The Referees' Report

Laws of the Game

Laws 11 and 12 (the technical laws)

Law 11 - Offside

It is not automatically an offence to be in an offside position.

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.

A player is not in an offside position if:

• he is in his own half of the field of play
• he is level with the second last opponent or the last two opponents
• he is level with or behind the ball

A player in an offside position will only be penalised if at the moment the ball is touched or played by a teammate, he is in the opinion of the referee, taking part in active play by:

• interfering with play
• interfering with an opponent
• gaining an advantage by being in that position

A player is not offside if he receives the ball direct from a goal kick, corner kick or throw-in.

For any offence, an indirect free kick is awarded from the place where the infringement occurred unless it occurred inside the defending team's goal area whereby the kick can be taken from any point within the goal area.

Did you know?

Offside is given at the moment the ball is played to a player and not the moment he receives it.

Although a player may be in an offside position, it does not follow that he should be penalised for being so.

previous: Law 10 next: Law 12