In 2003, the United States Soccer Federation published The Laws of the

Game Made Easy to launch a new program of providing educational

and training materials that would interest and appeal to a wider
audience. There are millions of people of all ages across the country
who participate in the sport of soccer as officials, players, coaches,
and spectators. They bring to the field a multitude of backgrounds,
languages, cultures, and skills, and they are often intensely passionate
about the game but may not know much about it.

The Laws of the Game Made Easy was aimed at those participants
who want to know more about the laws that govern how soccer is played
but who may find the traditional way of presenting them difficult to
appreciate. Soccer is fun. Learning about its laws can be entertaining,
enjoyable, and maybe fun as well.

This booklet, Offside Made Easy, intends to continue that theme by

focusing on one of the more misunderstood areas of the law. Offside
decisions may confuse people because they are not looking at the play
on the field the same way as the officials have to look at it in order to
make these decisions. Offside Made Easy approaches the topic by
breaking the offside law into logical, easily presented parts and then uses
many illustrations to demonstrate how officials enforce this law.

The development of this booklet continues the outreach efforts of

USSF’s national instructional program. It was written by Dan Heldman,
illustrated by Colby Jones, and produced by Dick Triche. The assistance
of members of the national instructional staff was particularly useful in
ensuring that it was both accurate and entertaining.

Alfred Kleinaitis
Manager of Referee Development and Education
2011

1
 Offside

Published by United States Soccer Federation, Inc.

Copyright 2011 United States Soccer Federation, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the
United States Soccer Federation, Inc.

United States Soccer Federation, Inc.

1801 S. Prairie Ave.
Chicago, IL 60616
www.ussoccer.com
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 table of Contents

Where Does It Come From ? 4

What Does It Say? 5

• Position 5
• Involvement 6
7
• Infringement/Sanction

What Does It Mean? 8

• Position 8
• Involvement 12
• Interfering With Play 13
• Interfering With An Opponent 14
• Gaining An Advantage 15
• Exceptions 17
• What Is The Restart? 18

What if ??? 19
1. Apparent Offside Position 19
2. Attacker in Offside Position - Shot on Goal 20
3. Interfering With Play - Near Goalkeeper 21
4. Attacker Behind the Ball 22
5. Attacker in Offside Position
• Ball Rebounds from Crossbar 23
• Ball Rebounds from Goalkeeper 23
6. “Play the Ball” 24
7. Attacker Steps Off the Field 25
8. Defender Steps Off the field 26
9. Second To Last Defender? 27
10. Referee Accept the AR Flag Signal? 28
11. Offside on Dropped Ball? 29
12 Offside on Penalty Kick? 30
13. Attacker “Comes Back” 31
14. Attacker Can Show “Not Involved” 32
15 Corner Kicks 33

Remember !!!! 35

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 Where Does It Come From ?
Soccer is a team sport. In Britain, where the game started, a common
term for team was side so offside meant “away from the team.”

The idea was that a player should not

just stand around the goal waiting for
a teammate to send the ball to him so
that he could kick it into the goal. If
that was okay, then the other team
would also have to keep some of their
players down at their goal to protect
against this.

What would be the result?

A soccer field with lots of players around the two goals instead of using
all the space in between the goals wouldn’t be much of a game! It would
not be much fun... and it wouldn’t take a lot of skill to score a goal. Just
knock the ball close enough to the goal and let the player camped out
down there try to kick it through the wall of defenders.

Offside has been a part of soccer from its very beginnings. One of the
first attempts to write down the rules of soccer had this:
A player is considered “sneaking” when three or less than three
of the opposite side are before him and the ball behind him,
and in such a case, he may not kick the ball.
[Etonian Rule, 1847]

Look at what this rule called being offside “sneaking”!

Players want to score goals using their skills,

not by “sneaking”! Even though this was
written more than 150 years ago, all the
important parts of offside were there. The
only changes to offside that have occurred in
the past century have been to make it more
difficult to be offside and to make it clearer
what a player who is in an offside position
can’t do.

4
 What Does It Say ?
OFFSIDE POSITION

A player is in an offside position if:

• the player is nearer

to the opponent’s
goal line than both
the ball and the
second to the last
opponent

A player is NOT in an offside position if the player:

• is in their own half of the field

of play

or

• is even with the second to

the last opponent

or

• is even with the last two

opponents

A player can be in an offside position and

not be guilty of being offside.

5
 What Does It Say ?

OFFENSE
A player in an offside position is only penalized if, at the
moment the ball touches or is played by a teammate, the player
is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play by:

interfering with play

or

interfering with an
opponent

or

gaining an advantage by being

in that position

6
 What Does It Say ?

NO OFFENSE
There is no offside if a player receives the ball directly
from:

a goal kick

or

a throw-in

or

a corner kick

SANCTIONS FOR OFFSIDE

When a player is offside, the referee awards an indirect
free kick to the opposing team to be taken from the
place where that player was located.*

* Unless the offside offense occurred inside the goal area

then the restart can be taken from anywhere inside the goal area

7
 What Does It Mean ?

Here are the questions a referee or assistant referee must answer

when deciding if a player is offside:

Is the player in an offside position?

Is the player “involved in active play”?

Is this situation covered by one of the exceptions?

What is the restart for being judged offside?

Where does the restart occur?

r
de
en
ef
tD
rs
Fi

8
 What Does It Mean ?

What is an offside position?

+ +
In the other Nearer to the Nearer to the other
team’s half of other team’s goal team’s goal line than
the field line than the ball the last two opponents

OFFSIDE
POSITION

“Last two Two players on the other team closest to their

opponents”
= goal line (usually but not necessarily including the
goalkeeper)

the torso (body

“Nearer to” = trunk) of the
attacker is closer
to the goal line than
the torso of the
defender

Nearer Not Nearer

“Nearer to” simply means one torso is in front of the

other.

9
 What Does It Mean ?

Offside position

• Judged only when your own team has the ball

• Doesn’t matter if the other team has the ball

You can never be in an offside

position when you are the one
playing the ball.

Second to Last
Defender

It is not against the law to be in an offside

position!
This is probably the single most important thing to remem-
ber about Law 11.

10
 What Does It Mean ?
Once you are in an offside position, it stays with you no matter
where anyone or anything moves -- you, the ball, teammates,
defenders, anyone!

Nothing you can do on your own can put you

into an onside position. Someone has to help
you:

• A defender completely
controls the ball
(not just touches it),

or

• A teammate touches or plays the

ball again and this time you aren’t
in an offside position when that
happens,

or

• The ball leaves the field and the

other team has the restart.

A defender has to control the ball, not

just touch it, to start a new play.

11
 What Does It Mean ?

It is OK to be in an offside position... but the referee blows the

whistle and calls “Offside!”
This is because what is being called is not the offside position
by itself but the player has become “involved in active play” in
addition to being in the offside position.

What does “involved in active play” mean?

It means:
• Interfering with play
or
• Interfering with an opponent
or
• Gaining an advantage

the area around and moving with the ball

“Active play” = (there is no specific distance)

able to play the ball or to prevent an op-

“Involved” = ponent from playing the ball (does not
require actually touching the ball)

12
 What Does It Mean ?

Interfering With Play

Having the ball

passed to you by a
teammate (most
common way)

Moving to play a ball

that wasn’t played
directly to you (you
are interfering
with play when the
referee decides
you are going to get
involved with the
play.

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 What Does It Mean ?

Interfering With An Opponent

Blocking movement or line of

sight of the defending goal-
keeper (most common way)
– just being near the goalkeeper
is not enough to “interfere” with
goalkeeper.

Being in the way of an

opponent forcing the
opponent to stop, swerve,
or slow down

Remember!!!

Just being in an offside

position anywhere on the
field is not necessarily
interfering with or distracting
an opponent

14
 What Does It Mean ?

Gaining An Advantage

Receiving a ball deflected

off the goalpost, crossbar,
referee, goalkeeper, or
another defender

Rebounds from goal post

Must have been in an offside

position when teammate
played the ball, not when the
ball was deflected

Saved or punched away

by goalkeeper

Gaining an advantage as an
offside violation is rare
and can easily be missed
because everyone (except
the referee!) tends to
forget how the play started
or because it is difficult to Deflected (not completely
say when a defender plays controlled) by defender
the ball rather than simply
deflects it.

Remember!!!
Deflected means that the ball was not controlled or
deliberately played.

15
 What Does It Mean ?

An attacker in an offside position who is in the area of active play

can attempt to avoid being called for offside by:

Clearly moving out of active

play (backing away, standing
still or moving in the opposite
direction).
NOT Involved

Clearly catching the

referee’s attention and
establishing to the referee’s
satisfaction that the
attacker will not make any
attempt to play the ball.

NOT Involved

Stepping off the field

(where, of course, the ball
cannot be played).

Remember!!!

Position
+ = Offside
Involvement

16
 What Does It Mean ?
EXCEPTIONS

An attacker in an offside position cannot be called for offside if the

ball comes directly from a:

Goal kick

Corner kick

Throw-in

17
 What Does It Mean ?

WHAT IS THE RESTART ?

The restart is an indirect free kick for

the other team.

Far Side
Where?
Where the attacker was offside
(except in the goal area, in which Middle
case the kick can be taken from
anywhere inside the goal area)

Near Side

Offside
Infraction

Restart
Location

18
 WHAT iF ???
An attacker got the ball several yards past our second
1 to last defender but the referee didn’t call offside. Why?

A1

A2
A2

An offside position is not judged when a player

“got the ball” but where the player was when the
ball was played by a teammate.

This is called “coming from an onside position”

and is often misunderstood because it is easy
to forget where a player started from when
everyone is looking at where the player is later.

A2 receives the ball behind the second to last

defender but A2 was “onside” when the ball was
played by A1.

Defenders sometimes raise their arms to claim an attacker

should be called offside. They are hoping to get the
referee to make a decision in their favor.

19
 WHAT iF ???
An attacker was clearly past the second to last
2 defender when a teammate struck the ball directly
into the net. The referee counted the goal. Why?

Being in an offside position is not against Law 11.

Offside
Position

GOOOAAAL!!!!!!

If the player in the offside position did not:

• interfere with play

• interfere with an opponent

• gain an advantage by being in that

position

The player is not penalized for offside !

Remember!!!
An offside position by itself is not enough to distract
an opponent.

20
 WHAT iF ???
The attacker was right down at the goal line
3 near the side of the net. Didn’t that interfere
with the goalkeeper? Isn’t an attacker that
close to the goal automatically interfering
with play?

OK

GOOOAAAL!!!!!!

The attacker is not interfering with the goalkeeper

unless the attacker:

• blocks the goalkeeper’s view of play

• is in the path of the goalkeeper

• says or does something specifically to

distract the goalkeeper

21
 WHAT iF ???
Player A1 is attacking with no defenders in
4 front of him except the goalkeeper. Teammate
A2 is following behind him. What if player A1
plays the ball and his teammate runs up to take
possession?
Is this offside?

A2
A2

A1

If player A2 is behind, or even with, the ball when

player A1 last touched the ball, there is no offside
position and therefore no offside violation.

A2 was not nearer the goal line than the

ball when the ball was played by A1.

22
 WHAT iF ???

Player A1 shoots on goal and the ball bounces

5 back from the crossbar to A2?

Player A2 was in an
offside position when
A1 played the ball.
A2

The ball bounced

back from the
crossbar to A2.
A2 is called for
offside for being
“involved in active
play” by “gaining
an advantage.”
A1

Player A1 shoots on goal and the ball bounces

back from the goalkeeper to A2?

A2 is called A1
for offside for
being “involved
in active play” by
“gaining an advantage.”
The ball rebounded
from the goalkeeper.
A2

In either case, if A1’s original shot had gone into the net...

GOOOOAAAL!!
23
 WHAT iF ???
You say that an attacker must have played the
6 ball before a teammate in an offside position can
be called for offside. What does “play the ball”
mean here?
Law 11 refers to the ball being touched or played by a teammate.

There are a number of ways a player can “touch” or “play” the ball. A
few may be:

• Kick the ball

• Head the ball

• Chest trap

• Stop the ball with a foot

“Play the ball” for an attacker

means any contact by the player
with the ball - even accidental or
unintended contact.

24
 WHAT iF ???
Can an attacker step off the field to show that he
7 is not participating in play?

YES
This is one of several ways an attacker can show they are
not involved in active play. It is legal and the attacker
doesn’t need the referee’s permission either to leave the
field or to return it is considered “normal play.”

Attacker off field

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 WHAT iF ???

8 Can a defender step off the field to put an attacker

in an offside position?
 NO
This defender is counted as one of the last two defenders,
even though he is off the field. Attacker #7 has two defenders
in front of him. He is not in an offside position.

Defender off field

Defender off field

(in the goal)

Not only does this not work (the referee would still count
the defender in determining offside position), but the
defender is committing misconduct and could be cautioned.

26
 WHAT iF ???

9 Does the 1st or 2nd defender have to be the

goalkeeper?
NO

All defenders are counted in figuring out who the second to

last defender is.

The goalkeeper moves

to challenge for the ball
and a defender steps
back to protect the
First De- goal. The goalkeeper
fender becomes the second to
Goalkeeper
last defender.

There are two defenders Goalkeeper

between the attacker
and the goal, neither of Second
whom is the goalkeeper. Defender
First De-
fender

27
 WHAT iF ???

The AR called offside but the referee waved the flag

10
down. Can the referee do that?

YES

• The assistant referee does not “call” offside.

• The assistant referee is in the best position to judge who

is in an offside position.

• The assistant referee’s flag is a signal that an attacker is

in an offside position and might be involved in active play.

• Active play, however, is often closer to the referee than

to the assistant referee.

• The referee is therefore usually in a better position to

judge involvement.

Referee

A1 D3

A2

D2 A3
AR

• The referee always makes the final decision about calling

offside.

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 WHAT iF ???

11 Can a player be offside on a dropped ball?

NO

• Offside position is judged only when the ball is

touched or played by a teammate.

• It is the referee who last touches the ball on a

dropped ball restart so no one can be in an offside
position at that moment.

• But, once the ball hits the ground, it is possible to be

called offside if it is your teammate, who takes part
in the dropped ball, then plays the ball to you.

• If attacker #11 kicks the ball when it hits the ground,

her teammate will be in an offside position!

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 WHAT iF ???

12 Can you be offside on a penalty kick?

NO

• One of the rules for the penalty kick is that, except for
the goalkeeper, all players have to be behind the ball
when the referee gives the signal for the kick to occur.

• The referee will not signal for the penalty kick if

anyone other than the goalkeeper is ahead of the ball.

• Once the ball is kicked, it is in play and the offside

Law applies.

30
 WHAT iF ???

The referee called my player for offside even though he

13 was way behind the second to last defender when he got
the ball. How can that be?

• It isn’t important where an attacker gets the ball, it’s

where the attacker was when a teammate last played
the ball

This player was in an offside position

when the ball was played and “came back”
to get the ball

Coaches, players, and spectators tend to focus on the

immediate area of play, but the referee and assistant
referee have to remember where a player was when
the play started.

31
 WHAT iF ???
Can an attacker do anything to avoid being called offside
14 other than stepping off the field?

YES

• Move away from the area of active play

• Turn away

• Make eye contact with the referee and

stand still

• Do anything that clearly indicates that

you are not involved in the play

But
• The action has to be clear and concrete

• It has to be seen and recognized by the referee

32
 WHAT iF ???
Corner kicks are an exception in calling offside.
15 But I’ve seen offside called on corner kicks. Why?

The exception applies only if the ball is received

directly from the corner kick.

Once another attacker touches or plays the ball after a

corner kick, it is no longer “directly” and the offside rules
apply as usual.

“Directly” in soccer means no one else touched

or played the ball.

33
 WHAT iF ???

15 continued
A3

A2 plays the ball directly from

the corner kick. A3 receives
the ball from A2. A3 must be
called for offside.
A2

A1

A2 receives the ball directly

from the corner kick by A1, who A1
then runs into the field. A2
plays the ball back to A1.
A1 must be called for offside.

A2

A1

34
 Remember!!!
Being in an offside position is not against the Law

Offside position depends on where the attacker is at the

time a teammate plays the ball
• Ahead of the ball
• Ahead of the second to last defender
• In the other team’s half of the field
Not when or where the attacker gets the ball !

Even if in an offside position, an attacker cannot be called

offside if the ball is received directly from a:
• Goal Kick
• Corner Kick
• Throw In

Offside is called only if, when in an offside position, an

attacker becomes involved in play by:
• Interfering with play (for example, having the ball
passed to you or running to the ball)

• Interfering with an opponent (for example, blocking a

player on the other team)

• Gaining an advantage (for example, getting a ball that

bounces off a crossbar)

“Involvement in active play” is based on the opinion of the

referee

An attacker in an offside position can become “onside”

only if:
• The ball leaves the field,
• A teammate touches or plays the ball again, or
• A defender plays (controls) the ball
35
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