Offside Position
It is not an offense in itself to be in an offside position. A player is in an offside position if they are nearer to their opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent.
A player is not in an offside position if that player is: .
- in his own half of the field of play; or
- level with the second last opponent; or
- level with the last two opponents.
Offence
A player in an offside position is only penalized if, at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play by:
- interfering with play; or
- interfering with an opponent; or
- gaining an advantage by being in that position.
No Offence
There is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from a:
- goal kick; or
- throw-in; or
- corner kick.
Infringements/Sanctions
For any offside offence, the referee awards an indirect free kick to the opposing team to be taken from the place where the infringement occurred.
For an illustrated US Soccer interpretation of Law 11, click the following link: http://images.ussoccer.com/Documents/cms/ussf/offside.pdf
