Why did they change the offside rule?
438998
to make it more sensible as a whole.\nbefore the change, if the play was around the half way line and one of the attacking players was in the far corner asleep, the ref would HAVE to call offside. it was getting a bit silly. This is supposed to make the game fairer and faster
1056908
OFFICIAL FIFA'S RULE:\n\nOffside Position:\nIt is not an offence in itself to be in an offside position.\n\nA player is in an offside position if:\n• he is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent\n\nA player is not in an offside position if:\n• he is in his own half of the fi eld of play or\n• he is level with the second last opponent or\n• he is level with the last two opponents\n\nOffence\nA player in an offside position is only penalised 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:\n• interfering with play or\n• interfering with an opponent or\n• gaining an advantage by being in that position\n\nNo Offence\nThere is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from:\n• a goal kick or\n• a throw-in or\n• a corner kick\n\nInfringements/Sanctions\nFor any offside offence, the referee awards an indirect free kick to the opposing team to be taken from the place where the infringement occurred.
1121856
Very simple explanation.\nThe Italian that received the ball was deemed offside before he took the ball raced towards goal, only to be upended.\n\nSo the offside happened BEFORE the next infringement, as such, the offside is taken as the first infringement of the rules. \n\nIf there was no offside, the Ghanaian player, would have an early shower.
1018045
It's when the ball is being played. If it goes to another player on the same team and that player is past the opposition players then it's called an offside.\n\nOr say you have the ball and you pass it to your teammate but your team mate is ahead of all the players on the other team, thats when the assistant referee raises the offside flag.
999241
the 2nd last opponent is the player of the other team who is not the goal keeper. It'll be declared an offside if a player surpasses the ball and the second last opponent near the D area.
998092
When an player passes the ball to another player of the same team, the receiving player is offside when at the moment the ball leaves the foot of the sending player who is trying to complete the pass, the receiver is BEHIND, i.e. closer to the opposite teams goal, than the last opposite team defending player.\nException to this is when the receiving player is in his own half of the field, or if he doesn't in any way affect the game, i.e. he is injured on the ground or returning to his team's goalposts using the sidelines.\n\nIt's easier to understand if you know why it's there, rather than what it is:\n\nImagine what would happen if a team was allowed to line up loads of its players right in front of the opposition goal mouth - it would be really easy for one of them to knock the ball into the net if it was passed to them.\n\nSo to prevent players from 'loitering' near the goalmouth like this there's a rule which says that a player from team A is offside if (and only if) he receives the ball while the only team B player standing between him and the goal is the goalkeeper himself.
1178316
offsides is when an offensive player gets behind the last defender before the play is made.... ex: if an offensive player passes the ball down the field...  and at the time of the pass the offensive and defensive player are both even or the defender is deeper down field than the offensive player then it is not offsides.... but if the offensive player makes a play for the goal before his teammate makes the pass and gets beyond the defender..before the pass...  then it is offsides................
1002185
Me, personally, always knew the off side rule perfectly. And all the rules. It is a big adventage when you play the game. Did you know that the penalty kick could be played as a pass?
1176244
Because Messi was offside. Too bad though.
1168560
In outdoor soccer, an offsides foul is called when an attacking player is passed the ball and there are not at least two opponents between him or her and the goal line. In other words, on the opponent's side of the field, a pass must always be made when the intended attacker is not closer to the goalkeeper than any other opposing player.\n\nI got this from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-offsides-in-soccer.htm which explains more if you go check it out.
1053838
The offside rule is to prevent players from lurking past their opponents last defenders in order to wait for a pass to put into the goal. It's meant to give the defending team a fair shot at defending. \n\nSo this is the offside rule: At the moment a player plays the ball to a forward, he (the forward) must not be closer to the goal than the last defender. He must be behind or at least level with the defender. At the moment the ball is kicked forward to him he can move as he wishes. At that point it becomes a foot race between the defender and the striker and each has an equal chnace to play the ball. \n\nTeams also try to catch players in an offside position by moving all of their players forward just before the ball is played forward. This leaves the opponent's strikers (aka forwards) stranded in an offside position and unable to play the ball. This is known as an "offside trap".\n\nThe rules at this year's world cup states that the referee will not raise the flag until the player in an offside position attempts to play the ball. So you can stand there all you like, but until you atempt to play the ball, the flag will not be raised.\n\nI hope this helped!
1043432
Application\nThe application of the offside law is best considered in three steps; Offside position, Offside offence and Offside sanction.\n\n[edit]\nOffside position\n \nThe red forward on the left of the diagram is in an offside position as he is both in front of the second last defender (marked by the stippled line) and the ball.A player is in an offside position if "he is nearer to his opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second to last opponent", unless he is in his own half of the field of play. A player level with the second last opponent is considered to be in an onside position. Note that the last two opposing players can be either the goalkeeper and another outfield player, or two outfield players. Also note that offside position is determined when the ball is touched/played by a team-mate — a player's offside position status is not then altered by them or opposing players running forwards or backwards. It is important to note that being in an offside position is not an offence in itself. Another important point to note is that any player's offside position status is reset when an opponent touches the ball and is deemed by the referee to be in control of the ball.\n\n[edit]\nOffside offence\nA player in an offside position is only committing an offside offence if, "at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team", the player is in the referee's opinion involved in active play by: interfering with play; interfering with an opponent; or gaining an advantage by being in that position.\n\nDetermining whether a player is in "active play" can be complex. A player is not committing an offside offence if the player receives the ball directly from a throw-in, goal kick or corner kick.\n\nFIFA issued new guidelines for interpreting the offside law in 2003 and these were incorporated in law 11 in July 2005. The new wording seeks to more precisely define the three cases as follows:\n\nInterfering with play means playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a teammate. \nInterfering 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. \nGaining an advantage by being in an offside position means playing a ball that rebounds to him off a post or crossbar or playing a ball that rebounds to him off an opponent having been in an offside position. \nIn practice, a player in an offside position may be penalised before playing or touching the ball if, in the opinion of the referee, no other team-mate in an onside position has the opportunity to play the ball.\n\nThe referees' interpretation of these new definitions is still proving controversial until this day, largely over what movements a player in an offside position can make without being judged to be interfering with an opponent.\n\n[edit]\nOffside sanction\nThe sanction for an offside offence is an indirect free kick to the opposing team, at the spot where the offence occurred. Most referees use their discretion and let play go on if the "offended" team already has the advantage or ball, in order not to slow down play with redundant free kicks that achieve the same purpose of giving the advantage or ball back to the "offended" team.\n\n[edit]\nOfficiating\nIn enforcing this rule, the referee depends greatly on his assistant referee, who generally keeps in line with the second last defender in his relevant end (exact positioning techniques are more complex).\n\nThe assistant referees' task with regards to off-side 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 (often from the other end of the field), and then determine whether the offside positioned players become invo
522658
This rule eliminates the "cherry pickin" of the game.\nIf there wasnt offsides there would be a player of the opposit team standing next to your goalie waiting for a pass. \nIf the forward gets a pass from his teamate and he is passed the last defender when he recieves the pass it is offsides.\n\nI think i just confused you even more
1096963
I totally agree with you. There were not even one offside but two in the goal attack. I'm terrified by this refereeing. They ruled out the match.
366473
offsides in soccer is when a player from one team is behind all the defenders and other players of the other team, excluding the goalie, before the ball is kicked to him. After the ball is kicked in his direction or intended for him he can run by the defenders towards the goal.
1087243
I assume you mean soccer since you posted this in the World Cup forum.\n\nI'm impressed that you know it is "offside" not "offsides"\n\nThere are two parts to offside: offside position and offside offence.\n\nOFFSIDE POSITION:\nIt is not an offence in itself to be in an offside position. A player is in an offside position if:\n* he is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent.\nA player is not in an offside position if\n* he is in his own half of the field of play or\n* he is level with the second last opponent or\n* he is level with the last two opponents.\n\nOFFSIDE OFFENCE:\nA player in an offside position is only penalised 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:\n* interfering with play or\n* interfering with an opponent or\n* gaining an advantage by being in that position.\n\nFor any offside offence, the referee awards an indirect free kick to the opposing team to be taken from the place where the infringement occurred.\n\nAlso, there is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from:\n* a goal kick or\n* a throw-in or\n* a corner kick
634298
If you are not interfering with the play, it is not off-sides. But, even if you don't go for the ball, but you are impeding a defender or the goalkeeper it can be considered off-sides because then you would be interfering with the play.