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When a player passes the ball to another player on their team, the player receiving the ball is offside unless two players from the other team are nearer to the goal line at the moment the ball is passed. One of these players is normally the defending team's goalkeeper. The distance is measured from any part of a player's body except his arms.

If an player is offside, the other team gets an indirect free kick from the position where the player was standing at the moment the ball was passed.

There are exceptions to the offside rule. Players are not offside if they are in their own half when the ball is passed. You cannot be offside from a goal kick, a throw in or a corner. If attackers are level with defenders, they are not offside. You cannot be offside from a pass made by an opponent.

More technically, players are only offside if they are considered to be interfering with play, interfering with an opponent or gaining an advantage by being in that position. You are interfering with play if you touch the ball, or if you distract or obstruct the view of an opposition player. You are gaining an advantage if you play a ball that rebounds to you from an opposition player or the frame of the goal, having been in an offside position when the ball was struck.

If you see a player ignoring the ball wben close to goal, it is very commonly because that player knows that offside will be given if they touch it.

Interference is the most controversial aspect of the offside rule. As the old saying goes, if you're not interfering with play what are you doing on the pitch?

Learn more about this author, Jon Eccles.
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