An attacker and a defender chase the ball in the middle of the field of play. The attacker kicks the ball past the defender, who fails to touch the ball and commits a late careless tackle which stops a promising attack (SPA). However, another attacker, who was clearly in an offside position when their team-mate kicked the ball, gains possession and runs towards the opponents’ goal. What is the correct decision?

Question

Accepted Answer

The referee cannot apply the advantage because the attacker who gained the ball was offside when it was kicked. Therefore, the referee stops play, awards a direct free kick for the foul (as it occurred before the offside offence), and cautions (yellow card) the defender for unsporting behaviour (SPA offence).