As long as the ball is always traveling backwards a try can be awarded

What I would say is you should ask your boyfriend. I’m sure he’d enjoy explaining aspects of his hobby to you.

At the time a pass is played any player who becomes active by attempting to play the ball or affecting the play (e.g. blocking the gk) must be behind the line level with the second last defending player which may or may not include the gk or can be behind the line of where the ball was played. It does not matter where the ball is played, it is purely on the position of the players at the time the ball is played.

My wife’s interpretation of the rule: The player is offside if the linesman pits his flag up.

This is not always the case anymore.

Wgen iine

And so, in summary, no one can explain the current offside rule. End of story.

🤣🤣🤣

I’ve been watching and playing football for 45 years - but now have no idea what Offside is any more.

I’ll remember not to hire any reddit users as technical writers.

When you receive the ball in the opponents half, there must be a minimum of two defending players between you and the goal. One is usually the goalkeeper, the other a outfield player.

That’s the most basic explanation I can give, there are lots of caveats and details however.

Do you know basketball, OP? Imagine a player camping out under the basket while the play is taking place at the opposite end? He is hoping for a long pass so that he can score an uncontested basket. This is legal, because there is no offside rule in basketball.

The spirit of the offside rule in football is to preclude the possibility of similar behavior. The theory is, no camping out in unfairly advantageous territory.

However, the application of the rule is way more convoluted. And VAR has transformed it from the policing of unfair advantages to the forensic parsing of molecular structures.

In other words, I have no idea what offside means anymore.

Basically a rule which means a player can’t just stand and wait by the opposition’s goal for an opportunity to score; if a player is actively involved in the progression of the ball down the pitch, they must always be behind one of two things:

a) The ball

b) The opposition’s second deepest lying player (the deepest lying player almost always being the goalkeeper, but doesn’t have to be)

It’s a bit more complex than that but this is the explanation that made me understand when I was first getting into football :)

I dont no what offside is anymore they make it up as they go along

a player is offside if they are nearer to the opponent’s goal line than both the ball and the second-to-last defender when the ball is played to them

Watch ‘Bend it Like Beckham’.

I’m just glad OP didn’t call it Offsides! 🥳