View source for Offside (association football)

{{Short description|Law in association football}}
{{For|offside rules in other sports|Offside (sport)}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
[[File:Clemens Schüttengruber, Fußballschiedsrichter (03).jpg|thumb|An [[Assistant referee (association football)|assistant referee]] signals for offside by raising his flag.]]

'''Offside'''  is one of the laws in [[association football]], codified in Law 11 of the [[Laws of the Game (association football)|Laws of the Game]]. The law states that a player is in an '''offside position''' if any of their body parts, except the hands and arms, are in the opponents' half of the [[association football pitch|pitch]] and closer to the opponents' [[goal line (association football)|goal line]] than both the ball and the second-last opponent (the last opponent is usually, but not necessarily, the goalkeeper).<ref name="laws2017-law11">{{cite web|title=Law 11 – Offside|url=https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/offside/#offside-position|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026111002/https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/offside/#offences-and-sanctions|archive-date=26 October 2021|work=Laws of the game of Association Football|publisher=[[International Football Association Board]]|location=Zürich}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mather |first=Victor |date=21 November 2022 |title=What Is Offside in Soccer? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/21/sports/world-cup/offside-soccer.html |access-date=29 November 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Being in an offside position is not an offence in itself, but a player so positioned when the ball is played by a teammate can be judged guilty of an '''offside offence''' if they receive the ball or will otherwise become "involved in active play", will "interfere with an opponent", or will "gain an advantage" by being in that position. Offside is often considered one of the most difficult-to-understand aspects of the sport.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mather |first=Victor |date=21 November 2022 |title=What Is Offside in Soccer? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/21/sports/world-cup/offside-soccer.html |access-date=29 November 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Significance==
Offside is judged at the moment the ball is last touched by the most recent teammate to touch the ball. Being in an offside position is not an offence in itself. A player who was in an offside position at the moment the ball was last touched or played by a teammate must then become ''involved in active play'', in the opinion of the referee, in order for an offence to occur. When the offside offence occurs, the referee stops play, and awards an [[indirect free kick]] to the defending team from the place where the offending player became involved in active play.<ref name="laws2017-law11"/>

The offside offence is neither a foul nor misconduct as it does not belong to [[Fouls and misconduct (association football)|Law 12]]. Like fouls, however, any play (such as the [[Scoring in association football|scoring of a goal]]) that occurs after an offence has taken place, but before the referee is able to stop the play, is nullified.<ref name="laws2017-law10">{{cite web |url=http://www.theifab.com/backend/library/doc/laws-of-the-game-201718-english-single-page |work=Laws of the Game 2017–18 |date=22 May 2017 |publisher=[[International Football Association Board]] |location=Zürich |access-date=28 September 2017 |title=Law 10 – Determining the Outcome of a Match |pages=87–88}}{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The only time an offence related to offside is cautionable is if a defender deliberately leaves the field in order to deceive their opponents regarding a player's offside position, or if a forward, having left the field, returns and gains an advantage. In neither of these cases is the player penalised for being offside; instead they are cautioned for acts of unsporting behaviour.<ref name="laws2017-law11"/>

An attacker who is able to receive the ball behind the opposition defenders is often in a good position to score. The offside rule limits attackers' ability to do this, requiring that they be onside when the ball is played forward. Though restricted, well-timed passes and fast running allow an attacker to move into such a situation ''after'' the ball is kicked forward without committing the offence. Officiating decisions regarding offside, which can often be a matter of only centimetres or inches, can be critical in games, as they may determine whether a promising attack can continue, or even if a [[scoring in association football|goal]] is allowed to stand.

One of the main duties of the [[Assistant referee (association football)|assistant referee]]s is to assist the referee in adjudicating offside<ref name="laws2017-law6">{{cite web |url=http://www.theifab.com/backend/library/doc/laws-of-the-game-201718-english-single-page |work=Laws of the Game 2017–18 |date=22 May 2017 |publisher=[[International Football Association Board]] |location=Zürich |access-date=28 September 2017 |title=Law 6 – The Other Match Officials |pages=69–74 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>—their position on the sidelines giving a more useful view sideways across the pitch.  Assistant referees communicate that an offside offence has occurred by raising a signal flag.<ref name="laws2017-PGMO">{{cite web |url=http://www.theifab.com/backend/library/doc/laws-of-the-game-201718-english-single-page |work=Laws of the Game 2017–18 |date=22 May 2017 |publisher=[[International Football Association Board]] |location=Zürich |access-date=28 September 2017 |title=Practical Guidelines for Match Officials |pages=173–202 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>{{rp|191}} However, as with all officiating decisions in the game, adjudicating offside is ultimately up to the [[referee (association football)|referee]], who can overrule the advice of their assistants if they see fit.<ref name="laws2017-law5">{{cite web |url=http://www.theifab.com/backend/library/doc/laws-of-the-game-201718-english-single-page |work=Laws of the Game 2017–18 |date=22 May 2017 |publisher=[[International Football Association Board]] |location=Zürich |access-date=28 September 2017 |title=Law 5 – The Referee |pages=61–67 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Application==
The application of the offside rule may be considered in three steps: ''offside position'', ''offside offence'', and ''offside sanction''.

===Offside position===
[[Image:Offsidelarge.svg|thumb|The blue forward on the left of the diagram is in an offside position as they are ahead of both the ball and the second-last opponent (marked by the dotted line) in the opponents' half of the pitch. This does not necessarily mean they are committing an ''offside offence''. It becomes an offence only if the ball is played or touched by a teammate while the player is in an offside position and subsequently becomes involved in active play according to the definitions given in the Laws of the Game ''no matter if any of these events occur after they move to an onside position''.]]
[[Image:OffsideBallLine.svg|thumb|The blue [[Striker (association football)|forward]] in the penalty area of the diagram is not in an ''offside position'', as they are behind the ball, despite the fact that they are closer to the opponents' goal line than the second-last opponent.]]

A player is in an "offside position" if they are in the opposing team's half of the field and also "nearer to the opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent."<ref name="laws2017-law11"/> The 2005 edition of the Laws of the Game included a new IFAB decision that stated, "In the definition of offside position, 'nearer to his opponents' goal line' means that any part of their head, body or feet is nearer to their opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent. The arms are not included in this definition".<ref name=2005-changes>{{cite web | url=https://ssbra.solidwebworks.com/ifab/assets/pdf/2005amen.pdf | title= Amendments to the Laws of the Game 2005 | publisher = [[Fédération Internationale de Football Association]] | date = 17 May 2005 | access-date = 28 September 2017 | page=3 }}</ref> By 2017, the wording had changed to say that, in judging offside position, "The hands and arms of all players, including the goalkeepers, are not considered."<ref name="laws2017-law11"/> In other words, a player is in an ''offside position'' if two conditions are met:

* Any part of the player's head, body or feet is in the opponents' half of the field (excluding the half-way line).
* Any part of the player's head, body or feet is closer to the opponents' goal line than  both the ball and the second-last opponent.<ref name="laws2017-law11"/>

The [[Goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeeper]] counts as an opponent in the second condition, but it is not necessary that the last opponent be the goalkeeper.

===Offside offence===
A player in an offside position at the moment the ball is touched or played by a teammate is only penalised for committing an ''offside offence'' if, in the opinion of the referee, they become involved in active play by:
; Interfering with play
: "playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a team-mate"<ref name="laws2017-law11"/>
; Interfering with an opponent
: "preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent's line of vision or
:  challenging an opponent for the ball or
:  clearly attempting to play a ball which is close to them when this action impacts on an opponent or
:  making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball"<ref name="laws2017-law11"/>
; Gaining an advantage by playing the ball or interfering with an opponent when it has
: "- rebounded or been deflected off the goalpost, crossbar, match official or an opponent
:   – been deliberately saved by any opponent"<ref name="laws2017-law11"/>

In addition to the above criteria, in the 2017–18 edition of the Laws of the Game, the [[IFAB]] made a further clarification that, "In situations where a player moving from, or standing in, an offside position is in the way of an opponent and interferes with the movement of the opponent towards the ball this is an offside offence if it impacts on the ability of the opponent to play or challenge for the ball."<ref name="laws2017-law11"/>

There is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from a [[goal kick]], a [[corner kick]], or a [[throw-in]]. It is also not an offence if the ball was last deliberately played by an opponent (except for a deliberate save). In this context, according to the [[IFAB]], "A 'save' is when a player stops, or attempts to stop, a ball which is going into or very close to the goal with any part of the body except the hands/arms (unless the goalkeeper within the penalty area)."<ref name="laws2017-law11"/>

An offside offence may occur if a player receives the ball directly from either a [[direct free kick]], [[indirect free kick]] or [[dropped-ball]].

Since offside is judged at the time the ball is touched or played by a teammate, not when the player receives the ball, it is possible for a player to receive the ball significantly past the second-to-last opponent, or even the last opponent, without committing an offence, since an onside player is free to run to any position after the ball is played.

A player who was offside when their teammate played the ball (and therefore liable for an offside offence should they interfere with play) but becomes onside when the ball is played by another player then ceases to be liable for an offside offence. That is, the determination of offside is reset each time the ball is played by a different onside player. 

Determining whether a player is "involved in active play" can be complex. The quote, "If he's not interfering with play, what's he doing on the pitch?" has been attributed to [[Bill Nicholson (footballer)|Bill Nicholson]]<ref>{{cite web|title = Guardian Football: The Knowledge | work = [[The Guardian]] | date = 13 September 2006 | url = https://www.theguardian.com/football/2006/sep/13/theknowledge.sport | access-date = 10 July 2017}}</ref> and [[Danny Blanchflower]].<ref>{{cite AV media | people = [[Barry Davies]] | title = Commentary: Brazil vs Netherlands, World Cup 1994 | medium = YouTube | publisher = [[FIFA]] / [[BBC]] | location = United States | date = 9 May 1994 | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbhaDnd-5kg&t=1m12s | access-date = 26 May 2014}}</ref>  In an effort to avoid such criticisms, which were based on the fact that phrases such as "interfering with play", "interfering with an opponent", and "gaining an advantage" were not clearly defined, [[FIFA]] issued new guidelines for interpreting the offside law in 2003; and these were incorporated into Law 11 in July 2005.<ref name="2005-changes"/> The new wording sought to define the three cases more precisely, but a number of football associations and confederations continued to request more information about what movements a player in an offside position could make without interfering with an opponent. In response to these requests, [[IFAB]] circular 3 was issued in 2015 to provide additional guidance on the criteria for interfering with an opponent. This additional guidance is now included in the main body of the law, and forms the last three conditions under the heading "Interfering with an opponent" as shown above. The circular also contained additional guidance on the meaning of a save, in the context of a ball that has "been deliberately saved by any opponent."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theifab.com/backend/library/doc/circular_3_LoG_additional_guidance_on_law_11_EN |title=IFAB Circular 3 |publisher=[[The International Football Association Board]] |location=Zürich |date=15 July 2015 |access-date=30 September 2017 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Offside sanction===
The sanction for an offside offence is an [[indirect free kick]] for the opponent at the place where the offence occurred, even if it is in the player's own half of the field of play.<ref name="laws2017-law11"/>

===Officiating===
[[File:Assistant referee 15abr2007.jpg|thumb|An assistant referee signals that the offside offence was in the middle of the pitch; on the far side the flag would be pointed up at 45 degrees and near the assistant referee it would be pointed down at 45 degrees.]]
In enforcing this rule, the [[referee (association football)|referee]] depends greatly on an [[Assistant referee (association football)|assistant referee]], who generally keeps in line with the second-to-last opponent, the ball, or the halfway line, whichever is closer to the goal line of their relevant end.<ref name="laws2017-PGMO"/>{{rp|176}} An assistant referee signals for an offside offence by first raising their flag to a vertical position and then, if the referee stops play, by partly lowering their flag to an angle that signifies the location of the offence:<ref name="laws2017-PGMO"/>{{rp|192}}
* Flag pointed at a 45-degree angle downwards: offence has occurred in the third of the pitch nearest to the assistant referee;<ref name="laws2017-law6"/>{{rp|73}}
* Flag parallel to the ground: offence has occurred in the middle third of the pitch;<ref name="laws2017-law6"/>{{rp|73}}
* Flag pointed at a 45-degree angle upwards: offence has occurred in the third of the pitch furthest from the assistant referee.<ref name="laws2017-law6"/>{{rp|73}}

The assistant referees' task with regard to offside can be difficult, as they need to keep up with attacks and counter-attacks, consider which players are in an offside position when the ball is played, and then determine whether and when the offside-positioned players become involved in active play. The risk of false judgement is further increased by the [[foreshortening]] effect, which occurs when the distance between the attacking player and the assistant referee is significantly different from the distance to the defending player, and the assistant referee is not directly in line with the defender. The difficulty of offside officiating is often underestimated by spectators. Trying to judge if a player is level with an opponent at the moment the ball is kicked is not easy: if an attacker and a defender are running in opposite directions, they can be two metres (6') apart in less than a second.

Some researchers believe that offside officiating errors are "optically inevitable".<ref>{{citation|title=Errors in judging 'offside' in football|doi=10.1038/35003639 |pmid=10716430 | volume=404 | issue=6773|year=2000|last1=Oudejans|first1=Raôul R. D.|last2=Verheijen|first2=Raymond|last3=Bakker|first3=Frank C.|last4=Gerrits|first4=Jeroen C.|last5=Steinbrückner|first5=Marten|last6=Beek|first6=Peter J.|journal=Nature|pages=33|bibcode=2000Natur.404...33O |s2cid=4356571 |url=https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/461cc2c8-e0f1-4101-8418-00ad1793457d |doi-access=free}}</ref> It has been argued that human beings and technological media are incapable of accurately detecting an offside position quickly enough to make a timely decision.<ref>{{citation|title=An offside position in football cannot be detected in zero milliseconds|journal=Nature Precedings|author=FB Maruenda|year=2009|url=http://precedings.nature.com/documents/3835/version/1|hdl=10101/npre.2009.3835.1|doi=10.1038/npre.2009.3835.1|doi-access=free|access-date=15 June 2010|archive-date=15 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015035649/http://precedings.nature.com/documents/3835/version/1|url-status=dead}}</ref> Sometimes it simply is not possible to keep all the relevant players in the visual field at once.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Can the human eye detect an offside position during a football match?|author=B Maruenda|journal=British Medical Journal|year=2004|doi=10.1136/bmj.329.7480.1470|volume=329|issue=7480|pages=1470–2|pmid=15604187|pmc=535985}}  Correction: {{citation|doi=10.1136/bmj.330.7484.188|pmid=<!--none-->|title=Can the human eye detect an offside position during a football match?|year=2005|journal=BMJ|volume=330|issue=7484|pages=1470–1472|pmc=<!--none-->|last1=Belda Maruenda|first1=F.}}</ref> There have been some proposals for automated enforcement of the offside rule.<ref>{{citation|citeseerx=10.1.1.143.9703|title=Tracking soccer player using multiple views|author=S Iwase, H Saito|publisher=Proceedings of the IAPR Workshop on Machine Vision|year=2002}}</ref>

==== VAR and semi-automation ====
In matches using [[Video assistant referee|Video Assistant Referees]] (VAR) assistant referees who decide on offsides are required to avoid raising the flag for an offside decision until the play proceeds to a natural conclusion, unless the offside is obvious. This allows a team who might have been called for an offside offence to instead continue and any subsequent goal to be checked by VAR.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-17 |title=VAR explained: Delaying the offside flag |url=https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/1833470 |access-date=2025-07-16 |website=www.premierleague.com |language=en}}</ref>

Beginning in the mid-2020s, Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) began to be used at high-level games. SAOT systems use multiple high-speed cameras to determine the positions of players at the moment the ball is kicked, assisting the VAR in making speedy offside decisions. SAOT produces 3D virtual replays of the situation which are displayed on stadium screens and broadcasts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-24 |title=Semi-automated offside technology: What you need to know |url=https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4256036 |access-date=2025-07-16 |website=www.premierleague.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Motivation==
The motivations for offside rules varied at different times, and were not always clearly stated when the rules were changed. 

According to the anonymous author of a November 1863 newspaper article in the ''Sporting Gazette'', "For a player to place himself nearer his opponent's goal than the ball, and to wait for it to be kicked to him, is not anywhere recognised but as being decidedly unfair".<ref>{{cite journal |date=28 November 1863 |journal=Sporting Gazette |page=4 |title=Football: A Comparison of the Principal Rules as Played in the Leading Codes of Laws}}; emphasis added.</ref>  Curry and Dunning suggest that offside play was considered "highly ungentlemanly" at some schools; this attitude may have been reflected in the use of terminology such as "sneaking" at Eton and "loiter[ing]" at Cambridge.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Graham |last1=Curry |first2=Eric |last2=Dunning |title=Association Football: A Study in Figurational Sociology |publisher=Routledge |location=London |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-138-82851-3 |page=41}}</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Laws of the Eton Field Game (1847) |quote=A player is considered to be sneaking when only three, or less than three, of the opposite side are before him and may not kick the ball.}}</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Cambridge Rules (1856) |quote=No player is allowed to loiter between the ball and the adversaries' goal.}}</ref>

In general, offside rules intend to prevent players from "goal-hanging"–staying near the opponent's goal and waiting for the ball to be passed to them directly. This was considered to be unsportsmanlike and made the game boring.
In contrast, the offside rules force players not to get ahead of the ball, and thus favour dribbling the ball and short passes over few long passes.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2010/apr/13/the-question-why-is-offside-law-genius|title=The Question: Why is the modern offside law a work of genius?|last=Wilson|first=Jonathan|date=13 April 2010|work=The Guardian|access-date=20 January 2020|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Offside position (historical development).png|thumb|upright|Historical development of the laws relating to offside position]]

=== Before 1863 ===

====Traditional games====
A law similar to offside was used in the game of [[Cornish hurling|hurling to goals]] played in Cornwall in the early 17th century:<ref>{{cite book |first=Richard |last=Carew |title=The Survey of Cornwall |year=1769 |orig-year=1602 |page=74 |url=https://archive.org/details/surveycornwalla00caregoog/page/n180/mode/2up |edition=new |publisher=B. Law |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Eric |last1=Dunning |first2=Kenneth |last2=Sheard |title=Barbarians, Gentlemen and Players: A Sociological Study of the Development of Rugby Football |year=2005 |orig-year=1979 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon |isbn=0-203-49171-8 |pages=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E7J9ewfvfkgC&q=%22there+was+also+an+%27offside%27+rule%22&pg=PA27 |quote=[T]here was also an 'offside' rule}}</ref>{{quote|[H]ee who hath the ball [...] must deale no Fore-ball, ''viz.'' he may not throw it to any of his mates, standing neerer the goale, then himselfe.}}

====School and university football====
Offside laws are found in the largely uncodified and informal football games played at English public schools in the early 19th century.  An 1832 article discussing the [[Eton wall game]] complained of "[t]he interminable multiplicity of rules about ''sneaking'', ''picking up'', ''throwing'', ''rolling'', ''in straight'', with a vast number more", using the term "sneaking" to refer to Eton's offside law.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015062248128?urlappend=%3Bseq=298 |page=284 |journal=Eton College Magazine |title=On Eton Games, Continued |issue=viii |date=19 November 1832 |location=Eton |publisher=T. Ingalton|hdl=2027/mdp.39015062248128?urlappend=%3Bseq=298 }}</ref>  The novel ''[[Tom Brown's School Days]]'', published in 1857 but based on the author's experiences at [[Rugby School]] from 1834 to 1842, discussed that school's offside law:<ref>{{cite book |author= "An Old Boy" [Thomas Hughes] |year=1857 |publisher=Macmillan |location=Cambridge |title=Tom Brown's School Days |pages=117 |url=https://archive.org/stream/tombrownsschool00cogoog#page/n132/mode/2up }} [emphasis added]</ref> {{quote|My sons! [...] you have gone past the ball, and must struggle now right through the scrummage, and get round and back again to your own side, before you can be of any further use}} 

The first published set of laws of any code of football (Rugby School, 1845), stated that "[a] player is off his side if the ball has touched one of his own side behind him, until the other side touch it."  Such a player was prevented from kicking the ball, touching the ball down, or interfering with an opponent.<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Laws of Football as played at Rugby School (1845) |quote=No player being off his side shall kick the ball in any case whatever [...] No player being off his side shall hack, charge, run in, touch the ball in goal, or interrupt a catch [...] A player being off his side shall not touch the ball on the ground, except in touch}}</ref>

Many other school and university laws from this period were similar to Rugby School's in that they were "strict"—i.e. any player ahead of the ball was in an off-side position.<ref name=Carosi>{{cite web|url=http://www.kenaston.org/download/KenAstonRefereeSociety/offside_history-JulianCarosi.pdf|first=Julian | last=Carosi |year=2006|title=The History of Offside|access-date=12 April 2015}}</ref>  (This is similar to the current [[offside (rugby)|offside]] law in [[rugby football|rugby]], under which any player between the ball and the opponent's goal who takes part in play, is liable to be penalised.)<ref>{{cite web | url = http://laws.worldrugby.org/?law=11&language=EN | publisher = World Rugby | title = Law 11 – Offside and Onside in General Play | access-date=28 September 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.rugby-league.com/the_rfl/rules/laws_of_the_game/offside | publisher = Rugby Football League | title = Law 14 – Offside | access-date=14 October 2017 }}</ref> Such laws included [[Shrewsbury School]] (1855),<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Description of the Rules of Football as played at Shrewsbury School (1855) |quote=No one might stand wilfully between the ball and his opponent's goal. }}</ref> [[Uppingham School]] (1857),<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Rules for Football at Uppingham School (1857) |quote=A player is off his side immediately he is in front of the ball, and must return behind the ball as soon as possible.}}</ref> [[Trinity College (Connecticut)|Trinity College, Hartford]] (1858),<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Rules of football, Trinity College, Hartford (1858) |quote=Each side must keep on their own side of the ball. }}</ref> [[Winchester College]] (1863),<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Description of the Rules of Football as played at Winchester College (1863) |quote=No player is allowed to be in advance of the ball, lying in wait for it. }}</ref> and the [[Cambridge Rules#1863|Cambridge Rules of 1863]].<ref>{{cite wikisource |quote=When a player has kicked the ball, any one of the same side who is nearer to the opponent's goal line is out of play, and may not touch the ball himself, nor in any way whatsoever prevent any other player from doing so |title=Cambridge Rules (1863)}}</ref>

Some school and university rules provided an exception to this general pattern.  In the 1847 laws of the [[Eton Field Game]], a player could not be considered "sneaking" if there were four or more opponents between him and the opponents' goal line.<ref>{{cite wikisource |quote=A player is considered to be sneaking when only three, or less than three, of the opposite side are before him and may not kick the ball.  |title=Laws of the Eton Field Game (1847)}}</ref> A similar "rule of four" was found in the [[Cambridge Rules#1856|1856 Cambridge Rules]]<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Cambridge Rules (1856)|quote=If the ball has passed a player, and has come from the direction of his own goal, he may not touch it till the other side have kicked it, unless there are more than three of the other side before him }}</ref> and the rules of [[Charterhouse School]] (1863).<ref>{{cite wikisource |quote=Any player is off his side, or behind, when only three or less than three of the opposite side are between himself and the opposite goal. |title=Description of the Rules of Football as played at Charterhouse School (1863)}}</ref>

====Club football====
Most surviving rules of independent football ''clubs'' from before 1860 lack any offside law.  This is true of the brief handwritten set of laws for the [[Foot-Ball Club]] of Edinburgh (1833),<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Rules of The Foot-Ball Club (1833)}}</ref> the published laws of Surrey Football Club (1849),<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=The Surrey Club}}</ref> the first set of laws of [[Sheffield Football Club]] (1858)<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Sheffield Rules (1858)}}</ref> and those of [[Melbourne Football Club]] (1859).<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Rules of Melbourne Football Club (1859)}}</ref> In the Sheffield game, players known as "kick-throughs" were positioned permanently near the opponents' goal.<ref name=Carosi/>

In the early 1860s, this began to change.  In 1861, [[Wanderers F.C.|Forest FC]] adopted a set of laws based on the 1856 Cambridge Rules, with its "rule of four".<ref>{{citation |first=J. R. |last=Witty |chapter=Early Codes |page=144 |title=Association Football |editor1-first=A. H. |editor1-last=Fabian |editor2-first=Geoffrey  |editor2-last=Green |volume=1 |publisher=Caxton Publishing Company |location=London |year=1960 |quote=Forest F. C. issued its printed rules in 1861 and adopted the Cambridge Rules in full with a few special additions}}. From the context, it is clear that "the Cambridge Rules" is intended to refer to the Cambridge Rules of 1856.</ref>  The 1862 laws of [[Barnes FC]] featured a strict offside law.<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Rules of Barnes Football Club (1862)|quote=A player is out of play when he gets between the ball and his adversaries' goal but he is in play again{{Emdash}}first, as soon as he places himself between his own goal and the ball{{Emdash}}second, one of his own side has kicked the ball between him and his adversaries' goal{{Emdash}}or third, one of his adversaries has kicked or touched the ball.}}</ref>  Sheffield FC adopted a weak offside law at the beginning of the 1863–64 season.<ref>In a letter to ''The Field'' in February 1867, Sheffield FC secretary [[Harry Walker Chambers|Harry Chambers]] wrote that Sheffield FC had adopted a rule at the beginning of the 1863 season requiring one opponent to be level or closer to the opponent's goal.  See {{cite journal |journal=The Field |date=9 February 1867 |page=104 |title=[Correspondence] |first=Harry W. |last=Chambers |volume=xxix |issue=737}} This claim is confirmed by a letter from secretary [[William Chesterman]] to the FA in 1863: see {{cite news |title=The Football Association [letter from W. Chesterman, Hon. Sec. of Sheffield Football Club] |work=Supplement to Bell's Life in London |date=5 December 1863 |page=1 |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Football_Association_(Bell%27s_Life_in_London),_1863-12-05.png |via=Wikimedia Commons |quote=We have no printed rule at all like your No. 6 [the FA's draft offside law], but I have written in the book a rule which is always played by us.}}</ref>

====J. C. Thring====
[[File:J. C. Thring.jpg|thumb|J. C. Thring]]

[[John Charles Thring|J. C. Thring]] was an advocate for the strictest possible offside law.  A resident master at Uppingham School from 1859 to 1864, Thring  criticised most existing offside laws for being too lax. The Rugby laws, for example, were at fault because they permitted an offside player to rejoin play immediately after an opponent touched the ball,<ref>{{cite journal |journal=The Field |title=Football |date=15 March 1862 |page=219 |author=J. C. T. |quote=[A] player might at his own risk stand in advance of the ball, and even stand immediately behind it, if kicked in front of him, being in play as soon as it may have touched or been touched in any way by the opposite side.  This certainly was the acknowledged practice of Rugby men formerly at Cambridge – thus making forward and unfair play a display of daring, and a profitable one too, instead of a breach of law and sneaking.  The [Rugby] off-side rule does not prevent it ...}}</ref> while Eton's rule of four allowed "an immense amount of sneaking" when the number of players was unlimited.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Football |journal=Field |date=22 February 1862 |page=19 |quote=I do doubt whether the rule that "a player is 'in play' if only there happen to be three of the opposite side between him and their goal" would be stringent enough for general adoption. Where members are unlimited, and the spirit of the game not formed, such a rule would allow of an immense amount of sneaking. A player might constantly be far in advance of the play, wait there unfairly, and carry the ball on, when kicked up to him; only taking care (according to the letter of the law) that there be the goal-keeper, the back player, and one other between himself and goal. I think that this would be a serious defect.}}</ref>

Thring expressed his views through correspondence in the sporting newspapers such as ''The Field'', and through the publication in 1862 of ''[[John Charles Thring#"The Simplest Game"|The Simplest Game]]'', a proposed set of laws of football.  In ''The Simplest Game'', Thring included a strict offside law which required a player in an offside position ("out of play", in Thring's terminology) to "return behind the ball as soon as possible".<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=The Simplest Game |quote= A player is 'out of play' immediately he is in front of the ball, and must return behind the ball as soon as possible. If the ball is kicked by his own side past a player, he may not touch or kick it, or advance, until one of the other side has first kicked it, or one of his own side, having followed it up, has been able, when in front of him, to kick it. }}</ref> 

The influence of Thring's views is evidenced by the adoption of his proposed offside law from ''The Simplest Game'' in the first draft of the FA laws (see below).

===The F. A. laws of 1863===
On 17 November 1863, the newly formed [[Football Association]] adopted a resolution mirroring Thring's law from the ''Simplest Game'':<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Laws of the Game (1863) (initial resolutions)}}</ref>
{{quote|A player is "out of play" immediately he is in front of the ball and must return behind the ball as soon as possible. If the ball is kicked by his own side past a player he may not touch or kick it, or advance until one of the other side has first kicked it or one of his own side on a level with or in front of him has been able to kick it.}}
This text was reflected in the first draft of laws drawn up by FA secretary [[Ebenezer Morley]].

On 24 November, Morley presented his draft laws to the  FA for final approval.<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Laws of the Game (1863) (draft)}}</ref>  That meeting was, however, disrupted by a dispute over the subject of "hacking" (allowing players to carry the ball, provided they could be kicked in the shins by opponents when doing so, in the manner of Rugby School).  The opponents of hacking brought the delegates' attention to the Cambridge Rules of 1863 (which banned carrying and hacking):<ref name="nov_24">{{cite news |title=The Football Association |work=Bell's Life in London |date=28 November 1863 |page=6 |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Football_Association_(Bells_Life_in_London)_1863-11-28.png |quote=Mr {{sc|Morley}}, hon. secretary, said that he had endeavoured as faithfully as he could to draw up the laws according to the suggestions made, but he wished to call the attention of the meeting to other matters that had taken place.  The Cambridge University Football Club, probably stimulated by the Football Association, had formed some laws in which gentlemen of note from six of the public schools had taken part.  Those rules, so approved, were entitled to the greatest consideration and respect at the hands of the association, and they ought not to pass them over without giving them all the weight that the feeling of six of the public schools entitled them to.}}</ref>  Discussion of the Cambridge rules, and suggestions for possible communication with Cambridge on the subject, served to delay the final "settlement" of the laws to a further meeting, on 1 December.  A number of representatives who supported rugby-style football did not attend this additional meeting,<ref>Harvey (2005), pp. 144–145</ref> resulting in hacking and carrying being banned.<ref name="dec_1">{{cite news |title=The Football Association |work=Supplement to Bell's Life in London |date=5 December 1863 |page=1 |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Football_Association_(Bell%27s_Life_in_London),_1863-12-05.png}}</ref>

Although the offside law was not itself a significant issue in the dispute between the pro- and anti-hacking clubs, it was completely rewritten. The original law, taken from Thring's ''Simplest Game'', was replaced by a modified version of the equivalent law from the Cambridge Rules:<ref>{{cite news |title=The Football Association |work=Supplement to Bell's Life in London |date=5 December 1863 |page=1 |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Football_Association_(Bell%27s_Life_in_London),_1863-12-05.png |quote=The {{sc|President}} called Mr Campbell's attention to the fact that, so far from ignoring the Cambridge rules, they had adopted their No. 6}}</ref>{{quote|When a player has kicked the ball any one of the same side who is nearer to the opponent's goal line is out of play and may not touch the ball himself nor in any way whatever prevent any other player from doing so until the ball has been played; but no player is out of play when the ball is kicked from behind the goal line.}}
The law adopted by the FA was "strict"—i.e., it penalised any player in front of the ball.<ref name=Carosi/>  There was one exception for the "kick from behind the goal line" (the 1863 laws' equivalent of a goal kick).  This exception was necessary because every player on the attacking side would have otherwise been "out of play" from such a kick.

===Subsequent developments: offside position===
====Three-player rule (1866)====
At the first revision of the FA laws, in February 1866, an important qualifier was added to soften the "strict" offside law:<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Laws of the Game (1866)}}</ref> {{quote|When a player has kicked the ball, any one of the same side who is nearer to the opponents' goal line is out of play, and may not touch the ball himself, nor in any way whatever prevent any other player from doing so, until the ball has been played, unless there are at least three of his opponents between him and their own goal; but no player is out of play when the ball is kicked from behind the goal line.}}

At the FA's meeting, the alteration "gave rise to a lengthy discussion, many thinking with [[Ebenezer Morley|Mr Morley]] that it would be better to do away with the off side [law] altogether, especially as the Sheffield clubs had none. It being found, however, that the rule could not be expunged without notice, the alteration was passed."<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Football_Association_(Bell%27s_Life_in_London)_1866-02-24.png |title=The Football Association |journal=Bell's Life in London |issue=2288 |page=7 |date=24 February 1866}}</ref><ref name=Carosi/><ref name="4Drules">{{cite web | url=http://www.4dfoot.com/2013/04/25/150-years-of-association-football-how-the-rules-have-changed/ | title=150 years of Association Football ~ How the Rules have changed | access-date=25 April 2013 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612145505/http://www.4dfoot.com/2013/04/25/150-years-of-association-football-how-the-rules-have-changed/ | archive-date=12 June 2013 | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Contemporaneous reports do not indicate the reason for the change.<ref>For example, {{cite journal |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Football_Association_(Sporting_Life)_1866-02-07.png |title=Football Association – Annual Meeting |journal=The Sporting Life |issue=722 |page=1 |date=7 February 1866}}</ref>  [[Charles W. Alcock|Charles Alcock]], writing in 1890, suggested that it was made in order to induce two public schools, [[Westminster School|Westminster]] and [[Charterhouse School|Charterhouse]], to join the association.<ref>{{cite book |last=Alcock |first=C. W |year=1906 |orig-year=1890 |url=https://archive.org/details/footballassocia00alcogoog/page/n25/mode/2up  |title=Football: The Association Game |location=London |publisher=George Bell & Sons |pages=13–14 |quote=At the same time, with a view apparently to secure the co-operation of Westminster and Charterhouse, the strict off-side rule which had been in force was modified to ensure uniformity in this essential principle of the game. The adoption of the rule which had prevailed at these two schools, which kept a player on side as long as there were three of the opposite side between him and the enemy's goal, removed, in fact, the one remaining bar to the establishment of one universal code, for Association players in the south at least.}}</ref><ref>According to {{cite book |first=Tony |last=Brown |title=The Football Association 1863–1883: A Source Book |location=Nottingham |publisher=Soccerdata |isbn=9781905891528 |year=2011 |page=29}}, Alcock made a claim that the change "secured the co-operation of Westminster and Charterhouse Schools" in ''Football Annual'', 1870, p. 38</ref>  Those two schools did indeed become members of the FA after the next annual FA meeting (February 1867), in response to a letter-writing campaign by newly installed FA secretary [[Robert George Graham|Robert Graham]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Early History of the Football Association |journal=The Badminton Magazine of Sports and Pastimes |volume=viii |year=1899 |pages=81–82 |publisher=Longmans, Green, & Co. |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/badmintonmagazi08unkngoog/page/n92/mode/2up |first=R. G. |last=Graham}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924031242559/page/n171/mode/2up |page=156 |first=A. H. |last=Tod |title=Charterhouse |year=1900 |publisher=George Bell and Sons |location=London}}</ref><ref>The exact date on which the two schools joined the F.A. is uncertain.  Both were members as of 1 January 1868 (see Graham op. cit.).  Charterhouse was still using [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Football_Rules_of_Charterhouse_School_(1867) its own rules as of 5 October 1867].  Westminster had "adopted the rules of the association" by 19 October 1867, though ''Routledge's Handbook of Football'' was still advertised as containing the "rules of the game as played at Westminster" in November 1867; see {{cite journal |journal=Field |date=19 October 1867 |title=Football Association |page=326}} and {{cite journal |journal=Sporting Gazette |date=9 November 1867 |title=Routledge's Handbook of Football |page=13}}</ref>

====Early proposals for change (1867–1874)====
Over the next seven years, there were several attempts to change the three-player rule, but none was successful:

* In 1867, Barnes FC proposed that the offside rule should be removed altogether, arguing that "a player did not stop to count whether there were three of his opponents between him and their own goal".<ref name="fa_meeting_1867">{{cite journal |journal=Bell's Life in London |title=The Football Association |date=2 March 1867 |page=9 |issue=2341 |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Football_Association_(Bell%27s_Life_in_London)_1867-03-02.png}}</ref>
* It was also proposed that the FA should revert to its original "strict" offside rule.  This change was introduced in 1868 (Branham College), 1871 ("The Oxford Association") and 1872 (Notts County).<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Football_Association_(Sportsman)_1868-02-01.png |title=Football Association |journal=Sportsman |location=London |issue=334 |page=4 |date=1 February 1868}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Football_Association_(Sporting_Life)_1868-02-29.png |title=Football Association |journal=Sporting Life |location=London |issue=939 |page=4 |date=29 February 1868}}</ref>
* There were attempts to introduce the one-player rule of the Sheffield Football Association in 1867 (Sheffield FC), 1872 (Sheffield Football Association), 1873 (Nottingham Forest), and 1874 (Sheffield Association).<ref name="fa_meeting_1867"/>
Offside was the subject of the biggest dispute between the [[Sheffield & Hallamshire County Football Association|Sheffield Football Association]] (which produced its own "[[Sheffield Rules]]") and the Football Association.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sheffield_Football_Association_(Sheffield_Independent)_1871_10_12.png |title=Sheffield Football Association: Annual General Meeting |journal=Sheffield and Rotherham Independent |date=12 October 1871 |page=3 |quote=The off side rule is the only material point of difference [between the FA laws and Sheffield Rules], and this is one that can never be played in Sheffield, being characterised by the meeting as ridiculous}}</ref>  However, the two codes were eventually unified without any change in this area; the Sheffield Clubs accepted the FA's three-player offside rule in 1877, after the FA compromised by allowing the throw-in to be taken in any direction.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meeting_of_the_Sheffield_Football_Association_(Sheffield_Independent)_1877_04_24.png |title=Meeting of the Sheffield Football Association |journal=Sheffield and Rotherham Independent |volume=lxi |issue=5722 |date=24 April 1877 |page=7}}</ref>

====Offside in own half (1907)====
The original laws allowed players to be in an offside position even when in their own half.  This happened rarely, but was possible when one team pressed high up the field, for example in a [[Sunderland]] v [[Wolverhampton Wanderers]] match in December 1901.<ref name="pickford"/><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Athletic News |date=30 December 1901 |page=5 |title=Sunderland Outplayed |quote=[M]ost of the play was confined to the Sunderland quarters, and we had the spectacle of one of their forwards being given off-side in his own half}}</ref>  When an attacking team adopted the so-called "one back" game, in which only the goalkeeper and one outfield player remained in defensive positions, it was even possible for players to be caught offside in their own penalty area.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Athletic News |date=11 December 1905 |page=4 |title=Hints to Referees |first=W. |last=Pickford}}</ref>

In May 1905, [[Clyde FC]] suggested that players should not be offside in their own half, but this suggestion was rejected by the [[Scottish Football Association]].<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Athletic News |date=8 May 1905 |page=1 |title=''Untitled''}}</ref>{{Cbignore|date=December 2022}}  It was objected that the change would lead to "forwards hanging about close to the half-way line, as opportunists".<ref name=pickford>{{cite journal |journal=Athletic News |date=20 November 1905 |page=4 |title=Hints to Referees |first=W. |last=Pickford}}</ref>  After the [[1905–06 British Home Championship#Results|Scotland v England]] international of April 1906 ended with the Scottish wingers being repeatedly caught offside by England's use of a "one back" game,<ref>Wilson (2013), p. 37</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Lancashire Daily Post |date=7 April 1906 |page=3 |title=Scotland v. England}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Edinburgh Evening News |date=4 May 1906 |page=4 |title=Football: the S.F.A. Meeting}}</ref> Clyde again proposed the same rule-change to the Scottish FA meeting: this time it was accepted.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Edinburgh Evening News |date=2 May 1906 |page=7 |title=Scottish Association Annual Meeting}}</ref>

The Scottish proposal gained support in England.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Edinburgh Evening News |date=10 May 1906 |page=4 |title=English Athletic News}}</ref> At the 1906 meeting of the International Football Association Board, the Scottish FA announced that it would introduce the proposed change at the next annual meeting, in 1907.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1906min.pdf |title=Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the International Football Association Board 1906 |page=2 |access-date=26 May 2020}}</ref>  In March 1907, the council of the [English] Football Association approved this change,<ref>{{cite journal |date=26 March 1907 |page=11 |title=Football: Next Season's F.A. Cup |journal=Manchester Courier}}</ref>  and it was passed by IFAB in June 1907.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1907min.pdf |title=Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the International Football Association Board 1907 |page=2 |access-date=27 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Laws of the Game (1907) |quote=A player is not out of play when the ball is kicked off from goal, when a corner-kick is taken, when the ball has been last played by an opponent, or when he himself is within his own half of the field of play at the moment the ball is played or thrown in from touch by any player of the same side }}</ref>

====Two-player rule (1925)====
The Scottish FA urged the change from a three-player to a two-player offside rule as early as 1893.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Scottish Referee |page=2 |date=14 April 1893 |title=Proposed Alterations of Rules}}</ref> Such a change was first proposed at a meeting of IFAB in 1894, where it was rejected.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1894min.pdf |title=Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the International Football Association Board 1894 |page=3 |access-date=31 May 2020}}</ref>  It was proposed again by the SFA in 1902, upon the urging of [[Celtic FC]], and again rejected.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Athletic News |date=17 March 1902 |title=En Passant |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Evening Post |location=Dundee |date=27 March 1902 |page=5 |title=Football Comments}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1902min.pdf |title=Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the International Football Association Board 1902 |page=4 |access-date=11 June 2020}}</ref>  A further proposal from the SFA also failed in 1913, after the Football Association objected.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Athletic News |date=3 March 1913 |page=4 |title=Offside Again |first=W. |last=Pickford}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1913min.pdf |title=Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the International Football Association Board 1913 |pages=2–3 |access-date=11 June 2020 |archive-date=20 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120031122/https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1913min.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Sports Argus |location=Birmingham |date=21 February 1914 |page=1 |title=Altering the Off-Side Law }}</ref>  The SFA advanced the same proposal in 1914, when it was again rejected after opposition from both the Football Association and the [[Football Association of Wales]].<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Evening Telegraph and Post |location=Dundee |date=1 April 1914 |page=5 |title=The Off-Side Rule }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Huddersfield Daily Examiner |date=27 May 1914 |page=3 |title=Off-Side Rule Discussion}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Liverpool Daily Post and Mercury |location=Dundee |date=1 April 1914 |page=5 |title=The Off-Side Rule }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Huddersfield Daily Examiner |date=28 May 1914 |page=4 |title=Football Government and Finance}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1914min.pdf |title=Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the International Football Association Board 1914 |pages=2 |access-date=2 July 2020}}</ref>

Meetings of the International Board were suspended after 1914 because of the [[First World War]]. After they resumed in 1920, the SFA once again proposed the two-player rule in 1922, 1923, and 1924.  In 1922 and 1923, the Scottish Association withdrew its proposal after English FA opposed it.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Football: Meeting of International Board |date=12 June 1922 |journal=Yorkshire Post |page=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Athletic News |date=4 June 1924 |page=6 |title=Penalty Kicks: A Practice that Must be Discontinued}}</ref>  In 1924, the Scottish proposal was once again opposed by the English FA, and defeated;<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Courier |location=Dundee |page=6 |title=Offside Rule in Football: English F.A. Against Alteration |date=3 June 1924}}</ref> it was, however, indicated that a version of the proposal would be adopted the next year.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Athletic News |page=1 |date=23 June 1924 |title=En Passant |quote=Even more gratifying to the Scottish delegates was the understanding, which it is said was arrived at, that next year their offside rule proposal would be adopted after some adjustment}}</ref>

On 30 March 1925, the FA arranged a trial match at [[Highbury]] where two proposed changes to the offside rules were tested.  During the first half, a player could not be offside unless within forty yards of the opponents' goal-line.  In the second half, the two-player rule was used.<ref>{{cite journal |date=31 March 1925 |journal=Leeds Mercury |title=Off-Side Experiments |page=8}}</ref>

The two-player proposal was considered by the FA at its annual meeting on 8 June. Proponents cited the new rule's potential to reduce stoppages, avoid refereeing errors, and improve the spectacle, while opponents complained that it would give "undue advantage to attackers"; referees were overwhelmingly opposed to the change. The two-player rule was nevertheless approved by the FA by a large majority.<ref>{{cite journal |journal= Mercury |location=Lichfield |page=7 |date=12 June 1925 |title=The Offside Rule: Proposed Change Favoured}}</ref>   At IFAB's meeting later that month, the two-player rule finally became part of the Laws of the Game.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1925min.pdf |via=South Bay Soccer Referee Association |title=Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the International Football Association Board 1925 |pages=4 |access-date=23 July 2020 |quote=When a player plays the ball, any player of the same side who at such moment of playing is nearer to his opponents' goal-line is out of play, and may not touch the ball himself, nor in any way whatever interfere with an opponent, or with the play, until the ball has been again played, unless there are at such moment of playing at least two [previously ''three''] of his opponents nearer their own goal-line |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115023511/https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1925min.pdf |archive-date= 2020-01-15}}</ref>

The two-player rule was one of the more significant rule changes in the history of the game during the 20th century.  It led to an immediate change in the style of play, with the game becoming more stretched, "short passing giv[ing] way to longer balls", and the development of the [[Formation (association football)#WM|W-M formation]].<ref>Wilson (2013), p. 20</ref> It also led to an increase in goalscoring:  4,700 goals were scored in 1,848 [[1924–25 Football League|Football League games in 1924–25]]. This number rose to 6,373 goals (from the same number of games) in [[1925–26 Football League|1925–26]].<ref name=Carosi/>

====Attacker level with second-last defender (1990)====
In 1990, IFAB declared that an attacker level with the second-last defender is onside, whereas previously such a player had been considered offside.  This change, proposed by the Scottish FA, was made in order to "encourage the attacking team" by "giving the attacking player an advantage over the defender".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1990min.pdf |title=Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the International Football Association Board 1990 |page=16 |access-date=25 July 2020 |quote=A player is in an off-side position if he is nearer his opponents' goal-line than the ball, unless ... [h]e is not nearer to his opponents' goal-line than at least two of his opponents [previously: ''unless there are at least two of his opponents nearer their own goal-line than he is'']}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=29 June 1990 |page=23 |title=Offside Rule Changed}}</ref>

====Parts of body (2005)====
In 2005, IFAB clarified that, when evaluating an attacking player's position for the purposes of the offside law, the part of the player's head, body or feet closest to the defending team's goal-line should be considered, with the hands and arms being excluded because "there is no advantage to be gained if only the arms are in advance of the opponent".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/2005amen.pdf |title=Amendments to the Laws of the Game – 2005 |author=Urs Linsi |page=3 |access-date=29 July 2020}}</ref>  In 2016, it was further clarified that this principle should apply to all players, both attackers and defenders, including the goalkeeper.<ref name="offside_2016_changes">{{cite web |url=http://static-3eb8.kxcdn.com/documents/60/Laws%20of%20the%20Game_16-17_Digital_Eng.pdf |title=Laws of the Game 2016/17 |page=138 |access-date=29 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911032912/http://static-3eb8.kxcdn.com/documents/60/Laws%20of%20the%20Game_16-17_Digital_Eng.pdf |archive-date=11 September 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Defender outside the field of play (2009)====
In 2009, it was stated that a defender who leaves the field of play without the referee's permission must be considered to be on the nearest boundary line for the purposes of deciding whether an attacker is in an offside position.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/2009amen.pdf |title=Amendments to the Laws of the Game – 2009 |author=Jerôme Valcke |page=2 |access-date=29 July 2020}}</ref>

====Halfway line (2016)====
In 2016, it was clarified that a player on the halfway line itself cannot be in an offside position: part of the player's head, body or feet must be within the opponent's half of the field of play in order to be considered offside.<ref name="offside_2016_changes"/>

====Unadopted experiments====
During the [[1973–74 in Scottish football|1973–74]] and [[1974–75 in Scottish football|1974–75]] seasons, an experimental version of the offside rule was operated in the [[Scottish League Cup]] and [[Drybrough Cup]] competitions.<ref name = "scottish experiment">{{cite web |url=http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/celtic/240624-how-the-scottish-fa-tried-to-revolutionise-the-offside-law/ |title=How the Scottish FA tried to revolutionise the offside law |first=Grant |last=Russell |work=sport.stv.tv |publisher=STV |date=1 April 2011 |access-date=13 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213185058/http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/celtic/240624-how-the-scottish-fa-tried-to-revolutionise-the-offside-law/ |archive-date=13 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The concept was that offside should only apply in the last {{convert|18|yd|m}} of play (inside or beside the penalty area).<ref name = "scottish experiment"/> To signify this, the horizontal line of the penalty area was extended to the touchlines.<ref name = "scottish experiment"/> FIFA President Sir [[Stanley Rous]] attended the [[1973 Scottish League Cup Final]], which was played using these rules.<ref name = "scottish experiment"/> The manager of one of the teams involved, [[Celtic F.C.|Celtic]] manager [[Jock Stein]], complained that it was unfair to expect teams to play under one set of rules in one game and then a different set a few days before or later.<ref name = "scottish experiment"/> The experiment was quietly dropped after the 1974–75 season, as no proposal for a
further experiment or rule change was submitted for the [[Scottish Football Association]] board to consider.<ref name = "scottish experiment"/> It was briefly experimented again in the [[1991 FIFA U-17 World Championship]], in Italy.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1991-06-01 |title=MONDIALI UNDER 17 LA FIFA FA LE PROVE - la Repubblica.it |url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1991/06/01/mondiali-under-17-la-fifa-fa-le.html |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=Archivio - la Repubblica.it |language=it}}</ref>

In 1972, the [[North American Soccer League (1968-1984)|North American Soccer League]] adopted a variation of the offside rule in which it added a line on the field 35 yards from each goal line; a player could only be offside within that area of the opponent's half. The rule was dropped in 1982 at the insistence of [[FIFA]] which threatened to withdraw recognition of the league if it did not apply all of the official rules of football.<ref>[http://www.nasl.com/a-review-of-the-golden-era#: The history of the North American Soccer League]</ref>

===Subsequent developments: exceptions at the restart of play===
====Goal kick====
Since the first FA laws of 1863, a player has not been penalised for being in an offside position at the moment a teammate takes a [[goal kick]].<ref>{{cite wikisource |quote=but no player is out of play when the ball is kicked from behind the goal line |title=Laws of the Game (1863)}}</ref>  (According to the "strict" offside law used in 1863, every player on the attacking side would automatically have been in an offside position from such a goalkick, since it had to be taken from the goal line and a player could be in an offside position even when in their own half.)<ref>{{cite wikisource |quote=In case the ball goes behind the goal line, if a player on the side to whom the goal belongs first touches the ball, one of his side shall be entitled to a free kick from the goal line at the point opposite the place where the ball shall be touched |title=Laws of the Game (1863)}}</ref>

====Throw-in====
Under the original laws of 1863, it was not possible to be offside from a [[throw-in]];<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Laws of the Game (1863) |quote=When a player has kicked the ball any one of the same side who is nearer to the opponent's goal line is out of play}}</ref> however, since the ball was required to be thrown in at right-angles to the touch-line, it would have been unusual for a player to gain significant advantage from being ahead of the ball.<ref>{{cite wikisource |quote=When the ball is in touch the first player who touches it shall throw it from the point on the boundary line where it left the ground, in a direction at right angles with the boundary line |title=Laws of the Game (1863)}}</ref>

In 1877, the throw-in law was changed to allow the ball to be thrown in any direction.<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Laws of the Game (1877) |quote=When the ball is in touch a player of the opposite side to that which kicked it out shall throw it from the point on the boundary line where it left the ground in any direction the thrower may choose}}</ref>  The next year (1878) a new law was introduced to allow a player to be offside from a throw-in.<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Laws of the Game (1878) |quote=When a player kicks the ball, or it is thrown in from touch, any one of the same side who at such moment of kicking or throwing is nearer to the opponents' goal-line, is out of play}}</ref>

This situation lasted until 1920, when the law was altered to prevent a player being offside from a throw-in.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1920min.pdf |title=International Football Association Board: 1920 Minutes of the Annual General Meeting |page=4 |access-date=23 October 2018 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Off Side Law Unaltered |page=2 |date=14 June 1920 |newspaper=Lincolnshire Echo |issue=8827}}</ref>  This rule-change was praised on the grounds that it would deter teams from "seeking safety or wasting time by sending [the ball] into touch", and thus reduce stoppages.<ref>{{cite news |date=24 April 1920 |newspaper=Lancashire Daily Post |page=5 |title=Offside Alteration}}</ref>

====Corner kick====
When first introduced in 1872, the [[corner kick]] was required to be taken from the corner-flag itself, which made it impossible for an attacking player to be in an offside position relative to the ball.<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Laws of the Game (1872) |quote=When the ball is kicked behind the goal line, a player of the opposite side to that which kicked it out, shall kick it in from the nearest corner-flag}}</ref> In 1874, the corner-kick was allowed to be taken up to one yard from the corner-flag, thus opening up the possibility of a player being in an offside position.<ref>{{cite wikisource |title=Laws of the Game (1874) |quote=but if kicked behind by any one of the side whose goal line it is, a player of the opposite side shall kick it from within one yard of the nearest corner flag-post}}</ref>  At the [[International Football Conference]] of December 1882, it was agreed that a player should not be offside from a corner-kick; this change was incorporated into the Laws of the Game in 1883.<ref name="laws_1883">{{cite wikisource |title=Laws of the Game (1883) |quote=When a player kicks the ball, or throws it in from touch, any one of the same side who, at such moment of kicking or throwing, is nearer to the opponents' goal-line is out of play, and may not touch the ball himself, nor in any way whatever prevent any other player from doing so until the ball has been played, unless there are at such moment of kicking or throwing at least three of his opponents nearer their own goal line; but no player is out of play in the case of a corner-kick or when the ball is kicked from the goal line, or when it has been last played by an opponent.}}</ref>

====Free kick====
The laws of football have always permitted an offside offence to be committed from a [[free kick]].  The free kick contrasts, in this respect, with other restarts of play such as the goal kick, corner kick, and throw-in.

A 1920 proposal by the FA to exempt the free-kick from the offside rule was unexpectedly rejected by IFAB.<ref>{{cite journal |date=12 June 1920 |title=Leaves from my Notebook |author=Looker-On |page=1 |journal=Sports Special |location=Sheffield}}</ref> A further unsuccessful proposal to remove the possibility of being offside from a direct free-kick was rejected in 1929.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1929min.pdf |title=Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the International Football Association Board 1929 |page=2 |access-date=27 March 2020 |archive-date=4 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704153421/https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1929min.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Similar proposals to prevent offside offences from any free-kick were advanced in 1974 and 1986, each time without success.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1974min.pdf |title=Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the International Football Association Board 1974 |page=5 [p. 6 of the PDF] |access-date=27 March 2020 |archive-date=11 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111163441/https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1974min.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1986min.pdf |title=Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the International Football Association Board 1986 |pages=4–5 [pp. 7–8 of the PDF] |access-date=27 March 2020 |archive-date=18 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118200925/https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1986min.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>  In 1987, the [[Football Association]] (FA) obtained the permission of [[IFAB]] to test such a rule in the [[1987–88 Football Conference|1987–88 GM Vauxhall Conference]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1987app.pdf |title=Approved Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the International Football Association Board 1987 |page=32 [p. 34 of the PDF] |access-date=27 March 2020 |archive-date=26 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026094544/https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1987app.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Guardian |date=15 June 1987 |page=28 |title=FA told to bring back red cards |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47503194/no-offside-at-free-kicks-experiment/ |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> At the next annual meeting, the FA reported to IFAB that the experiment had, as predicted, "assisted further the non-offending team and also generated more action near goal, resulting in greater excitement for players and spectators"; it nevertheless withdrew the proposal.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1988min.pdf |title=Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the International Football Association Board 1988 |pages=12–13 |access-date=27 March 2020 |archive-date=26 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026102420/https://ssbra.org/ifab/assets/pdf/1988min.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Offside trap==
Pioneered in the early 20th century by [[Notts County F.C.|Notts County]]<ref>{{Citation|date= 13 April 2010|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2010/apr/13/the-question-why-is-offside-law-genius|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227150158/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2010/apr/13/the-question-why-is-offside-law-genius|archive-date=27 December 2018|title= The Question: Why is the modern offside law a work of genius?|first= Jonathan|last= Wilson	
|newspaper=The Guardian }}</ref> and later adopted by influential Argentine coach [[Osvaldo Zubeldía]],<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/clubs/matchreport/newsid=512037.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106142458/http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/clubs/matchreport/newsid=512037.html |archive-date=6 November 2012|title=Intercontinental Cup 1968}}</ref> the offside trap is a defensive tactic designed to force the attacking team into an offside position. Just before an attacking player is played a through ball, the last defender or defenders move upfield, isolating the attacker into an offside position. The execution requires careful timing by the defence and is considered a risk, since running upfield against the direction of attack may leave the goal exposed.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Jula |first=Calin |date=2024-11-13 |title=The Offside Trap In Football: Mechanics, Goalkeeper Role, And VAR Impact |url=https://fotbalsimplu.com/the-offside-trap-in-football-mechanics-goalkeeper-role-and-var-impact/ |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=fotbalsimplu.com |language=en-US}}</ref>  Now that it changes to the interpretations of "interfering with play, interfering with an opponent and gaining an advantage", it means a player is not guilty of an offside offence unless they become directly and clearly involved in active play, and players not involved in active play cannot be "caught offside", making the tactic riskier. An attacker, upon realising they are in an offside position, may simply choose to avoid interfering with play until the ball is played by someone else.

Manager [[Arrigo Sacchi]] was also known for using a high defensive line, with distance between the defence and midfield lines never greater than 25 to 30 metres (yards), and the offside trap with his teams. He introduced a more attacking–minded tactical philosophy with [[A.C. Milan]], which was highly successful, namely an aggressive high-[[Glossary of association football terms#P|pressing]] system, which used a [[Formation (association football)#4–4–2|4–4–2 formation]], an attractive, fast, attacking, and possession-based playing style, and which also used innovative elements such as [[zonal marking]] and a high back–line line playing the offside trap, which largely deviated from previous systems in Italian football, despite still maintaining defensive solidity.<ref name="The greatest teams of all time: AC Milan 1988-90">{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0253-0d7ff547ca01-af062fb1225f-1000--the-greatest-teams-of-all-time-ac-milan-1988-90/|title=The greatest teams of all time: AC Milan 1988–90|publisher=UEFA|author=Paolo Menicucci|date=4 July 2015|access-date=9 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="SacchitakeoverParma">{{cite web|url=http://www.espnfc.com/europe/news/2001/0109/20010109paramacoa.html|title=Sacchi to take over at Parma|publisher=ESPN.com Soccernet|date=9 January 2001|access-date=31 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.repubblica.it/online/camp_europeo/tecnici/tecnici/tecnici.html |title=I ct degli altri sport difendono l'Italia di Zoff |work=La Repubblica |language=it |last1=Vincenzi |first1=Massimo |date=26 June 2000 |access-date=26 February 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.repubblica.it/online/camp_europeo/sondaggio3/sondaggio3/sondaggio3.html?ref=search |title=Gli italiani si dividono tra Zoff e Sacchi |work=La Repubblica |language=it |date=16 June 2000 |access-date=26 February 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Mondiali/28-05-2014/mondiale-1994-roberto-baggio-codino-brasile-finale-80777179611.shtml |title=È il Mondiale del Codino. I miracoli e le lacrime |work=La Gazzetta dello Sport |language=it |last1=Schianchi |first1=Andrea |date=28 May 2014 |access-date=26 February 2020 }}</ref>

[[Liverpool F.C.]] under [[Jürgen Klopp]], a noted follower of Sacchi, were known for their highly effective offside trap. It involved playing a high defensive line with quick centre-backs like [[Virgil van Dijk]] and [[Ibrahima Konaté]] who could move forward quickly to catch opponents offside.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Scott |title=Liverpool: Video of Reds' offside trap shows how clever it really is |url=https://www.givemesport.com/87972804-liverpool-video-of-reds-offside-trap-shows-how-clever-it-really-is |website=Give Me Sport |date=14 February 2022 |publisher=Sports New Media Ltd |access-date=5 April 2022}}</ref> In the [[2021–22 Premier League|2021–22 Premier League season]], they caught 53% more the amount of opponents offside than the next best team (144 times compared to [[Manchester City]]'s 94).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lusby |first1=Jack |title=Incredible stat debunks weird criticism of Liverpool's high defensive line |url=https://www.thisisanfield.com/2022/02/incredible-stat-debunks-weird-criticism-of-liverpools-high-defensive-line/ |website=This is Anfield |date=14 February 2022 |publisher=Soccer Publishing Limited |access-date=5 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2021-2022 Premier League Stats|quote= Squad Miscellaneous Stats (Opponent Stats)|url=https://fbref.com/en/comps/9/2021-2022/2021-2022-Premier-League-Stats |website=FBREF |access-date=21 June 2024}}</ref>

Not all offside traps need to have a high line, the offside trap can be executed from everywhere on the pitch. [[Manuel Pellegrini]] often used the offside trap with the defenders sitting at the edge of their own box. The positioning of the defensive line dictates the available space that the opponents can run into. By adopting a high line, the opposition sometimes may be crammed into their own half, while a lower defensive line gives less space to run in behind.<ref name=":0" />

== Citations ==
{{reflist}}

== General and cited references ==
* {{cite book |first=Jonathan |last=Wilson |title=Inverting the Pyramid |year=2013 |orig-year=2009 |publisher=Nation Books |location=New York |isbn=978-1-56858-963-3}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Offside (association football)}}
* [https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/offside/#offside-position Laws of the Game 2021 - Offside]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070809182247/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/refereeing/5.%20law%2011_554.pdf FIFA Offside Presentation], June 2005
* [https://fotbalsimplu.com/the-offside-trap-in-football-mechanics-goalkeeper-role-and-var-impact/ The Offside Trap in Football Explained - Simple Football]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100919011739/http://www.fifa.com/lotg/football/en/flash/start.html FIFA interactive guide]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150918140636/http://www.proreferees.com/news-pro-training-camp--offside-discussions.php Professional Referee Organization offside discussion], from 2015 pre-season (includes video examples)

{{Association football laws}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Offside (Association Football)}}
[[Category:Association football terminology]]
[[Category:Laws of association football]]
[[Category:Sports offsides|Association football]]

[[cs:Ofsajd#Fotbal]]