The offside rule may be the most complicated in football, and we have seen many goals being disallowed due to this rule, but there are three set pieces where the offside rule doesn’t apply. Let us look at them in this article.
What is Offside?
We will not go into the definition as it is already quite complicated. In simple terms, A is offside when he receives the ball in the opponent’s half and any part of his body is ahead of the second-last defender.
Now that you know what offside means, let us look at,
The 3 exceptions where offside cannot be called
There are 3 set pieces in which the attacking player cannot be called offside even if he is in an offside position, and they are a corner kick, a Goal kick, and a throw-in.
The Only set piece in which the offside rule applies is the free kick.
This is what the laws say about being offside from a setpiece:
“There is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from a goal kick, a throw-in, or a corner kick.”
Why can’t you be offside from a Corner kick?
According to the rules, you cannot be offside from a corner kick. Even if you are in an offside position, the referee cannot call you offside.
In a Corner kick situation, you can stand ahead of the last defender and receive the ball to score a goal, and you won’t be called offside because you have received the ball from a Corner kick.
However, this only applies if you receive the ball directly from the corner kick. If your teammate passes the ball to you and you are in an offside position, then you will be called offside.
Let us explain this with an example,
1. No Offside:
As you can see in the image above, player number 3 in yellow is standing in an offside position when he receives the ball, but because he gets the ball directly from the corner kick, he cannot be called offside.
2. Offside:
In the scenario, player number 3 in yellow receives the ball from his teammate (no.2) instead of directly from the corner kick, and hence, he will be called offside.
Why can’t you be offside from a goal kick?
According to the offside rules, you cannot commit an offside offence from a Goal kick. Even if you are in an offside position when the ball is played to you.
When the Original offside laws were written in 1863, A player was considered to be in an offside position when he was ahead of the ball when his teammates kicked the ball.
This meant that in a Goal kick scenario, when the Goalkeeper kicked the ball, all the players would be called offside based on the rule, and thus an exception was needed for the goal kick.
A goalkeeper can kick the ball directly into the opponent’s half from a goal kick to his teammate who could be in an offside position, and the referee won’t call him offside.
However, this only applies if the ball is directly played to you by the goalkeeper. If you receive the ball from a teammate heading the goal kick into your direction and you are in an offside position, then you will be called offside.
Let us explain this with an example,
1. No offside :
In the image above, you can see Player no 3 is in an offside position, but because he has received the ball directly from a goal kick, he cannot be called offside.
2. Offside:
In the image above, you can see the Goalkeeper playing the goal kick toward player no 2 in yellow, who then passes the ball to player no 3, who is in an offside position. Because he receives the ball from his teammate instead of directly from the goal kick, he will be called offside.
A player can also be called Offside when he is in an offside position when the Goalkeeper kicks the ball towards him from open play.
Why can’t you be offside from a throw-in?
According to the rules, you cannot be offside from a throw-in. Even if you are in an offside position when the throw-in was played to you.
You can receive the ball from a throw-in while being in an offside position and go on to score a goal, and the Goal will not be disallowed.
Why are these 3 set pieces an exception to offside?
The corner kick, the goal kick, and the throw-in are such set pieces where a player receiving the ball will rarely be a direct threat to the goal, and thus they are not called offside.
Conclusion:
As we said before, an attacking player cannot be a direct threat on goal from a corner, a goal kick, or a throw-in, as compared to a free kick, where there is a higher chance of the player scoring the goal.
It makes less sense to call a player offside when there is no clear advantage and stop the flow of the game, and thus, the corner kick, the goal kick, and the throw-in are exceptions to the offside rule.
