Offside position alone is not an offence. First establish the player’s position at the relevant team-mate’s play or touch, then ask whether that player becomes involved in the ways Law 11 describes.
This guide follows IFAB Law 11 as checked on 4 November 2026. It explains the decision sequence rather than attempting to judge an actual match from an incomplete camera angle.
A teaching diagram works well with two stages: the relevant play or touch by the team-mate, followed by the attacker’s involvement. Label the ball and players at the first stage, then follow the action. This keeps the position and involvement parts of the explanation easy to connect.
Check the position
Relevant parts are the head, body and feet, not hands or arms. The position test involves the opponents’ half and being nearer their goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. Being level with the second-last opponent is not offside position.
Avoid describing the reference as the last defender: a goalkeeper is not guaranteed to be the player nearest the goal.
Check involvement separately
Law 11 covers playing or touching a team-mate’s ball, interfering with an opponent and gaining an advantage in specified circumstances. Standing in an offside position without qualifying involvement does not finish the offence test.
There is no offside offence when receiving directly from a goal kick, throw-in or corner kick. A free kick is not included in that list.
Work through a simple fictional sequence
Draw a passing player, a receiving player, the ball and the two opponents nearest the goal. Freeze the drawing at the team-mate’s touch. Only after deciding the receiving player’s position should you describe the next action.
For practice, change one detail: move the receiver level, move the ball ahead of the receiver or make the restart a throw-in. Ask which step changes. Keep deflections, deliberate play and saves for a separate reading of the law instead of forcing every incident into the simplest example.
Compare three fictional situations
First, an attacker is level with the second-last opponent when a team-mate plays the ball. Under the position test, being level is onside. The later movement of the players does not change that earlier snapshot.
Second, an attacker is beyond the relevant position line at that moment but remains uninvolved while an onside team-mate plays. Position alone does not complete the offence; involvement still needs assessment under Law 11.
Third, an attacker in an offside position plays a rebound after a deliberate save. That situation needs the law’s gaining-an-advantage provisions. Law 11 distinguishes a save from the separate deliberate-play conditions, so the type of intervening action matters.
These examples isolate different steps. They are teaching situations rather than rulings on a real match.
Use a replay checklist
Identify the relevant team-mate’s play or touch, the ball and second-last opponent, the attacker’s relevant body parts and any later involvement. Then check an intervening touch against the applicable wording.
IFAB also specifies direct-receipt exceptions for a goal kick, throw-in and corner kick. Keep those exceptions alongside the sequence when learning it. For close positions or uncertain contact, the available angle and timing limit what a viewer can establish. A clear account of the missing detail is more useful than a conclusion detached from that evidence.
When watching a replay, note which stage the picture shows before applying the rule. A wider view or another angle may help establish a missing detail. The same staged approach is useful for a fictional example where every position can be shown clearly.
Sources consulted
- Law 11: Offside — IFAB; checked 4 November 2026.