A player is in an offside position if:
• he is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the
second last opponent

A player is not in an offside position if:
• he is in his own half of the field of play or
• he is level with the second last opponent or
• he is level with the last two opponents

Offence
A player in an offside position is only penalized if, at the moment the
ball touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of
the referee, involved in active play by:
• interfering with play or
• interfering with an opponent or
• gaining an advantage by being in that position

No Offence
There is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from:
• a goal kick or
• a throw-in or
• a corner kick

Infringements/Sanctions
For any offside offence, the referee awards an indirect free kick to the
opposing team to be taken from the place where the infringement
occurred. * (see page 3)

Decisions of the International F.A. Board

Decision 1
In the definition of offside position, “nearer to his opponents’ goal
line” means that any part of his head, body or feet is nearer to his
opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent.
The arms are not included in this definition.

Decision 2
The definitions of elements of involvement in active play are as follows:
• Interfering with play means playing or touching the ball passed or
   touched by a team-mate.
• Interfering with an opponent means preventing an opponent from
   playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the
   opponent’s line of vision or movements or making a gesture or
   movement which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts
   an opponent.
• Gaining an advantage by being in that position means playing a
   ball that rebounds to him off a post or the crossbar having been
   in an offside position or playing a ball that rebounds to him off an
   opponent having been in an offside position.