If  you’re one of the few who already understand the offside rule, the next thing to learn is how to stay onside when attacking and how to play somebody offside when you’re defending.

Because the offside rule is wide open to interpretation, it’s important that you stay in an onside position as often as possible. Many players are caught in offside positions because they’re just plain lazy. You can go from being an inactive player to an active player in a split second, but if you’re offside you can cost your team a scoring chance. You must remember that as soon as you’re in an offside position, you’re basically taking yourself out of the play as you can no longer touch the ball until going back to an onside position. This means you won’t be able to pounce on a rebound and place it into a wide open net if you’re too lazy to stay onside.

To stay onside when attacking, make sure there’s always at least one defender (usually the goalie) between you and the opposing goal line, and another defender even with you or in front of you. To do this, you’ll have to make sure to time your runs to the exact second to stay in an onside position when the ball is passed to you.





Many defenders like to use an offside trap when trying to thwart opposing attacks. This means all the defenders run forward at the same time in an even line just before the ball is passed from one of the opponents to the lead attacker, especially in dead ball situations. This will leave the attacker in an offside position. The offside trap can sometimes be a dangerous tactic because if one defender doesn’t move forward quick enough, the attacker will be onside and you will be moving in the wrong direction.

However, a more effective offside trap is to move the defenders forward when the ball is actually moving away from your own goal. The defenders execute the trap by moving towards the ball. This forces the attackers to back up and stay onside. Any attacker who doesn’t back up will be trapped offside and therefore ruled inactive. However, they won’t be able to receive a pass or interfere with the play as they will be ruled offside. These players are effectively out of the play now and you will have better numbers to launch a counter attack. You should ignore any trapped players who are offside and keep going.

Another variation of a trap is often used when an opponent is dribbling the ball towards your goal. If the defenders all stay in an even line with the dribbler, that means he/she won’t be able to pass the ball forward to a team mate.

If you want to beat an offside trap you should be aware of your surroundings at all times and shouldn’t be caught standing still waiting for a pass. It’s a good idea for attackers to keep moving in any direction necessary to stay onside and pounce on a pass while onside and in motion.

After watching the England vs Andorra game on June 10th and seeing an England goal called back for offside, I realized it’s still a rule that baffles many supporters. In fact, the offside rule in football has to be one of the most misunderstood rules in all of sport.

An offside call can lead to endless arguments between fans, coaches, referees, players, and even team mates. People all over the world often have difficulty coming to grasps with this law of the game. If the wording of the rule doesn’t confuse fans, the interpretation of it often does. In fact, this rule has undergone several changes during the history of the game to make it easier to understand and to try and promote attacking football.

Perhaps the best way to understand the offside rule is to first understand what isn’t offside. You can never be offside during a soccer game when:

• You’re not actively involved in the play
• You’re positioned in your own half of the field
• You’re carrying the ball yourself
• You’re shooting the ball
• You have been passed the ball from a goal kick, throw in, or corner kick
• You’re evenly positioned (parallel) to the second last or last two opponents
• You’re positioned even with or behind any teammate who passes you the ball

Now, let’s to try to understand the offside rule if we can. The laws of the game state that a player is in an offside position if they’re closer to the opposition’s goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent when the ball is passed to them. The key to this rule is when the ball is passed. It doesn’t matter where the player is positioned when receiving the ball, as long as they were onside when the ball was originally played. To put it into other words, if there is at least one opposing player (goalie) between you and the goal line, you’re considered to be onside as long as you’re even with the second last player.

For example, if you’re even with or in front of the last defender and there is a goalkeeper in net, you’re onside as the goalkeeper is the last opponent and the defender is the second last opponent. If you’re the only player between the ball and the opposing goalie when the ball is passed, you’re offside. Once you get behind the second last defender, you’re offside, so it’s important to stay level with him/her.

This rule gets somewhat complicated when the “active” player interpretation is brought into it. A player can be in an offside position but not be offside as long as they’re considered inactive. This rule was introduced by FIFA a few years ago as a way of promoting more offensive games and more goals. A player can now be in an offside position and not get called for it as long as they don’t interfere with the play, which means touching the ball. It may sound simple, but a player can also interfere with play by preventing an opponent from playing the ball, and by blocking the goalkeeper’s view.

If an official decides a player is interfering with play, the player will be called offside. If a player isn’t considered to be interfering in any way, they may be in an offside position without being called for it. In a case where an inactive player is in an offside position, they will be called active and offside as soon as they touch the ball as they have gained an advantageous position on the field unfairly.