The (current) offside rule explained

In this article, I want to take a quick look at the current offside rule and explain the basics behind it. This way even the controversial points of the offside rule can be avoided.

First off, let's get an understanding of being in an offside position.

A player is in an offside position if he/she is in the opposition half, ahead of the ball and nearer to the opposing goal keeper than the opposition outfield players.

This is the basic explanation of the offside rule and as long as you or one of your players is not in the opposition half, ahead of the ball and closest to the opposition goal keeper there should be no offside call. NB: In the current offside rule if a player is in this position, but does not touch the ball or affect play in any way, they cannot be flagged for being offside.

The key points of identifying a player in an offside position:

- Being in the opposition half.

- Ahead of the ball.

- Ahead of all opposing outfield player.

There are also factors that can make the above key points null and void, so keep a close eye for the following:

- If the opposition passes the ball back into his/her half toward their goalkeeper and your player intercepts the ball.

- A throw in.

- The player in an offside position does not interfere with play.

If the opposition team has the ball, none of your player can be offside if they intercept a pass between defender and keeper or vise versa. The only time an attacking player can actually collect the ball in an 'offside position', but not be offside is if they are collecting the ball from a direct throw in. Lastly, in the current ruling a player cannot be offside, unless they are in contact with the ball or obstructing the goal keeper.

Depending on the ref and the situation, there are some grey areas regarding offside that can be a pain if called wrong. They are as follows:

- The ball is deflected off a defender and into the path of an attacker in an offside position. One ref will call offside, while another will call for play to continue.

- If an attacking player is ahead of the goal keeper, but two or more defenders are somehow between attacker and goal line, it is apparently not offside.

- If one attacking player shots the ball toward goal that the keeper saves, a player who was ahead of the ball at first cannot touch it or he/she will be ruled offside.

I hope this helps you and don't forget, Like and subscribe for more awesome footy tactics.