Offsides is one of the trickier penalties to identify in soccer because of how quickly it can happen and how difficult it can be to track positioning relative to when a ball is touched.
But once you know what you’re looking for, it’s a lot easier to spot.
Luckily, fans watching the World Cup won’t have to worry about learning differences to the rule, as it remains unchanged from the latest International Football Association Board (IFAB) “Laws of the Game,” the standardized set of rules soccer leagues and competitions abide by.
For those unaware of how the rule works, it’s first important to know that being in an offside position in itself is not a penalty.
As defined in the 2022-23 Laws of the Game, an offside position is simply when any part of a player’s “head, body or feet is in the opponent’s half” of the field and “nearer to the opponent’s goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent” (hands and arms up to the armpit aren’t considered for the purpose of offside).
Note: Being level with the second-to-last opponent or the last two opponents isn’t offside.
So when does being offside become a penalty?
It’s when a player deemed offside interferes in a play by playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a teammate. Or when the offside player interferes with an opponent by either:
- preventing an opponent from playing a ball by clearly obstructing their line of vision
- challenging an opponent for the ball
- clearly attempting to play a nearby ball when the action impacts an opponent
- making an obvious action that clearly impacts the ability of an opponent to play the ball
It’s also a penalty if an offside player gains an advantage by playing a ball or interfering with an opponent after the ball rebounds or deflects off the goalpost, crossbar, an official or opponent, including if that opponent deliberately saves a ball from going towards the goal.
However, once an opponent makes a deliberate play on the ball that isn’t a save, an offside player is no longer deemed to have an advantage.
Lastly, an offside penalty can’t occur on a goal kick, a throw-in or a corner kick.
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