A&H

Offisde?

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If none of the player crosses the halfway line, the player is considered to still be in their own half of play. If their knee (or any body part other than their arms) has broken the plane of the line into the other half though? Offside position.
 
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If their knee (or any body part other than their arms) has broken the plane of the line into the other half though? Offside position.
Since the wording is "A player is not in an offside position if he is in his own half of the field of play" (as opposed to "...if he is not in the opposition's half of the field of play") I'd take the opposite view.
 
LOTG:Field markings
The field of play must be...marked with lines. These lines belong to the areas of which they are boundaries.

The halfway line forms a boundary of the player's own half and is therefore part of it - a player on the line is in his own half and therefore not in an offside position. If the law said "a player is in an offside position if he is in his opponents' half..." then he would be offside as the halfway line is also part of his opponents' half.

I think we are getting into the realm of quantum physics here...
 
Could a player be in an offside position if the only part of his body in his own half was an arm?
 
Since we are spiting hairs here which I see absolutely unnecessary i have a question for clarification. The half way line is 4 inches wide. I don't know anyone who has a body 4 inches or less wide. So where is the rest of this player's body?
 
I was informed by a high level instructor that the halfway line, while it is "shared" between the two halves, for offside purposes it is always considered to be the boundary line for the players' "own half".

He also suggested that we consider the boundary edge of the line (ie, the one furthest from your own goal) like the furthest back point on a defender if we were determining offside based on a defender.
 
Since we are spiting hairs here which I see absolutely unnecessary i have a question for clarification. The half way line is 4 inches wide. I don't know anyone who has a body 4 inches or less wide. So where is the rest of this player's body?

If you are going to split hairs at least get the right width of hair
"All lines must be of the same width, which must be not more than12 cm (5 ins)."
 
If your boot is on the half-way line and you meet all the conditions for being in an offside position, then you're offside. The penal area of a line extends to its outermost border - otherwise a foul on a touchline would be classed as off the FOP. The half-way line marks the end of each half, in the same way that the goal line does. Cannot be anything other than offside.
 
Except in this case, the halfway line is also part of the player's own half, so... that player cannot be offside as they are in their own half...
 
If your boot is on the half-way line and you meet all the conditions for being in an offside position, then you're offside. The penal area of a line extends to its outermost border - otherwise a foul on a touchline would be classed as off the FOP. The half-way line marks the end of each half, in the same way that the goal line does. Cannot be anything other than offside.
Offside or no, the LOTG wording for offside and being in your own half is not equivalent to in/out the FOP.
 
Thanks for all replies. I understand that the half way line is technically in both halves of the field and therefore, by implication, it is theoretically possible to be offside on the line. From a practical perspective I wouldn't be calling offside if a player was on the line.
 
I would argue that any part in the attacking part of the field can be considered offside. One foot in that half, one on the line? Offside.
 
I would argue that any part in the attacking part of the field can be considered offside. One foot in that half, one on the line? Offside.
Agreed.

If the player is inside his/her own half (ie, on the halfway line, but no further), then s/he cannot be in an offside position, but as soon as that foot is into the other half of play... in an offside position.
 
The LOTG do not support these arguments.
p 35 'A player is not in an offside position if he is in his own half of the field of play'. No qualification or interpretation.

It doesn't say 'entirely in his own half' or 'in his own half only' or 'no part of his body in the opposition's half'. If you have one foot in each half then are in your own half, and you are not in an offside position. Any other interpretation might be completely sensible, but it is made up.
 
@black_dog the LOTG in many occasions has tried to simplify the wording of more complex situations which has its benefits but by doing so have created unintended interpretations.

On this very law if you take the LOTG literally there are two areas of misunderstanding:

"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"
This does not take into account if an attacker has moved beyond the goal line as part of general play. There are clarifications for defenders but not for attackers.

"A player in an offside position is only penalised 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"
Again it is simplified wording here. What is meant here is that 'at that moment' he is in an offside position but he becomes involved later but in the same phase of play. Even my wording doesn't completely cover it but it demonstrates how the LOTG is not always worded to its intention.
 
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