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Can You Be Offside From a Corner Kick?

Corner Kicks or ‘Corners’ as many people refer to them as around the world are one of the most common set pieces that occur during a Soccer match and are one of the best ways for a team to score a goal from a dead ball situation. 

This being said, there is always a concern when attacking that you could be caught offside so today we are asking the question: Can you be offside from a corner kick? 

A player can’t be offside from a corner kick. It doesn’t matter where a player stands, no offside calls will be issued after a corner kick. When 2 players have touched the ball after a corner kick, an offside call can be made again.

What is a Corner Kick?

The idea of a corner kick is simple, f the ball leaves the field following a touch by a player from the defending team a corner kick is awarded. Following this, there are a number of different outcomes that can occur once a corner kick is given to the attacking side.

Firstly, the ball can be delivered directly into the 18-yard box and headed into the back of the net by an attacking player (or cleared away by a defending player or goalkeeper).

A team could also opt to take a short corner kick, this involved a second player coming close to the taker of the set piece and receiving a short pass from them in order to deliver a more accurate cross into the box. 

These are merely two ways in which a corner can be taken though, as there is almost a nearly endless way of doing so. It is also common to see a goalkeeper act as an extra-attacking player late in the game if a team is awarded a corner kick when in desperate need of a goal. 

So can you be offside from one? 

Why Players Can’t Be Offside From a Corner Kick

As we have already explained, there are many different ways to take a corner kick and in the most basic sense of the game, you cannot ever be offside from a corner kick. This is only the case when a ball is delivered directly into the opposition’s box though. 

The reason for this is that the box is so congested when a corner kick is taken, with players from both the attacking and defending sides cramped into the 18-yard box in order to either score a goal or prevent the opposition from scoring. 

This lack of offsides can mean that teams come up with many creative ways to try and score or defend a corner kick. In recent years, the England national team have used a set piece routine that is known as the ‘love train’ to try and force their way forward during a corner kick.

This has proven to be a relatively successful innovation, with players like Harry Maguire proving a valuable addition to the attack. 

You may be wondering, could I technically stand in the opposition’s goal when a corner is being taken?

In theory, the answer to this question is yes you could, however, it would not be a worthwhile venture as if the ball ever fell to your feet it would already be over the line and therefore a goal will have already been awarded. You would not be counted as offside so long as the ball went directly into the net from the corner kick. 

This is where complications come into the taking of a corner kick. 

How You Could Be Offside From a Corner Kick

So, if you take a corner kick that goes straight into the box you can stand anywhere on the field and not be at risk of being called offside. This only applies to the first ball into the box though, so there are a number of scenarios where you could be offside following a corner kick routine.

As we mentioned earlier, there is such a thing as a short corner kick, and this is the most common example of how you could be offside.

If you were to pass the ball to the man that came short and he was to immediately return the ball to you, the chances are that the defending team will have already moved their defensive line higher up the field to catch you out. 

The same applies once a player has connected with the ball inside the box following a traditional corner kick delivery. If you were to head the ball onto a teammate that was stood in an offside position, he would now be considered offside despite not being so just a moment earlier. 

Are There Any Other Set Pieces That I Can’t Be Offside From? 

Under the current rules of association football (soccer), there are only two other set-pieces that a player cannot be declared offside from, and they are a goal kick and a throw-in. Both of these set-pieces work in the same as corner kicks in relation to being caught offside. 

You cannot be declared offside from a corner kick, goal kick, or throw-in so long as you receive the ball directly from the taker. If you do not get the ball to your feet in this way and you are currently stood in an offside position then you will be flagged for offside by the linesperson. 

You can be called offside from a free-kick and a penalty though (it may seem unlikely that you will receive a pass from a penalty but it does sometimes happen, just search for the Arsenal penalty pass and you’ll have a good laugh). 

Hopefully, this short guide has helped you learn more about the offside rule and whether you can be offside from a corner kick.

You can learn more about the offside rule in this post.