How Offside Works in Soccer

Ah yes, offside. Take her away of scoring chances and confuse her of casual soccer fans everywhere. Is it frustrating at times? Yes, of course. But it's also an important and valuable rule. Without offside, there'd be no need for perfectly timed through balls and crosses. Nor perfectly timed runs combined with gravity-defying headers. The game would be mayhem, chaos, a catastrophe. So what is offside? If the assistant referee raises his flag, it means that an offensive player was too far forward. According to FIFA, a player is in an offside position if he is nearer to his opponent's goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. The key is realizing that offside is determined by when the ball is last touched. When Daley Blind hit his amazing ball over the Spanish defense, Robin Van Persie was clearly onside with two opponents between him and the goal. Only after the ball left Blind's foot did Van Persie streak past the defense. Still confused? Here's an example of a correctly called offside infraction. Now here's an example of a correct non-call. A perfectly timed pass combined with a perfectly timed run. No offside, then the integrity of the game remains intact. Sometimes it's a very close call, and it's up to the referee's discretion whether some small portion of a player's body is just barely offside. And that's when everyone gets very mad. But often the right decision is obvious. One more time. Offside. Not offside. Offside. Not offside. Got it? Great. Oh, by the way, the offside rule only applies when you're on the offensive half of the field, and you can't be offside on a throw-in, and the last two opponents don't have to be a defender and the goalkeeper, it can just be two defenders. And if you're in an offside position, but you're not involved in the play, then that's perfectly legal.