What Is Offside in Football? The Rule Explained Simply
Offside is the rule in football (soccer) that stops an attacker from waiting near the opponent’s goal for a pass. A player is in an offside position when, at the moment a teammate plays the ball, any part of their head, body or feet is in the opponents’ half and is nearer to the goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. Being in that position is not a foul by itself. The offence happens only when the player then becomes involved in active play. This guide sets out the rule as written in Law 11 of the IFAB Laws of the Game, explains each condition, and works through the situations that cause the most arguments.
TL;DR
- A player is in an offside position if they are in the opponents’ half and closer to the goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent when a teammate plays the ball.
- Being in an offside position is not an offence. The player must also interfere with play, interfere with an opponent, or gain an advantage.
- There is no offside offence when a player receives the ball directly from a goal kick, a throw-in or a corner kick.
- Offside is judged at the moment the ball is played, not at the moment it is received. Hands and arms are ignored.
- The penalty for an offside offence is an indirect free kick to the opposing team, taken where the offence occurred.
Table of Contents
- The offside rule in plain words
- The three tests for an offside position
- Offside position is not an offence
- When there is no offside offence
- The moment the ball is played
- Worked examples
- Which body parts count
- Deliberate play versus deflection
- Offside or foul: which comes first
- What happens after an offside offence
- VAR and semi-automated offside technology
- How to explain offside to a beginner
- Why offside feels confusing
- Our perspective: offside as a data problem
- Follow offside calls live
- Reviewing offside after the final whistle
- Quick reference table
- FAQ
- Sources
The offside rule in plain words
Imagine a line across the pitch, level with the second-last defender of the team that is defending. Usually the goalkeeper is the last defender, so the second-last is the outfield player closest to their own goal. An attacker who is beyond that line, and also ahead of the ball, is in an offside position when the ball is played forward by a teammate.
The purpose is simple: it prevents goal-hanging. Without it, a forward could stand beside the goalkeeper all match and wait for long passes. The rule forces attackers to time their runs and forces defenders to hold a coordinated line.
According to the IFAB text, a player is not offside if they are level with the second-last opponent, or level with the last two opponents. Level means level, so the benefit of any tie goes to the attacker.
The three tests for an offside position
A player is in an offside position only when all of the following are true at the moment the ball is played or touched by a teammate:
- Part of the head, body or feet is in the opponents’ half. The halfway line itself is excluded, so a player standing exactly on it is not in the opponents’ half. A player cannot be offside in their own half.
- That part of the body is nearer to the opponents’ goal line than the ball. If the ball is further forward than the attacker, for example after a pass back, the attacker is not offside.
- That part of the body is also nearer to the goal line than the second-last opponent. This is the test that decides most close calls.
If any one of the three fails, the player is onside. The three-part structure is why a quick glance at a replay can mislead: the attacker may be ahead of the defenders but behind the ball, or level with them by a boot tip.
Offside position is not an offence
This is the point beginners miss most. The Law states plainly that being in an offside position is not an offence. The referee penalizes it only if, after a teammate plays the ball, the player in that position becomes involved in active play. The IFAB defines involvement in three ways:
- Interfering with play: playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a teammate.
- Interfering with an opponent: preventing an opponent from playing the ball by clearly obstructing their line of vision, challenging them for the ball, or clearly attempting to play a ball that is close when doing so impacts an opponent.
- Gaining an advantage: playing the ball after it has rebounded or been deflected off the goalpost, crossbar or an opponent while the player was in an offside position.
So a striker who stands in an offside position while a teammate shoots from the other wing, and who never touches the ball or affects a defender, has committed no offence. If the shot is saved and falls to a different, onside teammate, play continues.
When there is no offside offence
The Law removes offside from three restarts. A player cannot be penalized for offside if they receive the ball directly from:
- a goal kick,
- a throw-in, or
- a corner kick.
This is a foundational rule for reading set pieces. An attacker can stand next to the goal line at a corner and still be onside when the ball is delivered, because the corner kick is exempt, although an attacker who then receives a second pass from a teammate is judged again in the usual way.
Also, receiving the ball from an opponent who has deliberately played it does not count as gaining an advantage, with one exception: when the opponent’s action was a deliberate save. That distinction matters in the next section.
The moment the ball is played
The single most useful idea for understanding offside is timing. Position is judged at the instant a teammate plays the ball, not when the attacker receives it. The IFAB wording refers to the moment the ball is played or touched by a teammate.
This is the source of the classic complaint: “He was onside when he got the ball.” He may well have been. But if he was beyond the second-last defender when the pass left his teammate’s foot, he was offside, and the offence is recorded from that moment. A forward who starts a run from an onside spot and receives the ball in space behind the defense is onside. A forward who is already ahead of the line when the pass is struck is not.
For anyone analyzing matches, this means offside has to be reviewed frame by frame at the point of the pass. Our guide on how to analyze a football match covers how to tie events like this to a timeline.
Worked examples
The examples below use a team in white attacking left to right against a team in blue.
Example 1: clear offside. A white striker stands five yards beyond the last blue outfield defender. A white midfielder plays a pass toward him. The striker is in an offside position when the pass is played, and he collects the ball. This is interfering with play. The referee gives an indirect free kick to blue.
Example 2: level, so onside. The striker’s front foot is exactly level with the second-last blue defender when the pass is played. The Law says level is not offside. Play continues.
Example 3: ahead of the defender but behind the ball. A white midfielder dribbles beyond the blue defense, then passes back to a striker who is ahead of the defenders but behind the ball. The striker is not nearer to the goal line than the ball, so he is onside.
Example 4: standing offside, not involved. A white winger is beyond the line on the far side of the pitch while a teammate shoots on the near side. The shot is saved and the winger does nothing. No offence occurs.
Example 5: obstructing the goalkeeper. The same winger is positioned on the goalkeeper’s line of sight, and the goalkeeper cannot see the shot until late. Because the player clearly obstructs the opponent’s vision, this is interfering with an opponent, and the offence stands even though he never touched the ball.
Example 6: corner kick. A white attacker is close to the blue goal line when a corner is taken and heads the delivery in. There is no offside offence from a corner kick.
Which body parts count
Offside is assessed using the part of the body that can legally score. The Law considers the head, body and feet. The hands and arms of all players, including goalkeepers, are not considered. For the purposes of determining offside, the upper boundary of the arm is at the bottom of the armpit, according to the Law text.
Two practical effects follow. A forward whose outstretched arm is beyond the last defender is not offside because of that arm. And a defender’s arm held out does not move the offside line backward. Only head, body and feet set the line, and the armpit is the reference point between “arm” and “body” on the upper side.
Deliberate play versus deflection
The most misunderstood part of Law 11 is what happens when a defender touches the ball. Many fans assume any defensive touch makes everyone onside. It does not.
As IFAB guidance on deliberate play explains, a player clearly in an offside position should not become onside every time an opponent moves and touches the ball. For an opponent’s touch to reset the situation, the defender must have deliberately played the ball, meaning they had control and the possibility of passing it to a teammate, gaining possession or clearing it. An instinctive stretch or jump that only achieves limited contact is a deflection, and the offside offence still applies.
Officials weigh several indicators when deciding whether a play was deliberate:
- Did the ball travel a long distance to the defender?
- Did the defender have a clear view of it?
- Was the ball moving at a reasonable speed, rather than very fast?
- Did the defender have time to coordinate their body movement, instead of reacting?
A hard clearance from point-blank range that glances off a defender’s shin is a deflection. A defender who watches a slow, high ball come down and controls or heads it purposefully has played it deliberately. If the defender’s deliberate action was a save, though, the offside attacker can still be penalized for gaining an advantage.
Offside or foul: which comes first
When a foul and a possible offside overlap, the order of events decides. Under the Law as published by The FA, if a player in an offside position is moving toward the ball with the intention of playing it and is fouled by an opponent before playing it or challenging for it, the foul is penalized, not the offside. If the player has already challenged an opponent for the ball and is then fouled, the offside offence came first and is penalized.
What happens after an offside offence
The referee awards an indirect free kick to the opposing team. It is taken from the place where the offending player was when the ball was played or touched by their teammate, or where they interfered with an opponent. The shot cannot score directly: another player must touch the ball before a goal can count. If the offside offence is committed inside the defending team’s own goal area, the kick can be taken from anywhere in that goal area.
A goal scored from an offside offence is disallowed. The game restarts with the indirect free kick for the defending side, which is why a cheered goal can be chalked off a few moments later.
VAR and semi-automated offside technology
Offside is one of the decisions that video review can check. The Laws of the Game for 2026/27 refer to semi-automated offside technology alongside the video assistant referee protocol, as listed in The FA’s summary of the 2026/27 law changes. Such systems help officials mark the exact moment of the pass and the position of body parts relative to the defender, using the armpit as the cut-off for the arm.
Technology does not change the rule. It tightens the measurement. The same three tests apply, and the same logic about involvement in play. The difference is that a forward whose shoulder is a few centimeters ahead of a defender can now be caught in situations that once passed unnoticed.
How to explain offside to a beginner
People regularly ask how to explain offside to a child or a friend who is new to the sport. A three-step script works better than quoting the Law:
- The line. Picture a line level with the second-last defender. Attackers should not be beyond it when the pass is played.
- The moment. Only the instant the pass is played matters. Where the attacker ends up afterward does not.
- The involvement. Standing in the wrong place is not a foul. The attacker must touch the ball or affect a defender.
Add two shortcuts: level is onside, and there is no offside from a throw-in, a goal kick or a corner. These cover most of what a new viewer sees in a match.
Why offside feels confusing
Three things make the rule hard to follow live. First, it depends on a moment that lasts a fraction of a second, which the eye rarely captures. Second, the rule has layers: position, then involvement, then exceptions. Third, the television picture is angled, so lines drawn on a screen do not always match the angle the assistant referee had.
Fans also confuse the offside position with the offence. A flag that goes up late is often the assistant waiting to see whether the player in the offside position actually becomes involved.
Our perspective: offside as a data problem
At BetsyScore, we treat offside as one of the most data-rich events in a match. A single offside call can erase a goal, change a win probability and reshape the momentum picture within seconds. Our platform is built around live scores that refresh every few seconds, AI win-probability figures drawn from expected goals, recent form and head-to-head records, and a minute-by-minute momentum read. A disallowed goal appears in that picture as a swing, and readers can see it happen.
We also think the rule is best learned through timing. Because the offside moment is the instant of the pass, the most useful habit for any fan or analyst is to link each flag to a pass, not a finish. That is also how defensive structures should be studied: a line that steps up together on the pass is a tactic, not luck. Our coaching piece on training an offside trap goes into that side of the game.
— Aria
Follow offside calls live
If you want to see how an offside decision changes a match as it happens, open our live football scores to follow matches across more than 200 competitions, or check AI match predictions for win probabilities before kickoff. Both are free to use and built to be useful before, during and after every match.
Reviewing offside after the final whistle
Once a match is over, offside calls are worth revisiting. Count how many times a team’s forwards were caught, note whether the calls came from through balls or crosses, and compare against shots and chances created. A team that is flagged often may be playing a high-risk attacking game, while a team that rarely is flagged may be passing more patiently. Our guide to post-match stats worth reviewing shows which numbers to pair with offside counts.
Quick reference table
| Situation | Offside offence? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Attacker level with second-last defender | No | Level is onside |
| Attacker ahead of defenders but behind the ball | No | Not nearer the goal line than the ball |
| Attacker in own half | No | Must be in opponents’ half |
| Attacker beyond line, receives pass | Yes | Interferes with play |
| Attacker beyond line, blocks goalkeeper’s view | Yes | Interferes with an opponent |
| Ball received directly from corner, throw-in or goal kick | No | Exempt restarts |
| Ball deflected off defender to offside attacker | Yes | A deflection is not deliberate play |
| Ball deliberately played by defender, then reaches attacker | No | Deliberate play resets the situation, except a deliberate save |
| Arm beyond last defender | No | Hands and arms are not considered |
FAQ
What is the meaning of offside in football?
Offside means an attacker is in a position beyond the second-last defender and ahead of the ball when a teammate plays it, and then takes part in play. If the attacker is only standing there and does nothing, no offence is called. The punishment is an indirect free kick for the other team.
Can you be offside from a throw-in, goal kick or corner?
No. The Laws state that there is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from a goal kick, a throw-in or a corner kick. Once the ball is played again by a teammate, the normal rule applies.
Does the goalkeeper count as a defender for offside?
Yes. The test uses the second-last opponent, and the goalkeeper is usually the last. In most situations the second-last opponent is therefore the deepest outfield defender. Any outfield player can also be the last defender if the goalkeeper has moved up the pitch.
Why was a goal disallowed if the player was onside when he received the ball?
Offside is judged when the teammate plays the ball, not when it is received. If the player was beyond the second-last defender at the moment of the pass and then played the ball, the goal is ruled out even though he was onside on arrival.
Do arms count for offside?
No. Hands and arms of all players, including goalkeepers, are not considered. The upper boundary of the arm is the bottom of the armpit, so only the head, body and feet can put a player offside.
Sources
- Law 11 - Offside, IFAB Laws of the Game
- Law 11 - Offside: deliberate play guidelines clarified, IFAB
- Law 11 - Offside, The FA, Laws of the Game 2026/27
- 2026/27 law changes explained, The FA