The offside rule explained, with simple examples
A player is offside when, at the moment a team-mate plays the ball, they are in the opponents' half and closer to the opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent – and they then get involved in the play. Simply standing in that position is not an offence. The punishment is an indirect free kick to the defending team, and the rule itself, Law 11 of the Laws of the Game, was left unchanged for the 2026/27 season.
Offside position: three conditions at once
Law 11 separates two ideas that fans often blur together: being in an offside position and committing an offside offence. Start with the position. A player is in an offside position if any part of the head, body or feet is:
- in the opponents' half (the halfway line itself does not count), and
- nearer to the opponents' goal line than the ball, and
- nearer to the opponents' goal line than the second-last opponent.
All three have to be true together. A player in their own half cannot be in an offside position, and neither can a player who is level with or behind the ball.
Which body parts count
Hands and arms are ignored for every player, goalkeepers included. The arm is taken to end in line with the bottom of the armpit, so a shoulder leaning beyond the defender can put an attacker offside, while an outstretched hand cannot. The same measure applies to the defender: an arm pointing back towards goal does not play anyone onside.
Level is onside
A player who is level with the second-last opponent, or level with the last two opponents, is not in an offside position. There is no margin written into the Law; level simply means not offside.
"Second-last opponent", not "last defender"
The goalkeeper is usually the opponent closest to the goal line, which is why people talk about the "last defender". The Law, though, counts opponents, and the goalkeeper is just one of them. Imagine Everton send their goalkeeper up for a late corner at Brighton and the ball is cleared. As Brighton break, the two deepest Everton players – whoever they are – form the offside line, and one covering defender on his own is not enough to keep a Brighton forward onside.
The moment that matters
Offside is judged at the instant the ball is played or touched by a team-mate, using the first point of contact of that pass. (For a goalkeeper's throw it is the last point of contact.) Where the attacker is when the ball arrives is irrelevant.
Picture Arsenal at home to Chelsea. The Arsenal winger is a yard behind the Chelsea left-back when the through ball is struck, then sprints past him and collects it ten yards beyond the defence. He is onside, however far clear he looks when he shoots.
From position to offence
A player in an offside position is penalised only if they become involved in active play. The Law lists three ways:
| Involvement | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Interfering with play | Playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate |
| Interfering with an opponent | Clearly blocking an opponent's line of vision, challenging for the ball, clearly trying to play a close ball in a way that affects an opponent, or an obvious action that clearly affects an opponent's ability to play the ball |
| Gaining an advantage | Playing the ball, or interfering with an opponent, after it has rebounded or been deflected off the post, the crossbar, a match official or an opponent, or after an opponent has deliberately saved it |
So a Liverpool striker who is standing offside on the far side of the pitch while a team-mate scores from distance has done nothing wrong. If the same striker is planted in front of the goalkeeper, clearly blocking the view of the shot, the goal can be ruled out even though he never touches the ball.
Deliberate play, deflections and saves
If the ball comes to an offside-positioned attacker from an opponent who deliberately played it, the attacker is not considered to have gained an advantage. Deliberate play means the opponent had control of the ball with the possibility of passing it, gaining possession or clearing it; a poor or unsuccessful attempt still counts. A mere deflection does not reset anything, and nor does a deliberate save – stopping, or trying to stop, a ball that is going into or very close to the goal.
Say a Manchester City centre-back, under no pressure, tries to pass back to his goalkeeper and underhits it; a Tottenham forward who had been standing offside nips in and scores. The goal is good. If instead the ball had merely skimmed off the defender's shin from a Tottenham pass, the forward would still be offside.
When there is no offside offence
There is no offence if a player receives the ball directly from:
- a goal kick,
- a throw-in,
- a corner kick.
A free kick is not on that list, so offside applies from free kicks as normal.
The restart, and a quirk about defenders
The sanction is an indirect free kick where the offence occurred – even if that spot is in the offending player's own half, which can happen when a player comes back from an offside position to play the ball.
A defender cannot create an offside trap by stepping off the pitch. A defending player who leaves the field without the referee's permission is treated as being on the goal line or touchline for offside purposes until the next stoppage, or until the defending team has played the ball towards the halfway line and it is outside its penalty area.
What VAR checks, and why flags go up late
Where a competition uses video assistant referees, offside by the attacking team in the build-up to a goal or a penalty incident is checked. The position itself is a factual matter, normally settled in the video room without the referee going to the monitor. Whether an offside-positioned player interfered with an opponent is a subjective call, the kind suited to an on-field review. VAR does not step in for an offside flag that only leads to a free kick in midfield. Our guide to how VAR works covers the process in full.
Assistant referees may delay raising the flag, but only in a very clear attacking situation. If they do, they must raise it once the attack ends in a goal, penalty, free kick, corner, throw-in or kept possession – which is why a flag sometimes goes up several seconds after the run.
Some competitions also use semi-automated offside technology, which the Laws expressly permit. As UEFA describes it, dedicated cameras track multiple body points on every player and give the VAR team the offside line quickly; the match officials still take the decision. UEFA has used it in the Champions League since 2022/23, and the Premier League handbook for 2026/27 provides for it too.
Common misconceptions
| What people say | What Law 11 says |
|---|---|
| "He was past the last defender" | It is the second-last opponent, and the goalkeeper is one of the opponents |
| "His arm was offside" | Hands and arms never count |
| "He was offside when he received it" | It is judged when the team-mate plays the ball |
| "Standing offside is a foul" | Only if the player becomes involved in active play |
| "Level is offside" | Level is not offside |
| "You can't be offside from a back-pass" | True only for a deliberate play – not for a deflection or a save |
| "No offside in your own half" | Correct |
Frequently asked questions
Can you be offside from a throw-in?
No. There is no offside offence when the ball is received directly from a throw-in, a goal kick or a corner kick. Once a second player has touched the ball, the normal rule applies again.
Can you be offside from a free kick?
Yes. Free kicks are not among the exceptions, so attackers must time their runs at a free kick just as they would in open play.
Why was a goal allowed when a team-mate was standing offside?
Because position alone is not an offence. Unless that team-mate touched the ball, interfered with an opponent or gained an advantage from a rebound or save, the goal stands.
How does an offside decision show up on a live score?
On ScoreMondo, a goal ruled out after a review appears in the match events as "Goal disallowed (VAR)" and the score goes back. The match page also has an "Offsides" row in its statistics; our guide on how to read match stats explains what that count tells you. You can watch it unfold on the matches live right now page or from today's football live scores, and the match statuses guide decodes the labels you will see along the way.