Question Number: 22907

Law 11 - Offside 3/7/2010

RE: Select Adult

Emerson Carnavale of Phoenix, AZ United States asks...

Hello,

My question is regarding offside.

Here is a scenario:

On a free kick the ball is cross into the area, the ball is deflected on the first post by a defender; on the second post, the ball is touched by an offensive player who in turn scores a goal. The referee called the player offside. He went further to explain that at the moment the free kick was kicked the offensive player was not offside, the offensive player went into offside after the ball was deflected by the defender.

My question is, can the offense be called offside then the ball is deflected off a defensive player like in the example above?

Thank you Very much,

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Emerson
I believe what may have happened here is that the offensive player was in an offside position the moment the free kick was taken. The header by the defender does not reset the offside. That is the only way it can be offside.
If the attacker was in an 'onside' position when the free kick was taken then it cannot be offside off a touch by a defender.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Offside position is judged only when the ball is touched by a teammate. The referee's explanation indicates an error. I can't tell whether the error was in his description or his decision.

If the attacker was in offside position when the ball was kicked by a teammate, the player may not participate in play even if the ball deflects off a defender and/or the goal post. By touching the ball after such a deflection, the attacker in offside position would infringe the offside law by 'gaining an advantage.'

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

I suspect the referee's answer was slightly misstated or slightly misunderstood. Perhaps the ref meant that when the free kick was taken, the player was not called for offside because he had not yet participated in play. But when the ball deflected to him, he did participate in play, specifically by what Law 11 calls gaining an advantage from his offside position.