What is the offside rule? How it works and rules in 2023/24

RadioTimes.com has rounded up everything you need to know about offside and the rules in 2023/24.

By Ned Holmes

Published: Monday, 30 October 2023 at 16:26 PM

There is surely no rule in all of sport that has proven the source of as much head-scratching and controversy as football’s offside.

Capable of breaking hearts, and piecing them back together, with just the raise of a chequered flag, it is a vital part of the beautiful game – but one that, due to constant rule changes and the subjective nature of refereeing, continues to puzzle even the most committed fans.

What exactly constitutes offside can be murky waters, but luckily we’ve leafed through the laws in a bid to clear things up. Don’t worry, we’ll be leaving the salt and pepper shakers to one side.

RadioTimes.com has rounded up everything you need to know about the offside rule.

What is the offside rule?

Essentially, the offside rule dictates that, if they are in the opponent’s half, an attacking player must have two players from the other team between them and the goal line they are attacking when a pass is played or a teammate touches the ball.

What that means is, an attacking player is in an offside position if any part of their body, excluding their arms (up to the bottom of their armpit), is in the opposition half and nearer to the opposition goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent.

It’s beyond this point that things start to get a little confusing.

Being in an offside position itself is not an offence. A player can only be penalised if they’re in an offside position when a teammate passes or touches the ball and they become involved in active play.

The most obvious way they can be involved in active play is by receiving the ball after a pass, shot or touch from a teammate – even if that is after the ball has come back off the post or been blocked or saved by an opponent.

What often causes debate is they can also be involved in active play if they’re deemed to have interfered with an opponent by:

Preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision (think of a striker standing in front of a goalkeeper)
Challenging an opponent for the ball
Clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent
Making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball

A player cannot be offside from a goal kick, throw-in or corner kick. Nor is it an offence if they’re in an offside position when an opposition player deliberately plays the ball.

If a player is ruled to have been involved in active play from an offside position then an indirect free kick will be awarded to the other team.

How is offside being applied in 2023/24?

Having been the source of much confusion and debate, changes were made to the offside law ahead of the 2023/24 campaign to clarify what constitutes a defender deliberately playing the ball.

According to the IFAB laws, it is “when a player has control of the ball with the possibility of passing the ball to a team-mate; gaining possession of the ball; or clearing the ball (eg by kicking or heading it)” – even if their attempt to pass, control or clear the ball is unsuccessful.

The other key change to the offside rule and the way it is implemented in recent years has been the introduction of VAR.

As VAR allows officials to more accurately determine offside after play has happened, the assistants are now encouraged not to raise their flags until a move has been completed. That means fewer attacks are wrongfully stopped but more goals are, rightfully, ruled out, which can be unpopular with fans.

Semi-automated offside is used in FIFA and UEFA competitions but not yet in the Premier League. In the English top flight, the VAR makes offside calls manually, but you wonder whether that could change given recent controversies.