Law 11 - OFFSIDE

Question 1

A player is in an offside position if:

Answer 1

any part of the head, body or feet is in the opponents’ half (excluding the halfway line) and

any part of the head, body or feet is nearer to the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent

Question 2

A player is not in an offside position if level with the:

Answer 2

second-last opponent or

last two opponents

Question 3

A player in an offside position at the moment the ball is played or touched* by a team-mate is only penalised on becoming involved in active play by:

Answer 3

interfering with play by playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate or

interfering with an opponent by:

preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or

challenging an opponent for the ball or

clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent or

making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball

Question 4

The following criteria should be used, as appropriate, as indicators that a player was in control of the ball and, as a result, can be considered to have ‘deliberately played’ the ball:

Answer 4

The ball travelled from distance and the player had a clear view of it

The ball was not moving quickly

The direction of the ball was not unexpected

The player had time to coordinate their body movement, i.e. it was not a case of instinctive stretching or jumping, or a movement that achieved limited contact/control

A ball moving on the ground is easier to play than a ball in the air

Question 5

There is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from:

Answer 5

a goal kick

a throw-in

a corner kick