Offside from Deflections & Deliberate Play

A player in an offside position who receives the ball from an opponent who deliberately played it is not considered to have gained an advantage. A deflection off an opponent who had no control is not deliberate play, and a deliberate save is the express exception that keeps the offence.^1, ^2, ^4, ^5, ⁶

Key points

✓Deliberate play by an opponent means the attacker is not considered to have gained an advantage, so the ball reaching them from it is no offence on that ground^5, ⁶
✓Deliberate play means control with the possibility of passing, gaining possession or clearing. A deflection off an opponent without control is not deliberate play^6, ^7, ^8, ⁹
✓The five indicators of control are the ball's distance and the player's view of it, its speed, whether its direction was unexpected, whether the player had time to coordinate their body movement, and whether it was on the ground or in the air^11, ^12, ^13, ^14, ^15, ^16, ¹⁷
✓They are indicators to be used as appropriate, not a checklist that has to be satisfied item by item¹¹
✓A deliberate save is the exception that keeps the offence, and it can be made by any opponent rather than only the goalkeeper^1, ^2, ^4, ^5, ¹⁸
✓An inaccurate or unsuccessful clearance that the player intended still counts as deliberate play¹⁰

Read the full rule

Scenarios

Scenario 1

Defender heads ball to attacker in offside position

Onside

A defender jumps and deliberately heads the ball back toward goal. An attacker in an offside position receives it.

Correct call: No offside offence on this ground. The defender had control and chose to head it, so the attacker is not considered to have gained an advantage.

Common mistake: Flagging offside because the attacker was clearly past the defensive line. Deliberate play by an opponent is what the Laws address here, not where the attacker was standing.

Law^5, ⁶

Scenario 2

Ball deflects off defender's leg to offside attacker

Offside

A through ball deflects off a defender's shin unexpectedly and reaches an attacker in an offside position.

Correct call: Offside. The deflection was not deliberate play: the defender had no control and no possibility of passing, gaining possession or clearing.

Common mistake: Ruling onside because the ball came off a defender. Only deliberate play engages that provision, not an accidental deflection.

Law^1, ^2, ^3, ^6, ¹¹

Scenario 3

Goalkeeper dives and saves shot, ball goes to offside attacker

Offside

A shot is saved by the goalkeeper. An attacker in an offside position plays the rebound.

Correct call: Offside. A deliberate save is the express exception in Law 11, so the attacker gained an advantage. It would be the same had an outfield opponent made the save.

Common mistake: Ruling onside because the goalkeeper touched the ball. A save is named as the one deliberate action that does not clear the offside position.

Law^1, ^2, ^4, ^5, ¹⁸

The full rule

This is one of the most nuanced areas of the offside rule, and the Laws frame it narrowly: a player in an offside position who receives the ball from an opponent who deliberately played it, including by deliberate handball, is not considered to have gained an advantage. Deliberate play, excluding deliberate handball, is defined as a player having control of the ball with the possibility of passing it to a team-mate, gaining possession of it, or clearing it. If the pass, the attempt to gain possession or the clearance is inaccurate or unsuccessful, the player still deliberately played the ball. Where the ball merely deflects off an opponent who had no control, nothing has been reset and the offside position still stands. The Laws give the referee five indicators of control, to be used as appropriate rather than as a checklist: the ball travelled from distance and the player had a clear view of it; the ball was not moving quickly; the direction of the ball was not unexpected; the player had time to coordinate their body movement, so it was not a case of instinctive stretching or jumping or a movement that achieved limited contact or control; and a ball moving on the ground is easier to play than a ball in the air. A deliberate save is the express exception and it runs the other way: where the ball reaches the attacker because an opponent deliberately saved it, the attacker is treated as having gained an advantage and the offside offence stands. The Laws say "by any opponent", not by the goalkeeper, and a save is defined as stopping, or attempting to stop, a ball which is going into or very close to the goal with any part of the body except the hands or arms, unless it is the goalkeeper inside their penalty area.^1, ^2, ^4, ^5, ^6, ^7, ^8, ^9, ^10, ^11, ^12, ^13, ^14, ^15, ^16, ^17, ¹⁸