Offside in football: Rules and how they work

The rules of football are mostly simple but the offside rule, not so much.

First introduced in 1883 when the Football Association (FA), for the first time, formalised football rules, the offside was constructed to deter players from always lurking near the opposition goal to look for scoring opportunities.

Without the offside rule, long balls could be kicked directly towards team-mates placed in the opposition goal area and would prove to be too effective, thereby reducing the element of skill and strategy in football games.

So, what exactly is the offside rule in football?

The offside rule in football: Explained

Simply put, the offside rule mandates that during a move, an attacking player, when in the opposition half, must have at least two opposition players, including the goalkeeper, between him and the opposition goal when a pass is being played to him.

In earlier days, an attacking player needed to have at least three defending team players between him and the opposition goal to avoid being offside, but that rule has been tweaked over the years.

For more clarity, we will name the teams and the players. Let’s consider Team X is playing against Team Y.

Player A - The player from Team X playing the pass

Player B – The player from Team X towards whom the pass is played

Player C – The Team Y player (almost always the goalkeeper) nearest to Team Y’s goal

Player D – The second-closest Team Y player to Team Y’s goal

At the precise moment the ball leaves Player A’s feet or head during the pass, Player B’s entire body, arms and legs included, cannot be beyond Player D. In other words, Player B needs to have both Player C and Player D between himself and Team Y’s goal.

If Player B doesn’t meet the above condition, he is deemed to be in an offside position.

Now, simply being in an offside position is not considered an offence. But if Player B touches the ball or interferes with the play from the offside position, the game is stopped and Team Y is awarded a free-kick.

However, there are certain exceptions. If Player B is in an offside position in his (Team X’s) own half when Player A plays the pass, it’s not an offence and play continues.

A player cannot be penalised for being offside from a throw-in but the offside law applies during free kicks and corner kicks.

Also, if Player A is passing the ball backwards (also called cutting the ball back) while he is closer to Team Y’s goal than Player B, it isn’t an offside offence even if Player B is in an offside position.

When a player is not in an offside position, he is considered to be onside

VAR offside calls

Offsides are generally signalled by the linesmen – two assistants of the referee observing the play from the sidelines in each half of the pitch. Linesmen hold a flag over or in front of them to signal an offside offence.

In a lot of cases, the difference between a player being offside or onside is very thin. With millimetres separating the two, offside calls have been historically prone to human error. But football nowadays uses technology to aid in correct decision making.

However, since Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was introduced in 2016, there has been a second check on offside calls leading to goals.

VAR is basically an additional match official sitting in front of a video screen who can review the on-pitch match officials’ decisions when necessary.

Linesmen often refrain from signalling offsides during moves with goal-scoring potential. If a goal is scored, the linesman can signal for offside and deem it (the goal) null and void.

The VAR then checks the linesman’s call using video footage and technology. VAR can overturn the decision and re-award the goal if replays suggest that the linesman was wrong.

VAR also checks for any offsides after every goal. If an offside offence missed by the linesman is caught by the VAR during a re-check, the goal is cancelled.