In Soccer, Corner Kicks are frequent set pieces and provide teams with a prime opportunity to score a goal from a dead ball situation.
Scoring goals is the peak and most important part of playing soccer for any team and therefore situations surrounding goals can be very complicated as a number of goals scored or conceded can win you trophies and even deny you trophies.
It is not surprising that organizations and stakeholders as well as the lawmakers of the soccer game have ruled out situations where goals can stand legal and also illegal.
One of the ways that goals can stand illegal and be canceled in soccer is in an offside position.
An offside position is one where the referee curbs any chance of either team cheating by keeping a player beyond the last defender of the opposition and closer to the goalkeeper as this will give an undue advantage.
However, the offside position is one that has continued to remain complex and complicated to the extent that technology was introduced to reduce wrong calls by referees who give offside goals wrongly and also cancel legit goals wrongly.
This can happen from open play or even free kicks but does offside happens from a corner kick? Let’s find out.
What Is A Corner Kick In Soccer?
Corner Kick is very simple and easy to explain, it’s a position where a game is restarted after the defending team touches the ball last before it goes behind the goal line.
The ball is kicked from the corner flag either into the box by the attacking team or by passing the ball into play from the corner flag.
There are two styles of taking corner kicks, the first is to cross into the header with the hope that a teammate will head it into the goal directly.
Until another player touches the cross from the taker, the offside rule won’t come into play but it’s easier to get offside from the second style of taking corner kicks.
The second style of taking corner kicks involves passing the ball to another player. It is often times called the short corner.
When the short corner is taken, the next receiver can never be adjudged offside, that is wherever the taker decides to pass to can never be adjudged offside but whoever takes the next pass from there will be penalized if he is caught offside, even if it is the first and original taker of the corner kick.
This may give a little bit of understanding of the corner kick but explaining what an offside position is can be trickier, messier, and more confusing let’s try our best.
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What Is Offside In Soccer?
A player is an offside when he is closer to the opposition goal line and goalkeeper than the opposition team’s last defender when the ball leaves the feet of his teammate.
A player can be offside when any part of his body is closer to the goal line than the ball and the opposition’s second-last player.
The most important thing is when the player is closer to the goal line than the ball.
One of the key things to note though is that being in an offside position isn’t an offense on the pitch and the halfway line doesn’t count as offside until the player is in the opposition half.
Similarly, a player isn’t considered offside if he is level with the last and second to the last defender of the opponent.
However, a player can be offside but still see his team’s goal count if he doesn’t interfere in the play that leads to a goal or touch the ball that was last touched by a teammate.
If he obstructs a defender or tries to touch the ball but doesn’t touch it, it is considered an interference in play from an offside position.
If the ball falls to the player offside from a rebound off the post or a deliberate save by the goalkeeper or the opposition defender, then he is considered offside.
However, if a player in an offside position receives the ball from the opponent, he’s not considered to be offside or taking advantage.
How Does Offside Relate To Corner Kick?
Basically, based on what we have learned from the definition of an offside, a player cannot be offside from the kick of the ball from the corner.
This is because the player cannot be considered as closer to the opponent’s goal line than the ball as the ball will definitely be on the goal line before being kicked.
The two corner arcs where the corner kicks are taken are very close to the goal line and the space is too small to be deliberated on by the match officials whether it’s on or offside.
Even the rule-makers have stated it clearly that a player can not be in an offside position from a corner kick.
According to the rules from the English soccer body, the FA:
There is no offside offense if a player receives the ball directly from:
- a goal kick
- a throw-in
- a corner kick
What if a player stands in the goal?
It is normal to see opposition players standing in goal before a corner kick is taken but it is usually a futile effort, a waste of effort.
This is because if the ball meets him there, it would have already crossed the line and become a goal and since a player cannot be offside from a direct corner, it is useless.
Beyond that, the defending player or goalkeeper can also block the ball even before it reaches him inside the net and so render his efforts useless.
Furthermore, he can put his team at a disadvantage, if he steps out of the line into play and his teammates strike towards the goal, if there are no opposition defenders behind him or beside him, he would have committed an offside which will deny his team any potential goal from such situation.
Any Exception?
There is no exception to the rule that says you cannot be offside from a corner kick unless the ball has effectively moved from the corner line and is in a second position.
While play can be stopped by the referee when a corner kicks it is taken it is most likely going to be either for a handball by the attacking team or a foul, an infringement on a player from the defending team by an attacking player.
Furthermore, a player can be considered offside from a corner kick once the second touch from the corner kick has been made.
This is why a corner kick taker can be deemed offside if he stays in an offside position and receives a pass back. So this means that the offside rule is back immediately after the first touch has been made from the corner kick.
Can You Be In Offside From A Throw In and Goal Kick?
Like the corner kick situation, the throw-in is also one of the situations where offside is not reckoned with until there is a second touch on the ball.
It may need a little explanation since throw-in doesn’t happen on the goal line of the position.
The rule-makers in football made offsides from throw-in an exception for the sentiments of allowing free-flowing attacking football.
If the offside rule comes in playing from the throw-in, the opposition players will not be able to throw the ball forward and it will allow for a disadvantage for the attacking team and an advantage for the defending team.
This is because all the defending players will move upfield towards the halfway line and thus leaving every other attacking player beyond them in an offside position, therefore the player throwing the ball in will be forced to throw the ball back into his own half.
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Goal Kick?
The goal kick situation also works in line with the attacking sentiments of the game of soccer and also promotes fair play. It is related to the reason throw-ins cannot draw offside calls.
A player cannot be considered offside if he receives the ball directly from a goal kick even if is standing in an offside position.
This is the catch, if the offside rule was to stand during a goal kick, all defending players will only need to stand on the halfway line to ensure that the attackers are offside and cannot attack from a goal kick position as their body will be closer to the goal way than the last player from the opponent.
Other Set Pieces?
Meanwhile, these rules do not apply to penalties and free kicks which you can be blown offside from.
For free kicks, it’s not defensively wise to throw players forward to catch the opposition attackers offside when the free kick is closer to the goalpost.
That would only give the opposition opportunity to score directly from free-kick positions.
Wrapping it up
In just a single line, you cannot be offside when and if you receive the ball directly from the taker of the corner kick, goal kicks and throw-ins but be mindful of your movement after the touch is taken from the corner.