Soccer Offside Rules

Offside position | Offside offence | Offside sanction
soccer offside rules

Since the offside rule is one of the trickiest rules of soccer today, I will try my best to explain it to you: Offside is a law in soccer which effectively limits how far forward attacking players may be when involved in play. Simply put, a player cannot gain an advantage by waiting for the ball near the opposing goal with only the goalkeeper between him and the goal.

The application of the offside rule is best considered in three steps; Offside position, Offside offence and Offside sanction.

A player is in an offside position if "he is infront of the opponents' defender . A player level with the second to last opponent is not in an offside position.
soccer offside rules

In 2005 The International Football Association Board agreed a new Decision in Law 11 that being 'nearer to his opponent's goal line' meant that "any part of his head, body or feet is nearer to his opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent. The arms are not included in this definition." [1] This is taken to mean that any part of the attacking player named in this Decision 2 has to be past the part of the second last defender closest to his goal line (excluding the arms) or past the part of the ball closest to the defenders' goal line.

In general, what this means is that either the attacking team should ensure the opposing team has at least two players (of which the opposition's goalkeeper is included) in between the goal line and the nearest player of the attacking team, or all players of the attacking team should be behind the ball such that it remains closer to the goal line than any of the player of the attacking team. If the goalkeeper is ahead of the play, then the forward will have to be in line with or behind two defenders (considering they are not in their own half).

A player in an offside position is only committing an offside offence if, in the opinion of the referee, he is involved in active play "at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team." A player is not committing an offside offence if the player receives the ball directly from a throw-in, goal kick or corner kick.
soccer offside rules

In order for an offside offence to occur the player must be in an offside position when the ball is touched or played by a team-mate; a player who runs from an onside position into an offside position after the ball was touched or played by a team-mate is not penalised.

Conversely, a player who is in an offside position when the ball is touched or played by a team-mate may potentially commit an offside offence even if they run back in to an on-side position before receiving the ball. This potential remains until another player touches or plays the ball and offside position is reevaluated, or the ball goes out of play, or an opponent makes a controlled play on the ball. A player formerly in offside position who benefits from an ill-advised but deliberate play by an opponent is not judged offside.

Determining whether a player is in "active play" can be complex. FIFA issued new guidelines for interpreting the offside law in 2003 and these were incorporated in law 11 in July 2005. The new wording seeks to more precisely define the three cases as follows:

- Interfering with play means playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a teammate.

- Interfering with an opponent means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent's line of vision or movements or making a gesture or movement which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts an opponent.

- Gaining an advantage by being in an offside position includes playing a ball that rebounds to the player off a post or crossbar or playing a ball that rebounds to the player off an opponent having been in an offside position.

In practice, a player in an offside position may be penalised before playing or touching the ball if, in the opinion of the referee, no other team-mate in an onside position has the opportunity to play the ball.

The referees' interpretations of these new definitions are rarely controversial. When it does happen, it is largely over what movements a player in an offside position can make without being judged to be interfering with an opponent. The famous quote: "If he's not interfering with play then what's he doing on the pitch?"

The sanction for an offside offence is an indirect free kick to the opposing team, at the spot where the offence occurred. Most referees use their discretion and let play go on if the "offended" team already has the advantage or ball, in order not to slow down play with redundant free kicks that achieve the same purpose of giving the advantage or ball back to the "offended" team. This discretion should not be confused with the advantage clause, which can only be applied to Law 12. In essence, the referee who doesn't whistle offside must be judging that one of the elements of offside was not present.

In enforcing this rule, the referee depends greatly on an assistant referee, who generally keeps in line with the second to last defender in his relevant end (exact positioning techniques are more complex). An assistant referee signals that an offside offence has occurred by first raising his or her flag upright without movement, and then when acknowledged by the referee, by raising his or her flag in a manner that signifies the location of the offence:
soccer offside rules

- Flag pointed downwards: offence has occurred in the third of the pitch nearest to the assistant referee.

- Flag horizontal to the ground: offence has occurred in the middle third of the pitch.

- Flag pointed upwards: offence has occurred in the third of the pitch furthest from the assistant referee.

The assistant referees' task with regards to offside can be difficult, as they need to keep up with attacks and counter attacks, consider which players are in an offside position when the ball is played, and then determine whether the offside positioned players become involved in active play. The risk of false judgement is further enhanced by the foreshortening effect, which occurs when the distance between attacking player and the assistant referee is significantly different from the distance to the defending player, and the assistant referee is not directly in line with the defender. The difficulty of offside officiating is often underestimated by spectators. Trying to judge if a player is level with an opponent at the moment the ball is kicked is not easy: if an attacker and a defender are running in opposite directions, they can be two metres apart in a tenth of a second.

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