Offside Law Interpreter
Offside Law Interpreter
Was it offside? Law 11 of the IFAB Laws of the Game asks two separate questions — was the player in an offside position, and did the player then become involved in play — and only both together are an offence in association football.
An offside position, and whether it is an offence
Law 11.1 to 11.3The attacker 12 m from the goal line, the second-last opponent 16 m, the ball 30 m when it was played, in the opponents’ half, and the attacker not involved in play
Law 11 in the order the Law itself asks it
An offence (11.2): an offside position AND becoming involved in active play — interfering with play, interfering with an opponent, or gaining an advantage
No offence (11.3): the ball received directly from a goal kick, a throw-in or a corner kick
- a position is not an offence
- Law 11 opens with it: “It is not an offence to be in an offside position.” Two separate conditions have to hold before anything is given, which is why this page asks about the position and the involvement separately and reports them separately
- nearer than BOTH
- the ball and the second-last opponent, and both comparisons are required. A player beyond the defence but behind the ball is not in an offside position, and neither is a player ahead of the ball but level with the defence. Both tests are strict: Law 11.1 says a player is not in an offside position if level with “the second-last opponent” or with “the last two opponents”
- which parts of the player count
- “any part of the head, body or feet”. “The hands and arms of all players, including the goalkeepers, are not considered”, and “the upper boundary of the arm is in line with the bottom of the armpit” — which is the line a semi-automated offside system is drawing
- the second-last opponent
- not the last defender. The goalkeeper is normally the last opponent, so the second-last is usually the deepest outfield defender; when the goalkeeper has advanced, the second-last may be a defender behind the ball instead. The Law never mentions the goalkeeper in this test
- the moment that is judged
- the moment a team-mate plays or touches the ball, and nothing after it. A player level with the defence when the pass is made is onside however far they then run, which is why this page asks where the ball was when it was played rather than where it ended up
- a deliberate play against a deliberate save
- the distinction inside Law 11.2 that decides the arguments. A player who receives the ball from an opponent who deliberately played it “is not considered to have gained an advantage, unless it was a deliberate save by any opponent”. A defender’s bad pass puts the attacker onside; a goalkeeper’s save does not. A rebound off the post, the crossbar, a match official or an opponent is a gained advantage
Worked example
The attacker 12 m from the goal line, the second-last opponent 16 m, the ball 30 m when it was played, in the opponents’ half, and the attacker not involved in play
The attacker is in the opponents’ half, so Law 11.1's first condition is met
12 m is nearer the goal line than the second-last opponent's 16 m — four metres beyond the defence
12 m is nearer the goal line than the ball's 30 m, so both comparisons hold and the player is in an offside position
The player did nothing with it, so Law 11.2 is not engaged: “It is not an offence to be in an offside position” and play continues
Change what the player did to playing the ball and the same position becomes offside — interfering with play
Move the second-last opponent to 12 m, level with the attacker, and the player is not in an offside position at all: Law 11.1 excludes being level. At 12.01 m the position returns
Move the ball to 11.99 m, so the attacker is behind it, and again there is no offside position, however deep the defence
Set the ball's arrival to a throw-in, goal kick or corner and it is no offence under Law 11.3 even with the player involved
The two questions Law 11 asks, and the four answers they produce
| In the opponents’ half, nearer than both? | What the player did | Verdict | Which section |
|---|---|---|---|
| No — in their own half or on the halfway line | Anything | Not in an offside position | 11.1 |
| No — level with, or behind, the ball or the second-last opponent | Anything | Not in an offside position | 11.1 |
| Yes | Nothing | In an offside position, and no offence | 11.1 |
| Yes | Played or touched the ball | Offside, interfering with play | 11.2 |
| Yes | Obstructed the line of vision, challenged for the ball, or clearly tried to play a close ball | Offside, interfering with an opponent | 11.2 |
| Yes | Took a rebound off the post, the crossbar, a match official or an opponent, or a deliberate save | Offside, gaining an advantage | 11.2 |
| Yes | Received the ball directly from a throw-in, goal kick or corner | No offence | 11.3 |
Where the boundaries sit, probed on both sides of each
| Attacker | Second-last opponent | Ball | In an offside position? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.00 m | 11.99 m | 30 m | No — the defender is nearer the goal line |
| 12.00 m | 12.00 m | 30 m | No — level is not an offside position |
| 12.00 m | 12.01 m | 30 m | Yes — by one centimetre |
| 12.00 m | 16.00 m | 11.99 m | No — the attacker is behind the ball |
| 12.00 m | 16.00 m | 12.00 m | No — level with the ball |
| 12.00 m | 16.00 m | 12.01 m | Yes — by one centimetre |
| 20.00 m | 24.00 m | 18.00 m | No — beyond the defence and behind the ball |
A position is not an offence
Offside on this page is offside in association football — soccer — as Law 11 of the IFAB Laws of the Game defines it. Rugby union, rugby league, ice hockey and field hockey all have offside or equivalent laws of their own with different tests, and nothing here describes them. Law 11 asks two questions and almost every argument about offside comes from running them together. The first is whether the player was in an offside position. The second is whether the player then did anything. The Law opens by settling the relationship between them: “It is not an offence to be in an offside position.”
The position has two conditions and both are required. The player must have “any part of the head, body or feet” “in the opponents’ half (excluding the halfway line)”, and must be “nearer to the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent”. Both of those comparisons are strict, because Law 11.1 says a player level with the second-last opponent, or level with the last two opponents, is not in an offside position. And both of them have to fail together before the position exists: a striker four metres beyond the last defender is in no offside position at all if the ball is played from in front of them, which is the reason a backward pass can never put a team-mate offside. The parts of the player that count are the head, body and feet — “the hands and arms of all players, including the goalkeepers, are not considered”, and “the upper boundary of the arm is in line with the bottom of the armpit”, which is the line the automated systems draw. The opponent in the test is the second-last, not the last: the goalkeeper is usually the last one, so the second-last is normally the deepest outfield defender, but when a goalkeeper has come out it may be a defender instead. The Law never mentions the goalkeeper here.
Being in that position becomes an offence only on “becoming involved in active play”, and Law 11.2 lists the three ways. Interfering with play is “playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate”. Interfering with an opponent needs no touch at all — obstructing the line of vision, challenging for the ball, or clearly attempting to play a ball that is close. Gaining an advantage covers playing a ball that has “rebounded or been deflected off the goalpost, crossbar, match official or an opponent” or has “been deliberately saved by any opponent”. Inside that third one is the distinction that decides the televised arguments: a player who receives the ball from an opponent who deliberately played it “is not considered to have gained an advantage, unless it was a deliberate save by any opponent”. A defender’s misplaced pass puts the attacker onside; a goalkeeper’s save does not.
Two more things this page is built around. The position is judged at the moment a team-mate plays or touches the ball and at no other moment, so a player level with the defence when the pass is made stays onside however far they run afterwards — which is why the ball’s position is an input here rather than something inferred. And Law 11.3 is a flat exception that overrides the involvement test entirely: “There is no offence if a player receives the ball directly from” a goal kick, a throw-in or a corner kick. Directly is the operative word, and one touch by a team-mate in between removes it. For the field of play those distances are measured on, which Law 1 defines as a range rather than a size, see the pitch dimensions and markings interpreter. Every figure on this page is printed with the body that publishes it and the season or edition it belongs to, because a football number is usually a regulation rather than a fact, and regulations are revised. Check the playing conditions or competition regulations for the competition in front of you before relying on a default.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a player offside?
Two things together. Being in an offside position — any part of the head, body or feet in the opponents’ half, excluding the halfway line, and nearer the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent — and then becoming involved in active play. Law 11 is explicit that “it is not an offence to be in an offside position”.
Is a player level with the last defender offside?
No. Law 11.1 states that a player is not in an offside position if level with the second-last opponent, or level with the last two opponents. The test is strictly nearer, so level is onside — and the comparison is against the second-last opponent, which is usually the deepest outfield defender because the goalkeeper is normally the last.
Can you be offside from a throw-in?
No, if you receive the ball directly from it. Law 11.3: “There is no offence if a player receives the ball directly from” a goal kick, a throw-in or a corner kick. Directly matters — if a team-mate touches the ball first, the exception is gone and the normal test applies.
Can you be offside in your own half?
No. Law 11.1 requires the player to be “in the opponents’ half (excluding the halfway line)”, so a player in their own half or standing on the halfway line itself is never in an offside position, however far behind them the defence is.
Do a player’s arms count for offside?
No. Law 11.1 measures “any part of the head, body or feet”, and “the hands and arms of all players, including the goalkeepers, are not considered”. The Law fixes the cut-off precisely: “the upper boundary of the arm is in line with the bottom of the armpit”, which is the line an automated offside system draws.
Is a player offside if a defender passes the ball to them?
Not on the gaining-an-advantage limb. A player who receives the ball from an opponent who deliberately played it “is not considered to have gained an advantage, unless it was a deliberate save by any opponent”. So a defender’s misplaced pass leaves the attacker onside, while a rebound off a goalkeeper’s save does not.
Related calculators
References
- The IFAB. Laws of the Game, Law 11 — Offside, sections 11.1 to 11.3. Zurich: The International Football Association Board. Read for: “It is not an offence to be in an offside position”; the offside position itself (the opponents’ half excluding the halfway line, and nearer the goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent, measured by “any part of the head, body or feet” with arms excluded to the bottom of the armpit, and level being onside); the three ways of “becoming involved in active play”; the deliberate-play against deliberate-save distinction; and 11.3’s goal kick, throw-in and corner exception. The Law 11 diagrams on the page are image-only and nothing is taken from them.
- The IFAB. Laws of the Game, Law 1 — The Field of Play (sections 1.2 to 1.7 and 1.10). Zurich: The International Football Association Board. Read 12 October 2026; the figures quoted are identical in the 2026/27 and 2025/26 editions served by theifab.com.