On 25th January 1968 Ajax and AZ '67 played a match without offside. In addition, the throw-in had been replaced by an indirect free kick, taken from the spot where the ball had left the field of play.
Without the offside rule, long balls could be kicked directly towards team-mates placed in the opposition goal area and would prove to be too effective, thereby reducing the element of skill and strategy in football games.
Zinedine Zidane was never caught offside in his whole club career.
The offside rule originated in 1863. A player was considered offside unless three players of the opposing side are in front of him (includes goalkeeper). So in the above diagram, the player with the ball is considered offside because only two players are in front of him. The offside rule was changed in 1925.
There is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from: a goal kick. a throw-in. a corner kick.
As Rashford didn't touch the ball, he cannot be "interfering with play." Which leaves us with four tests for "interfering with an opponent." Rashford has to fail one of these to be offside.
They have some catching up to do though with England holding the all-time World Cup record for twenty offsides in a full match - against Kuwait back in 1982. Lionel Messi had given his side the lead after just ten minutes after slotting the ball home from the penalty spot.
That is, it's virtually physically impossible to be in an offside position at a corner, because being offside means a player is "nearer to their opponent's goal line than the ball" when it is played towards them, but at a corner, the ball is already on (or at least very near) the goal line when it is kicked.
Why was the goal offside? The opening goal was ruled out after Pervis Estupinan swung a free-kick into the box. Michael Estrada's right boot was offside after the ball came off Felix Torres, who was challenging Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb.
The goal was initially flagged as offside, with the decision then being overturned after referee Stuart Attwell spoke to assistant referee Darren Cann. The Athletic explains why the goal stood below.
Sir Alex Ferguson once famously quipped that legendary Italian goalscorer Filippo Inzaghi was "born offside". Now, more than two decades on, 'Pippo' has offered his rebuttal.
Pippo Inzaghi became synonymous with playing on the shoulder of the last defender during his distinguished career, so much so that Sir Alex Ferguson once famously commented "That lad [Inzaghi] must have been born offside".
According to UEFA, by all accounts, Ivan Krstanvic never missed a penalty in his career, as he told UEFA.com that “It's at least 30 goals” from the pot for the Croatian.
"Teams would find a way of playing without it," he explains. "If you do away with the offside line then the defence will drop deeper. They will say that you cannot get behind us because they will be afraid of the opponents getting in behind.
And there are some scenarios in which players cannot be called offside: a goal kick, a throw-in, a corner kick or if the player receives the ball from an opponent who deliberately plays the ball.
The offside rule exists so that teams don't have a few of the players in opposition's D-Area all the time. Without offside, there would be no dribbling by the strikers and attacking midfielders.
Benzema was in a clear offside position, as there must be two defensive players between himself and the goal. But there was only one, largely because Alisson was in front of the Real Madrid striker. ESPN's VAR Review takes a look at why it was the correct decision to disallow the goal.
Did Valverde touch the ball? As Benzema was onside from the initial ball played over the top, this is what took up much of the time. The offside AVAR has to make sure Valverde did touch the ball. If he didn't, Benzema couldn't be offside and the goal would have been allowed.
The decision was made after replays showed the ball coming off Torres, who was challenging the goalkeeper. Michale Estrada, whose foot is judged to be offside, then heads the ball back to Torres before Valencia scores.
Per the FIFA rulebook, a player is ruled offside "the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his teammates." This means every inch of a player's body, including their head, feet, toes, knees, fingers, etc., have to be in front of the last defender when the ball is passed to them.
The offside rule was created to prevent offensive players from camping out or cherry picking near the opponent's goal even when play was on the other side of the field. You can NEVER be offside in your own half of the field.
It is possible that the offside flag is shown later in football games due to the use of video assistant referees (VAR). Most times yes. ARs in leagues where VAR is used are now being trained to, in cases where there is a scoring chance, keep the flag down unless either the attack dies out, or the ball finds the net.
Emmanuel Adebayor - 328 offsides in 242 appearances
The 36-year-old leads the list with 328 offsides, though he did score 97 goals combined for four clubs in a 11-year spell in England.