If you know a thing or two about football, you’ve probably heard of the offside rule. It’s confusing at best. Even if you’re not up to date on the semantics of Law 11 from the FA Handbook, you’ve definitely heard someone shout ‘THEY WERE OFFSIDE’ at the telly. 

Sounds like they’re well out of sorts… 

Don’t sweat it though. We’re not letting you show up to your mate’s place on match day without knowing the basics. So grab a chair and a Snickers chocolate bar. We’ll break it down for you.   

The offside rule in a nutshell

The offside rule goes like this: if the attacker is closer to the opponent’s goal than the second-last defender, they’re offside. The goalkeeper is included, but since they’re usually in the goal, the focus is on that last defender. 

Now, it’s not an offence to just be in the offside position. This rule only comes into play if the player has an advantage by being offside. 

There are a few exceptions

A player isn’t offside in their own half of the pitch, if they get the ball during a goal kick, corner kick, or throw-in, or if they get a ball that’s been deliberately played by the opponent. 

Timing is also key. The moment the ball is played to the attacker is what we’re focusing on, not when they actually get the ball. Simple as string theory. 

The nitty gritty

The ref can call offside if the player is actively involved. What counts here? A lot of things. But the usual culprits are if the player has an advantage (blocking someone’s vision is a big one), gets possession of the ball, or interferes with an opponent. 

Once the whistle blows and the ref makes the call, the opposing team gets a free kick from exactly where the offside player was.

The point of it all

You might’ve guessed this one, but the point of having the offside rule is so that players can’t just lob the ball across the pitch and have one of their teammates kick it straight into the goal. That’d be too easy. 

So now you’ve mastered the most confusing rule of football and can be that person confidently shouting ‘THEY WERE OFFSIDE’ at the telly. And if one of your mates says you’re way out of sorts, maybe you just need a Snickers.