It might be the most intimidating rule to learn as a new fan of the game. Even for the diehards, it inspires heated debates on a near-weekly basis. That's right: it's the offside rule. With the 2026 ...

The ball goes into the net, the crowd cheers, but then the assistant referee's flag goes up. The celebrations end. What happened? The play was offside. Offside is one of soccer's most important ...