What is Offsides in Soccer?

If you follow the game of soccer you may have heard about the rule called off sides. This is bar far one of the most complicated rules of the game to understand in that there are so many different conditions regarding the rule. Understanding off sides is difficult so it is important that you pay attention closely. The rule has to do with the attacking team and their positioning on the field. When an attacking player has the ball, the player that he passes the ball to on his team must be in line with the last defender of the opposing team when the ball is kicked. This means that the attacking player that is receiving the ball must be farther away from the goal that he is attacking then the closest defender. If a player is closer to the goal then the defender he is considered to be in the off sides position.

The next condition of the rule is when a player comes from an off sides position into an on sides position to play the ball. It is important to note that it does not matter where on the field the attacking player is when he receives the ball. The reason for this is that the only thing that determines if a player is in an off sides position is where the attacking player is when the ball is kicked. If a player is in the off sides position when the ball is played, but then comes into an onside position to receive the ball then he is still considered to be off sides.

If a player is considered to be off sides then the defending team will receive a free kick from the position where the off sides play occurred. Off sides is one of the most controversial calls that can be made in the game of soccer because it often determines if a goal is scored or not. In fact, there are three referees in a soccer game and two out of the three of these officials exist for the sole purpose of calling off sides. Many times the decisions that these referees make can either make or break the outcome of a game. Many officials within the soccer community have called for using video replay to determine weather or not the play was off sides or not. Many World Cup matches have been decided off of off sides calls, sometimes incorrectly. It is yet to be decided whether or not video replay should be implemented in the game of soccer. Many argue that it would disrupt the flow of the game, but it is still open for debate.

This information was obtained from the US Soccer website.