OFFSIDE!

Ok, so I think its about time that we covered the big one, the one that will really impress the lads down the pub, and earn you mega brownie points.
Thats right, the time has come to explain, well at least try and explain, the offside rule. Now I'm not going to crack out the ketchup and the mayonnaise and try to explain in that manner (Bend it like Beckham anybody?) Instead I'm going to break it down into simple steps, that hopefully clear it up bit by bit.

Firstly for the offside rule even to come into consideration an attacking player must be in the other teams half of the pitch, so anything they do in the half their goalkeeper is in, is fine.

Secondly for a player to be considered onside, rather than offside, there must be two or more players(including the goalkeeper) between the attacker and the goal when they receive the ball. So when the player looks up, once he has the ball,  if he can see two other players from the other team in front of him he is fine, if there is only one, or none, he is offside.

Thirdly, the player must be in an offside position with the intention to:
interfere with play, by touching the ball or running to the ball or making a movement towards the ball.
distract or prevent an opponent from playing the ball, so blocking someone who could make a tackle, or distracting the goalkeeper
or gain an advantage for his team, by looking to score or set up a goal.

So if the player is just standing there minding his or her own business, which would be rather strange, but you never know, they wouldnt be considered offside.

Like so:



Now this goal should have been allowed, as neither of the other two players touched the ball as it went into the net, it was just a good goal, from an onside Cristiano Ronaldo

Maybe now you can see why your man finds the offside rule so frustrating, different referees have different view points on what is consider on and offside, as do different fans. Cristiano certainly didn't think that was offside, however those in charge beg to differ and so his perfectly good goal doesn't count.


Hopefully this has cleared this all up for you, I did a trial run on the girls I live with and it seemed to pass the test, however if not, feel free to ask below for some more help :) and ill make sure I clear up any issues as this one is a real sticking point with lads. If you say you understand football, sadly, you have to be prepared to explain this one to them.