Offside rule explained: examples for new football fans

Choose Beyond both in the pitch example, then compare Level with opponent and Behind the ball. Each changes one part of the test. A receiver can be ahead of the defence and still onside because the ball is even nearer to goal. That often explains a square pass across the penalty area after two attackers break through.

The five examples also show a runner in their own half and a goalkeeper who has moved upfield. The result describes position at one frozen moment. Move a slider to explore the boundary; deciding an actual offence also needs the player's next action, which the second tool explains.

Start with three position checks at the relevant team-mate touch: is any part of the attacker's head, body or feet in the opponents' half, nearer the goal line than the ball, and nearer the goal line than the second-last opponent? All three conditions must be true. The halfway line itself is excluded from the opponents' half.

Hands and arms do not count, including the goalkeeper's. A foot, head or shoulder can put a player ahead even when their torso looks level; an outstretched arm cannot. For this test, the arm starts at the bottom of the armpit. Level with the ball or the second-last opponent is onside.

An offside position is only the first stage. The player must then play or touch the ball, interfere with an opponent, or become involved after a rebound, deflection or save that preserves that position. A team-mate's goal can stand while an uninvolved attacker remains beyond the defence.

Judge the attacker when a team-mate plays or touches the ball, not when the attacker receives it. Normally, use the first contact of that play or touch. For a goalkeeper's throw, use the last contact as the ball is released. A punt or kick from the goalkeeper's feet follows the normal first-contact rule.

A runner who is onside at that moment can accelerate beyond the defence before collecting the pass. A player who is offside at that moment cannot fix it by running back to receive the same ball. A replay paused at reception can therefore give the wrong impression in either direction.

The ball does not have to be passed forwards for offside to apply. Its direction is not the test: an attacker who was ahead of both the ball and the second-last opponent can run back onto a backwards pass and still commit an offence. A typical cutback is onside because the receiver was level with or behind the ball when it was played.

A team-mate's next touch creates a new check, even if that touch is accidental. An initially offside player who stays uninvolved can become eligible to receive a later pass if they are onside at that later touch. Simply waiting, or seeing the ball strike an opponent, is not the same reset.

Count opponents, regardless of their position on the team sheet. Usually the goalkeeper is nearest the goal line, so an outfield defender is second-last. If the keeper rushes out and one defender stays near the goal, the goalkeeper can become second-last instead. The Keeper upfield example shows why one opponent behind the attacker may not be enough.

The two nearest opponents can also both be outfield players if the keeper is further upfield than both. Compare the body parts that count for each player, rather than the middle of their shirt or their hands. The rule has no special assumption that a goalkeeper must remain between every attacker and the goal.

Yes. An attacker in an offside position can interfere by clearly blocking an opponent's view of the ball so they cannot play it, or by challenging an opponent for it. A clear attempt to play a nearby ball also counts if it affects an opponent; so does an obvious action that clearly affects the opponent's ability to play the ball.

Picture a shot passing a team-mate near the goalkeeper. If that player neither plays the ball nor interferes with anyone, their position alone does not cancel the goal. If they clearly prevent the goalkeeper from seeing and playing the ball, there can be an offence without a touch. Being near the keeper, or moving towards the ball, is not automatically enough.

The restart for an offside offence is an indirect free kick to the defending team where the involvement occurs. If the attacker runs back into their own half before playing the pass, the free kick can be in that half. A defending free kick inside the team's own goal area can be taken anywhere in that area.

There is no offside offence when receiving the ball directly from a throw-in, goal kick or corner. A free kick, whether direct or indirect, has no such exemption. A goalkeeper's punt or throw during open play is not a goal kick.

A later team-mate's touch brings the normal position test back into play. After a short corner, for example, the corner-taker can be offside when receiving a return pass. The exemption for the first delivery does not protect every later touch in the move.

A rebound off the post or crossbar, an uncontrolled deflection from an opponent, or a deliberate save does not erase the position at the earlier team-mate touch. An attacker who was offside at a shot and then scores from the keeper's parry has gained an advantage from that position.

Deliberate play by an opponent is different, provided it is not a save and the attacker has not already interfered. The defender must have control with the opportunity to pass, gain possession or clear. A poorly executed clearance can still be deliberate play. Officials consider the ball's speed, distance and predictability, the player's view and the time available to coordinate the action; intending to reach the ball is not enough on its own.

For offside, a save means stopping or trying to stop a ball heading into or very close to goal. An outfield player can make one with a legal body part, such as a foot or head. Deliberate handball by an opponent also breaks the earlier offside chain and is not that save exception; any handball offence remains a separate decision.

In the Premier League, an assistant may delay a tight offside flag during a clear scoring opportunity or an obvious attacking phase. Letting the move finish preserves the chance if the initial judgement was wrong. It does not mean the attacker became offside later. The league's guidance does not call for the same delay when the attacker is clearly offside and there is no risk of error.

Semi-automated offside technology, or SAOT, suggests the relevant contact point and produces positional lines for VAR to check. Officials still review the outcome and judge involvement, interference and deliberate play. If SAOT is unavailable, VAR can use the previous calibrated offside technology. The system supports the same Law 11 test; it does not make every player beyond a line guilty of an offence.

An angled television screenshot can make one body part appear nearer to goal than another. Look for the completed official review and its explanation before treating an apparent goal as confirmed. This guide follows the 2026/27 Laws checked on 24 October 2026; a proposed alternative offside rule is not the rule used in these examples.

Find the relevant team-mate touch first. Then check the opponents' half, the ball and the second-last opponent. Finally ask what the attacker did, whether the delivery was an exempt restart, and whether any later opponent touch was deliberate play, a deflection or a save. That sequence explains more than looking for whoever seems furthest forward when the ball arrives.

Use the official incident explanation to understand the decision. Match XI's lineup pages distinguish official team-sheet selection from predicted XIs, and its match records provide the recorded result and events. A formation or event minute cannot supply the precise positions and contact timing needed to judge offside, but these pages help you follow the players involved.