off would be retaken.
