A player (Team A) makes a long pass towards a forward (Team A) who is in an offside position. The ball moves on the ground and is played by a defender (Team B) who anticipated the direction of the ball and had time to coordinate their body but fails to control the ball. As a result of this contact, the ball goes to the forward who scores a goal. What is the correct decision?

Question

Accepted Answer

The referee awards the goal (no offside offence) because the forward received the ball from the defender who had deliberately played the ball. The ball travelled from distance and the defender had the possibility of gaining possession of the ball. The fact that this attempt was unsuccessful does not stop it being ‘deliberate play’.