The offside rule in soccer asks two separate questions: where was the player when a teammate touched the ball, and did that player then become involved? Being beyond the opponents does not automatically stop play. Position must be assessed at the relevant touch, and an offence requires involvement.
This spectator reference follows IFAB Law 11, 2026/27. The photos illustrate soccer action; the examples below explain the positions rather than asking you to judge an offside decision from a photograph.
What counts as an offside position?
A player is in an offside position when a part of their head, body or feet is in the opponents’ half and nearer the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. The halfway line itself is excluded from the opponents’ half. Hands and arms do not count for any player, including goalkeepers; the arm boundary is level with the bottom of the armpit.
“Second-last opponent” matters. The goalkeeper often stands closest to goal, but can move upfield. Count opponents according to where they are, rather than assuming a goalkeeper plus one defender always sets the relevant line. A player level with the second-last opponent, or with the last two opponents, is not in an offside position.
Freeze the teammate’s touch, not the reception
The normal snapshot is the first point of contact when a teammate plays or touches the ball. A deliberate pass is not required: an accidental teammate touch can also matter. For a ball thrown by the goalkeeper, the current law instead uses the last point of contact, when the goalkeeper releases it.
Imagine Mira begins her run level with the second-last opponent. Her teammate makes contact with the pass, and Mira then accelerates into open space. Seeing her ahead of everyone when she receives it does not establish offside. The useful replay begins at the teammate’s touch, before that later movement.
The reverse can happen too. A player who was in an offside position at the relevant touch may run back toward the ball. Returning behind an opponent before receiving it does not by itself erase the earlier position.
Three position examples to compare
Level: At the pass, Noah’s nearest eligible body part is exactly level with the second-last opponent’s nearest eligible body part. Noah is in the opponents’ half and ahead of the ball. He still is not in an offside position, because being level satisfies the opponent comparison. An arm reaching farther forward does not change that comparison.
Behind the ball: Two attackers have reached the goal area with only the goalkeeper ahead. Leila has the ball closer to the goal line than her teammate Rosa. When Leila passes, Rosa remains behind the ball. Rosa is not in an offside position at that touch, even though she is beyond the second-last opponent. Both comparisons must be satisfied, not just one.
Uninvolved: Sam stands in an offside position near the far side while a teammate sends the ball to an onside player on the near side. Sam neither plays the ball nor affects an opponent’s ability to play it. Sam’s position alone is no offence. The decision can change if Sam subsequently becomes involved in a way covered by the law.
How a position becomes an offence
Touching or playing the teammate’s ball is the most obvious involvement. But an attacker can also interfere without touching it: challenging an opponent for the ball, clearly blocking their view, attempting to play a nearby ball in a way that affects them, or making an obvious action that clearly affects their ability to play it.
For a viewer, “Did they touch it?” is therefore an incomplete test. Picture an attacker in front of the goalkeeper as a shot arrives. Ask whether the attacker actually obstructed the goalkeeper’s view or otherwise affected the attempt to play the ball. Simply appearing somewhere in the penalty area is not enough to answer that question.
A rebound does not automatically start afresh
An attacker who was in an offside position can be penalized for involvement after the ball rebounds from the frame of the goal or deflects from an opponent or match official. A deliberate save by an opponent also preserves the offside issue. A save concerns stopping, or trying to stop, a ball heading into or very close to goal, and is not limited to goalkeepers.
Receiving the ball after an opponent’s deliberate play is different, except when that play is a save. The distinction depends on control and the opportunity to pass, possess or clear the ball. An unsuccessful clearance can still be deliberate play. An instinctive stretch producing limited contact can instead be a deflection. A touch by a defender is not a universal reset button.
The three direct-receipt exceptions
There is no offside offence when a player receives the ball directly from a throw-in, goal kick or corner kick. “Directly” limits the exception. If a corner reaches a teammate who then passes it back to the corner taker, assess that new teammate touch normally. The original corner does not exempt every later pass in the move.
A goalkeeper’s open-play throw is not a goal kick or a throw-in. Its release-time snapshot still applies. Likewise, a free kick is not one of these three exceptions.
What happens after the decision?
An offside offence leads to an indirect free kick for the opposing team where the offence occurred, which can be in the attacker’s own half after a run back. Under IFAB Law 13, the referee signals an indirect free kick with a raised arm. A goal cannot be scored directly into the opponents’ goal from that kick without another player touching the ball.
When following a replay, identify the relevant touch, compare the eligible body parts with the ball and opponents, then watch the involvement. For the separate question of match timing, see how long a soccer game lasts. If you like keeping examples beside your viewing notes, you can browse pocket notebooks on Amazon. Record the touch and the involvement separately so your notes preserve what actually decided the call.
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