Soccer 101: That Damned Offside Rule

Bum, dum, DDDUUUUMMMMMMM! The offside rule in soccer is - after Cristiano Ronaldo - the hardest thing to explain to new fans. It involves what every novice enjoys: A long, fumbly explanation with a lot of qualifiers. Just when a new soccer player thinks they understand it, the person explaining it adds "But only if ..." and inevitably has to resort to visual aids. But have no fear, I shall be clear and concise with my explanation.

THE OFFSIDE RULE

Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney
attacking while defenders protest for offside

In its simplest form, the offside rule exists to stop an attacking team from gaining an unfair advantage. With only 22 players on such a large field, it would make for an uninteresting game if a team could just plant one player without the ball two yards from the goal and play long balls up the field to him. In other words, the offside rule attempts to ensure the attacking team cannot have players without the ball closer to the goal than the opposing team's defenders.

Play will be stopped for offside if the situation meets two criteria:

1. A player without the ball is in an offside position when the ball is intentionally touched or played by another member on his team
2. The player is deemed to be "active" by the referee (often on the advice of his assistant)

Note that it is not strictly illegal for a player to be in an offside position, only if he is both in an offside position and active in the run of play (often determined by touching the ball).

Offside position
A player is in an offside position, if he is closer to his opponent's goal than BOTH the ball and the second to last defender (the often goalkeeper being the final defender).

A player is NOT in an offside position if:

• He is in his own half of the field of play, or
• He is level with the second to last defenders, or
• He is level with the last two defenders
  

Being "active"
A player may be considered "active" by the referees if he is:

• Interfering with play, or
• Interfering with an opponent, or
• Gaining an advantage by being in that position

Please note that a player may be level with the second to last defender when the ball is played by a teammate and then receive the ball in an offside position, but will still have not broken the offside rule.

Exceptions
To complicate matters further, a player cannot be offside if he receives a ball directly from a goal kick, throw in, or corner kick.

How it normally looks during the game
Many teams operate an offside trap at least once during a match. When operating the trap, the back four defenders keep a straight line across the field and step up right before the attacking team attempts to play a ball into space behind. This action often renders the recipients of the through ball in an offside position, and if the timing is correct, play will be stopped and the attack quelled. On the other hand, attacking players work hard to time their runs off the ball in order to receive a ball behind the defense without committing an offense. Far too often, it is a matter of inches, and the officials have only seconds to decide whether or not a player has violated the offside rule.

Got all that?

No?

Well, crap. That wasn't as concise as I would have liked it to be. Oh well. If you're still confused, watch this video. It has fun music, pretty pictures, and a Scottish narrator.

Tomorrow on Soccer 101: Why is that Guy Rolling on the Ground?

Soccer 101: Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Soccer

This post is for those of you who may enjoy soccer casually but have forgotten the ins and outs of the game ... mainly the rules. In the next seven days leading up to the World Cup, I will be examining and explaining the finer points of the Beautiful Game so you may find yourself respectably prepared for the world's biggest sporting event: the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

RULES AND OVERVIEW

Soccer (or Association Football) is played by two teams of 11 players on a rectangular field. The object of the game is to put the ball in the opponent's goal without the use of your arms.

The field: What are all these lines?

The field (or pitch) is typically between 110-120 yards long and 70-80 yards wide. It is divided in half by a white chalk line. The length of the field is denoted by two touch lines. Two goals are centered on the opposite goal lines, running the width of the field. Each goal is bounded by a six yard and an eighteen yard box (known as the goal and penalty boxes, respectively). The rest of the lines are recognized only during specific situations and typically denote the minimum distance players must stand during a particular event (eg. The arc at the top of each penalty box denotes the closest players not involved in taking a penalty kick may stand while the kick is being taken, the center circle denotes the closest players on the team not partaking in a kick off may stand to the kick off).


The Goal and Scoring: Ok, so how do you win this game?

Each team defends a goal 8 yards wide and 8 feet high. A goal is scored when the ball has completely crossed the imaginary plane created by the goal line, two vertical goal posts and the horizontal cross bar. Each team receives one point for each goal scored.


Time Keeping: The clock is counting UP?! When does this game end?
A soccer match consists of two, 45 minute halves. The clock starts at the beginning of each half with the referee's whistle and does not stop for anything until the end of the half. If, during the course of a half, events such as injuries, substitutions, goal celebrations or outside factors have stopped or delayed play, the referee may add, at his or her discretion, more playing time on to the original 45 minutes. This is known as stoppage time.

Each half begins with a kick-off at the center point of the half-way line.


Out of bounds: The ball crossed those white lines, now what?
A ball is considered out of bounds when the entirety of the ball has crossed the entirety of the imaginary plane created by the touch or goal lines. When a ball goes out of bounds, the team who touched it last gives up possession to the other team. If the ball crosses one of the touch lines (or side lines), a throw in is given. If the ball crosses a goal line (but does not count as a goal) and is touched last by the attacking team, a goal kick is given to the defending team and taken from the edge of the six yard goal box. If the ball crosses the goal line and is touched last by the defending team, a corner kick is given to the attacking team.

Tomorrow on Soccer 101: The players