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Offside Rules - Again

Posted in | 7/15/2010 04:58:00 AM

Extracted from soccerhelp.


Offside Rule
Soccer (Simplified)
You are not offside if you are doing any of the following:
  1. Are in your own half of the field. Or,
  2. Are even with or behind the ball. Or,
  3. Don't go past the "Second Last Defender" (The goalkeeper is usually, but not always, the last defender; this might be the case if the goalkeeper is out of goal). Or,
  4. Receive the ball direct from a goal kick, corner kick or throw-in. (But you can be offside if you receive it direct on a "free kick"). Or,
  5. Are the ballhandler (the ballhandler can be closer to the goal than the ball if he has his back to the goal).
Offside Rule
Soccer (Detailed)
What makes the offside rule especially complicated is that a player can be in an "offside position" without being offside. Two things are necessary to be "offside": 1st - The player must be in an "offside position" at the moment the ball is "played" by a teammate. To be in an "offside position", a player must be on the opponent's half of the field & closer to the opponent's goal line than both the ball & the second-last defender. A player is not in an offside position if he is on his own half of the field (i.e. the half his goalkeeper is on), or even with the second-to-last defender or the last 2 defenders. (The goalkeeper is usually the last defender, or one of the last two, but he might not be; the rules just refer to the last 2 defenders & don't mention the goalkeeper).

2nd - The player must be involved in "active play" by either:
  • gaining an advantage by being in an offside position, or
  • interfering with play, or
  • interfering with an opponent
For example, if a player is in an "offside position" but not involved in the play, he would not be "offside". This can be a tough call & can be very judgmental. For example, what if the "onball attacker" is to the right of the goal but a teammate is in an "offside position" to the left of the goal? You can argue that the teammate wasn't involved in the play, but you can also argue that he distracted the goalkeeper because the goalkeeper had to worry about the possibility of a crossing pass & therefore the attacking team "gained an advantage by being in an offside position", in which case the teammate was "offside". In this case, the Referee's decision might depend on whether he felt the Goalkeeper was influenced by the player in the offside position. Obviously, it is a very subjective decision.

Special Cases Where Offside Is Not Called: A player is not offside if he receives the ball directly from a goal kick, throw-in or corner kick, even if he is in an offside position; however, once touched, the offside rule starts and if it is then played to a player in an "offside position", offside may be called. (Note that the offside rule does apply on "free kicks"). A player is also not offside if he passes the ball backward, even if doing so leaves him in an "offside position". However, if he is in an offside position and the ball is played returned to him by a teammate (e.g., a wall pass), then he can be called offside.

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