Offside, completely explained
The whole rule comes down to one frozen instant: the moment a teammate plays the ball. Step through the scenarios to see every wrinkle of Law 11 in motion, then build your own situations in the sandbox.
Offside is the rule that decides more goals than any other, and it is misunderstood almost universally — not because it is complicated, but because people watch the wrong instant. The rule is judged at the moment a teammate plays the ball, not the moment the ball is received. Everything that happens while the ball travels is irrelevant.
There are two separate questions, and both must be answered yes for an offence. First: was the player in an offside position at the instant of the pass? That means nearer the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-to-last opponent, while in the opponents’ half. Second: did they then get involved in play — touching the ball, challenging an opponent, blocking a line of sight, or gaining an advantage from a rebound? Standing in an offside position is not an offence and never has been.
Two details settle most arguments. Level is onside: you must be nearer the goal line than the second-last opponent, so shoulder-to-shoulder counts as behind. And arms and hands are excluded from the measurement for attackers and defenders alike, which is why VAR lines are drawn at the shoulder.
The scenarios below animate each of these cases and drop “ghosts” at the moment of the pass, so you can see exactly what the assistant referee is judging. The sandbox lets you drag players and the ball yourself and freeze the moment on demand.
Every scenario, in words
The classic offside
- Setup. Blue attacks to the right. Striker #9 has drifted beyond the last red outfielder. Nothing illegal yet: simply standing in an offside position is not an offence.
- The pass. Freeze. The only instant that matters is the moment #8 strikes the ball. #9 is nearer the goal line than both the ball and the second-to-last opponent (yellow line), so he is in an offside position. Ghosts now mark this moment.
- Ball in flight. Everyone keeps moving while the ball travels, and none of it matters. Compare the live players with their ghosts: the judgment was locked in back there.
- Verdict. #9 was in an offside position at the pass and got involved by playing the ball. That completes the offence: indirect free kick to Red, taken where #9 got involved.
Level = onside
- Setup. Same picture, one difference: #9 is standing exactly level with the second-to-last defender, #4.
- The pass. At the pass, level is onside. The law says you must be NEARER the goal line than the second-last opponent. Shoulder to shoulder counts as behind. Since 1990, ties go to the attacker.
- Ball in flight. Now #9 turns that level start into a head start in stride, not in position, and he is clean through.
- Verdict. Goal stands. Strikers live on this line for a reason: being level costs nothing and buys a yard.
Timing: the through-ball
- Setup. #9 starts a couple of steps BEHIND the defensive line, bouncing on his toes and waiting for the trigger.
- The pass. The ball is struck while #9 is still behind #4: ONSIDE. The snapshot is taken here, and nothing that happens afterwards can change it.
- The run. NOW he flies past everyone to collect it. Completely legal: position is judged at the pass, never at the place where you meet the ball.
- Verdict. This is the entire art of the striker: be onside when the ball leaves the boot, be gone a second later.
Timing: no going back
- Setup. This time #9 is caught napping beyond the line just as the pass is about to come.
- The pass. At the strike, #9 is past the second-last opponent: offside position. Ghosts planted. Now watch the defender try to rescue the picture.
- The recovery. Here is the trick: #4 sprints back goal-side, so when the ball arrives #9 LOOKS covered. Judge by the ghosts, not by this picture.
- Verdict. Flag up. You cannot run yourself back onside after the pass, and a recovering defender cannot rescue you either. The moment of the pass is everything.
Your own half is safe
- Setup. Red presses absurdly high: both centre-backs are inside BLUE's half. #9 stands beyond both of them, one step short of the halfway line.
- The pass. You cannot be offside in your own half, so the effective line snaps forward to the halfway line. #9 is behind it: ONSIDE, no matter where the defenders stand.
- The escape. One long ball later, #9 is running at an empty half. The high line is powerful and terrifying for exactly this reason.
- Verdict. Clean through, all legal. Beating a high press often starts with a striker camped one step inside his own half.
Behind the ball: the cut-back
- Setup. #7 attacks down the wing while #9 sets off for the box.
- To the byline. #7 has beaten the whole defence to the byline. Look at #9: he is beyond every defender but NOT beyond the ball, and the ball is now the deepest thing on the pitch. The ball itself sets the line.
- The cut-back. The cut-back is struck. #9 is behind the ball, so he cannot possibly be in an offside position. Where the defenders stand is irrelevant.
- The finish. Rolled straight onto his boot.
- Verdict. Tap-in. This is why cut-backs are so deadly: once a teammate carries the ball past the defensive line, offside simply switches off behind it.
Position is not an offence
- Setup. Two targets: #9 lurks in an offside position at the far post, while #11 times a run from deep.
- The pass. At the pass, #9 is offside and #11 is onside. But remember the two-part test: an offside POSITION only becomes an OFFENCE if the player gets involved in play.
- Ball to #11. The ball goes to #11. #9 stays wide, does not chase it, does not challenge anyone, does not block the keeper's view. He is simply standing there.
- Verdict. Play on. Being in an offside position is never illegal by itself. #9 never interfered with play or with an opponent, so there is nothing to flag.
Screening the keeper
- Setup. #10 lines up a shot from distance. #9 is parked in an offside position, directly between the keeper and the ball.
- The shot. A shot is a teammate's touch too, so the snapshot is taken now: #9 is in an offside position, standing in the keeper's line of sight.
- Into the net. #9 never touches the ball. He does not have to. The keeper cannot pick up the flight until it is already past him.
- Verdict. Clearly blocking an opponent's line of vision counts as interfering with an OPPONENT. Offence, goal chalked off, indirect free kick to Red. You can be offside without ever touching the ball.
Rebounds do not reset
- Setup. #10 shoots from distance with #9 loitering in an offside position.
- The shot. Snapshot at the shot: #9 is offside. Now watch what the save changes, and what it does not.
- The save. The keeper gets a strong hand to it...
- The rebound. ...and the rebound falls straight to #9.
- Verdict. A deliberate SAVE does not reset offside, and neither does a deflection or a rebound off the post or crossbar. #9 gained an advantage from where he stood at the shot: flag up, goal disallowed.
A defender's touch resets
- Setup. #8 tries to thread one through to #9, who is clearly offside. But #4 has read it.
- The pass. Snapshot: #9 is in an offside position as the ball leaves #8's boot. If it reaches him directly, that is an offence. Instead, watch #4.
- The interception. #4 steps in with time and a clear view: no lunge, no block, a genuine controlled attempt to play the ball. That is a DELIBERATE PLAY...
- The shank. ...except he shanks the clearance straight to #9.
- Verdict. When an opponent deliberately plays the ball (and it was not a save), the slate is wiped: #9 is treated as receiving it FROM the defender. New phase, no flag. Contrast this with the rebound scenario: a save keeps the flag, a deliberate play cancels it.
Throw-ins and other freebies
- Setup. Blue has a throw-in deep in Red's half. #9 stands miles beyond the defensive line, in what would normally be an offside position.
- The throw. But there is NO offside directly from a throw-in. The same is true of goal kicks and corner kicks. The geometry says offside; the restart says it does not count.
- Received. So #9 can collect it right there, completely legally.
- Verdict. Flag stays down. One catch: the immunity lasts exactly one touch. The moment #9 plays it on and the move continues, normal offside rules apply to the next pass.
It is the 2nd-last OPPONENT
- Setup. Chaos after a corner: the keeper charged out and got stranded at the edge of his box, while #3 scrambled back to the goal line. #9 waits between them.
- The pass. But there is a man on the line! Does not matter. The law says second-to-last OPPONENT, and keepers count like anyone else. Here the KEEPER is the second-last opponent, the line sits on him, and #9 is beyond it.
- Received. The pass finds #9 with only #3 between him and the net...
- Verdict. ...and the flag goes straight up. To be onside you need TWO opponents between you and the goal line (or the ball, or the halfway line, or to be level with the second-last). One defender on the line is one short.
Common questions
Is level with the last defender offside?
No. To be in an offside position you must be nearer the goal line than the second-to-last opponent. Level counts as behind, so a player exactly in line is onside. This has been true since 1990, and it is why strikers deliberately run the line.
Does it matter where the player is when they receive the ball?
No. Position is judged only at the instant a teammate last plays or touches the ball. A player can be ten yards beyond the defence when the ball reaches them and still be onside, provided they were level or behind at the moment of the pass.
Can you be offside from a throw-in?
No. There is no offside directly from a throw-in, a goal kick, or a corner kick. The exemption covers the first touch only — once the move continues, normal offside rules resume.
Do the arms count for offside?
No. Only the head, body and feet are considered — the parts a player can legally score with. Arms and hands are excluded for attackers and defenders alike, which is why VAR offside lines are drawn at the shoulder.
Can you be offside in your own half?
No. Being in the opponents’ half is one of the three conditions for an offside position, and the halfway line itself does not count as being over it.
Does a defender playing the ball reset offside?
Only if it was deliberate. A controlled pass, clearance or interception made with time and a clear view wipes the offside position clean. A deliberate save, a block, or an accidental deflection does not. This single distinction decides a large share of modern VAR calls.