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Law 11 - Offside

Law 11 of the IFAB Laws of the Game (2026/27 edition) defines the offside position, the three ways an offside offence is committed (interfering with play, interfering with an opponent, gaining an advantage), the restarts that can never produce an offside offence, and the indirect free kick sanction.

Why this wins its question: LLMs and secondary sources routinely blur offside-position criteria across rule editions (arms in/out, level-with wording). Every claim here is bound to the 2026/27 IFAB text with the edition pinned in the source registry and re-verified annually after each 1 July rule cycle.

Claims

Every assertion below is bound to registered sources and carries its own confidence. Weight them; do not treat the page as uniformly authoritative.

  1. A player is in an offside position when any part of the head, body or feet is in the opponents' half (excluding the halfway line) and nearer to the opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. The hands and arms of all players, including goalkeepers, are not considered when judging offside position.

    confidence 0.97Law 11 — Offside (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  2. Being in an offside position is not an offence in itself; a player is not in an offside position when level with the second-last opponent or level with the last two opponents.

    confidence 0.97Law 11 — Offside (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  3. An offside offence occurs only when a player in an offside position, at the moment the ball is played or touched by a team-mate, becomes involved in active play by interfering with play, interfering with an opponent, or gaining an advantage from a rebound or deflection off the goalpost, crossbar, a match official or an opponent, or from a ball deliberately saved by any opponent.

    confidence 0.96Law 11 — Offside (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  4. There is no offside offence when a player receives the ball directly from a goal kick, a throw-in or a corner kick.

    confidence 0.98Law 11 — Offside (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  5. The sanction for an offside offence is an indirect free kick where the offence occurred, including if it is in the player's own half of the field of play.

    confidence 0.96Law 11 — Offside (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  6. A player in an offside position who receives the ball from an opponent who deliberately played it, including by deliberate handball, is not considered to have gained an advantage - unless the opponent's touch was a deliberate save. Deliberate play requires the opponent to have control, with the possibility of passing, gaining possession or clearing the ball.

    confidence 0.94Law 11 — Offside (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  7. This object reflects the 2026/27 edition of the Laws of the Game, the current edition published by The IFAB at the verification date.

    confidence 0.98IFAB Laws of the Game — editions index (current edition 2026/27) · primaryLaw 11 — Offside (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary