World Cup offside rule and VAR usage, explained

Let’s talk about offside. It’s a rule present in dozens of sports, all of which have basically similar concepts — but it’s really easy to lose track of what offside actually is, especially when it comes to the World Cup. It’s unquestionably one of the most high-stakes fouls in soccer, especially considering that offside calls result in a lot of goals being overturned, so we’re going to demystify the entire offside process in soccer.

If you’re an old hand and understand the rule inside and out, then this probably isnt for you — but if you’ve been too confused (and afraid to ask) then here’s everything about the offside process in the FIFA World Cup, how VAR can influence things, and how this plays out.

What is offside at the World Cup?

A player on offense is offside if they are in the defending half of the field and have any part of their head, body, or feet beyond the backmost opposing player (not including the goalkeeper). Hands and arms are allowed to be across the offside line, but the plane is considered to be broken if their armpit is across the line. Critically, they must also become an “active player,” most routinely caused by touching the ball — but they can also be considered “active” by interfering with the defending player.

A player is allowed to be in an offside position without it being a foul, but if they stay in that position and become an active player, then it becomes a foul.

Exceptions to the rule

A player is allowed to receive a pass that would normally be considered “offside” if the ball came to them on a throw-in, a free kick, or a corner kick. In these cases the ball must come to them directly, i.e. a player can’t be offside on a corner kick, but receive the ball from a teammate on the second touch.

Punishment

If the referee finds that a player was offside then the defending team will be awarded an indirect free kick to restart play.

Where does VAR come in?

The Video Assisted Referee (VAR) was implemented as a way to cut down on the number of incorrect plays in soccer. Using a variety of cameras and sensors, the VAR team have access to more positional information of players and the pitch. Typically A VAR review requires the referee on the field to call for the team to look at the situation further, however, VAR has more power when it comes to an offside play.

Referees in charge of running VAR may notify the head referee on the field if they notice that a goal was scored or disallowed due to either a missed offside call, or an incorrectly called offside in the case of a no-goal call on the field. Crucially, the head referee still has the power to either agree with VAR and uphold a penalty, or overturn it at their discretion.

Offside VAR controversy

Theoretically, VAR technology should ensure that offside is always called correctly, but this isn’t always the case. There are occasions where there are no definitive angles of the action to guarantee a call is correct, meaning that problems still find their way through.

In addition, some fans find the level of perfection that VAR offside aspire for to be too much. Because of the pinpoint accuracy of the VAR system, there are many times offside is called by the smallest of margins, when in the past it wouldn’t have if solely judged by the human eye. Traditionalists believe the VAR review system goes too far, and that too many potential goals are called as offside due to narrow margins that are technically correct in the rules, but fundamentally go against the spirit of the game.