Offside

A player is in an offside position if any part of the head, body or feet is in the opponents' half and nearer to the opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent, judged at the moment the ball is played or touched by a team-mate. Being in that position is not an offence on its own.^3, ^4, ^5, ^6, ¹¹

Key points

✓The player must be in the opponents' half, and the halfway line itself does not count^4, ⁵
✓Judged at the moment the ball is played or touched by a team-mate, not when it is received¹¹
✓Head, body and feet count. Hands and arms do not, and the arm's upper boundary is in line with the bottom of the armpit^4, ^6, ⁷
✓Level with the second-last opponent, or level with the last two opponents, is not an offside position^8, ^9, ¹⁰
✓No offside offence where the ball is received directly from a goal kick, throw-in or corner kick^13, ^14, ^15, ¹⁶
✓Position alone is not an offence: the player must also become involved in active play^3, ¹¹

Read the full rule

Scenarios

Scenario 1

Shoulder past the second-last opponent

Offside

An attacker's shoulder is one centimetre nearer the goal line than the second-last opponent when the through ball is played, and the attacker runs on to it and plays it.

Correct call: Offside. The shoulder is above the bottom of the armpit, so it counts, and the player then played a ball passed by a team-mate.

Common mistake: Assuming the player is onside because the difference is too small to matter. The Laws set no tolerance. What they do set is that level with the second-last opponent, or with the last two opponents, is not an offside position.

Law^4, ^6, ^7, ^8, ^11, ¹²

Scenario 2

Offside position but not involved

Onside

An attacker is in an offside position but the ball is played to a teammate on the other side of the pitch who scores.

Correct call: Goal stands. The offside player did not interfere with play or an opponent.

Common mistake: Flagging offside just because a player was in an offside position. Position alone is not enough, they must be involved.

Law^3, ¹¹

Scenario 3

Ball played from a corner

Onside

An attacker is standing behind the goalkeeper when a corner kick is taken.

Correct call: Onside. You cannot be offside from a ball received directly from a corner kick.

Common mistake: Flagging offside because the player is clearly past all defenders. The corner kick exception overrides position.

Law^13, ¹⁶

The full rule

Offside has two halves, and position is only the first of them. Position is judged at the moment the ball is played or touched by a team-mate, not when the player receives it, and it needs two things at once: any part of the head, body or feet in the opponents' half, excluding the halfway line, and any part of the head, body or feet nearer to the opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. Hands and arms are not considered for any player including the goalkeeper, and the upper boundary of the arm is in line with the bottom of the armpit. A player level with the second-last opponent, or level with the last two opponents, is not in an offside position. There is no offside offence where the ball is received directly from a goal kick, a throw-in or a corner kick. None of this settles the outcome by itself, because a player in an offside position is penalised only on becoming involved in active play. The Laws permit competitions to use technology to assist the referee with offside, including semi-automated offside technology, which is where the drawn lines come from: the tool measures the position, it does not set the test.^1, ^2, ^3, ^4, ^5, ^6, ^7, ^8, ^9, ^10, ^11, ¹³