The offside rule explained simply: what it is, exceptions and how VAR checks it

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Offside is the rule that confuses new football fans more than any other, and it causes arguments among experienced ones every weekend. The idea behind it is simple: an attacker is not allowed to wait beside the goal for the ball. Once you know three questions to ask, most decisions make sense.

The definition in plain words

A player is in an offside position if, at the moment a team-mate plays or touches the ball:

they are in the opponents' half, and
any part of their head, body or feet is nearer to the opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last defender.

The goalkeeper usually counts as one of those last two defenders, which is why people say "level with the second-last defender". Level is onside. Arms and hands are not counted when judging position, because a player cannot legally play the ball with them anyway.

Being in an offside position is not an offence

This is the most important point. Standing in an offside position is allowed. It only becomes an offence if the player then becomes involved in active play, which the Laws describe in three ways:

Interfering with play: playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate.
Interfering with an opponent: for example blocking the goalkeeper's line of sight, challenging for the ball, or making an obvious action that clearly affects an opponent's ability to play it.
Gaining an advantage: playing a ball that rebounds or is deflected to them off the post, the crossbar, a match official or an opponent, or that comes from a save by an opponent.

A player standing well away from the action, not moving towards the ball and not blocking anyone, is not penalised even if they are yards offside.

When offside does not apply

There is no offside offence if the player receives the ball directly from:

a goal kick
a throw-in
a corner kick

There is also no offside in your own half, and none if you are behind the ball when it is played. One subtle case: if a defender deliberately plays the ball (a controlled pass or attempted clearance that goes wrong), an attacker who was in an offside position is reset and can play on. A deliberate save by a defender is different, and the attacker is still caught. Deflections and rebounds do not reset anything.

The moment that matters

Everything is judged at the instant the ball is played or touched by a team-mate, not when the attacker receives it. That is why a forward who sprints past the defence after the pass is onside, and why an assistant referee watches the passer and the last defender at the same time.

Punishment

An offside offence is penalised with an indirect free kick to the defending team, taken from where the offence happened, even if that is in the offending player's own half.

VAR and semi-automated offside

Offside is one of the things VAR can check when a goal is scored. Assistant referees are generally told to keep their flag down in tight situations and let play finish, because a goal can be cancelled afterwards but a wrongly stopped attack cannot be restored. Semi-automated offside technology uses tracking cameras and, at some competitions, a sensor in the ball to find the exact kick point and the relevant body parts of each player, then gives the video officials a suggested line within seconds. The video team still confirm the decision. The Laws of the Game for 2026/27, in force from 1 July 2026, allow competitions to use this kind of technology to support offside decisions. The offside law itself (Law 11) was not changed in the 2026/27 edition; proposals such as a "daylight" rule, where an attacker would be onside unless entirely clear of the defender, have been discussed and trialled but are not part of the Laws.

Common myths

"Level is offside." No, level is onside.
"You can't be offside from a throw-in." True. Same for goal kicks and corners.
"Any player in an offside position stops play." No, only if they become involved.
"Offside if you're ahead of the ball when you receive it." No, it is where you were when the pass was played.
"Arms count." No, the arms up to the bottom of the armpit are ignored.

Competitions sometimes adopt technology at different times, so check how a particular league works. The full text is free on the IFAB website (theifab.com). Share a decision that still makes you angry, or ask about a tricky situation, in the comments below.