Sports Rules

A deflection does not reset offside

The ball coming off a defender feels like it should wipe the slate. It does not — only a deliberate play does, and that distinction is what the argument is usually about.

IFAB · Law 11 — Offside

Offside

Offside: in an offside position and played or touched the ball.

How it got there

  1. 1.Restart

    Open play, so offside can apply.

  2. 2.Nearer the goal line than the ball?

    Yes, by 10.00m (measured at the foot).

  3. 3.Nearer the goal line than the second-last opponent?

    Yes, by 5.00m (measured at the foot).

  4. 4.Offside position

    In an offside position. This is NOT an offence on its own — it is a position, and about half of what gets shouted at referees stops being an argument here.

  5. 5.Who played the ball last

    The ball came off an opponent's deflection, which does NOT reset offside. Only a DELIBERATE play by an opponent does. This is the distinction the whole argument usually turns on.

  6. 6.Involvement in active play

    decided it

    Involved: played or touched the ball. That converts the position into an offence.

Read before relaying this

  • Note

    Hands and arms never count for offside

    For every player including goalkeepers, only parts that could legally score are considered — head, body and feet — and the upper boundary of the arm is the bottom of the armpit. A shoulder in front can decide a call; an outstretched arm cannot.

  • Note

    Level is onside

    The test is NEARER to the goal line than the ball and than the second-last opponent. A player exactly level with either is onside, which is why the tightest calls come down to which side of a line a toe was on.

  • Read this

    The picture freezes when the ball is played, not when it is received

    Position is judged at the moment a team-mate plays or touches the ball. Where the attacker was when the ball ARRIVED is irrelevant, and running onto a ball from an onside position is exactly what the law permits.

  • Read this

    An offside position is not an offence

    A player can stand in an offside position all afternoon without committing anything. The offence requires involvement in active play — interfering with play, interfering with an opponent, or gaining an advantage — at the moment the ball is played.

  • Read this

    Applying the law is the easy half

    This computed a verdict from positions and judgements you supplied. In a real match the argument is almost never about the procedure — it is about where a shoulder was in the frame the ball was struck, and whether a touch was deliberate. Change those inputs and the answer changes with them.

Change the inputs

Use the form on the home page to move a position and watch the verdict move with it, or call the API or MCP server. This page is also available as markdown.

Related calls

Not an official ruling and not a substitute for a match official. This works through published decision procedures from the inputs you supply; it cannot see the play, and the hard part of a real offside call is almost always judging the inputs rather than applying the rule. Refereeing judgement, video review protocols, and competition-specific variations are outside what this models. Rule texts belong to IFAB and the NHL and are not reproduced.