A winger (Team A) attempts to make a strong pass towards a forward (Team A) who is in an offside position, in the opponents’ penalty area. A defender (Team B) who is a few metres from the winger instinctively stretches out their leg to block/intercept the pass. The ball deflects off the defender’s leg and goes to the forward who scores a goal. What is the correct decision?

THE DECISION

The referee disallows the goal and awards an indirect free kick for an offside offence because the forward gains an advantage by playing the ball when it has deflected off the opponent. The defender is not considered to have ‘deliberately played’ the ball because they had no control of the ball and no possibility of clearing it by kicking. The ball came from a short distance and moved quickly, and the defender had no time to coordinate their body movement.