How Does the Offside Rule Work in Soccer?

What is an offside position?

Offside is covered by Law 11 of the Laws of the Game, published by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).^[2] This article follows the 2026/27 edition, in force from 1 July 2026, which national associations such as England's Football Association (FA) also publish.^[2][7]

Being in an offside position is not an offence in itself.^[1] A player is in an offside position when two things are true at once: some part of their head, body or feet is in the opponents' half, and some part of their head, body or feet is nearer to the opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent.^[1] The halfway line itself does not count as part of the opponents' half.^[1]

Hands and arms are ignored for every player, goalkeepers included, and for this purpose the arm begins at the bottom of the armpit.^[1] A player who is level with the second-last opponent, or with the last two opponents, is not in an offside position.^[1]

What counts is where the player is at the moment a team-mate plays or touches the ball, using the first point of contact; when the goalkeeper throws the ball, the last point of contact is used instead.^[1] A player who was onside when a team-mate shot is not offside just because they are in an offside position when the goalkeeper saves, since position is judged when a team-mate, not an opponent, plays the ball.^[1]

When does being offside become an offence?

A player in an offside position is penalised only on becoming involved in active play, which Law 11 divides into three kinds:^[1]

• Interfering with play: playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate.^[1]
• Interfering with an opponent: for example, clearly blocking an opponent's line of vision, challenging an opponent for the ball, or clearly trying to play a nearby ball when this affects an opponent.^[1]
• Gaining an advantage: playing the ball, or interfering with an opponent, after it has rebounded or been deflected off the goalpost, crossbar, a match official or an opponent, or after any opponent has deliberately saved it.^[1]

So a player who stands in an offside position but does not touch the ball or interfere with an opponent cannot be penalised.^[2]

One exception matters a lot: a player who receives the ball from an opponent who deliberately played it, including by a deliberate handball, has not gained an advantage, unless the opponent was making a deliberate save.^[1] Signs of deliberate play include that the ball travelled from a distance and the opponent had time to coordinate their movement, rather than stretching or jumping by instinct.^[1]

When can't a player be offside?

There is no offside offence when a player receives the ball directly from a goal kick, a throw-in or a corner kick.^[1] The word "directly" matters: the IFAB notes that once a corner kick has been taken, the player who took it can be penalised for offside if a team-mate passes the ball back.^[1]

A player who is entirely in their own half cannot be in an offside position, because part of the head, body or feet must be in the opponents' half.^[1] Defenders also cannot step off the pitch to catch an attacker out: a defender who leaves the field without the referee's permission is treated as standing on the goal line or touchline until the next stoppage, or until the defending team has played the ball towards the halfway line and it is outside the penalty area.^[1]

What happens after an offside offence?

The referee awards an indirect free kick to the other team where the offence happened, even if that is in the offending player's own half.^[1] Assistant referees are told to stay in line with the second-last defender, or with the ball if it is nearer the goal line, and to signal an offside by raising the flag.^[2]

How does VAR check offside?

Under the IFAB's protocol, the video assistant referee (VAR) can help the referee only with a "clear and obvious error" or a "serious missed incident" in a few match-changing situations, such as whether a goal or a penalty should stand.^[3] An offside in the build-up to a goal or a penalty is one of the things that can be reviewed.^[3]

The protocol treats two offside questions differently.^[3] Whether a player was in an offside position is a factual decision, usually settled by a "VAR-only review"; whether that player was interfering is a subjective call, for which the referee should go to the referee review area and watch the replay in an "on-field review".^[3] Either way, the referee makes the final decision.^[3]

Competitions may also use semi-automated offside technology (SAOT), which the Laws define as technology that immediately sends information about offside positions to the VAR and, in an advanced version, directly to the assistant referees.^[2] When FIFA announced it for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it described 12 tracking cameras under the stadium roof following the ball and up to 29 data points on each player, 50 times per second, plus a sensor in the ball to pinpoint the kick.^[5] FIFA said the video match officials still check the kick point and the offside line before the referee is told, which is why the system is called "semi-automated".^[5]

Is the offside rule changing?

For 2026/27, the IFAB said its trials would focus mainly on delays caused by goalkeeper injuries and on continuing to explore alternative offside concepts.^[2] At its 140th Annual General Meeting, it agreed that offside trials would continue.^[4]

On 31 March 2026, FIFA announced that the Canadian Premier League would test a "daylight" offside rule in its 2026 season, starting on 4 April, in a trial led by FIFA and approved by the IFAB.^[6] Under the trial rule, an attacker is onside if any part of the body that can legally be used to score is level with or behind the second-to-last defender, so a player is offside only when there is a gap, or "daylight", between them and that defender.^[6] This is a trial in one league; the 2026/27 Laws of the Game still use the definition described above.^[1][2]