Can You Be Offside from a Throw-In?

No. A player cannot be offside directly from a throw-in. Throw-ins are one of three restarts specifically exempt from the offside law under Law 11 of the Laws of the Game. A player can stand in an offside position, receive the throw-in, and play on without any offside call.

What are the three offside-exempt restarts?

Law 11 lists exactly three restarts where the offside rule does not apply:

1. Goal kicks — any player can receive the ball regardless of position
2. Corner kicks — attackers can stand anywhere near goal
3. Throw-ins — the receiver can be in an offside position when the ball is thrown

These three are the only exceptions. Every other moment of play — open play, free kicks, dropped balls — is subject to the normal offside rule.

Does the exemption apply to the second touch after a throw-in?

No. The exemption only covers the direct receipt of the throw. Once the ball is controlled and play continues, the standard offside rule immediately resumes. If a player receives the throw-in, passes back, and a teammate runs into an offside position, that teammate can be flagged.

In practice this matters on long throws into the box: the initial receiver cannot be offside, but their next pass or any movement after the first touch must respect the line.

Why does the exemption exist?

Throw-ins restart play along the touchline and are designed to be simple to execute without defenders having to track every player's position. Applying offside to throw-ins would create complex situations every time the ball goes out of bounds, slowing the game unnecessarily.

The same logic applies to corners and goal kicks — they are set-piece restarts where the defending team has time to organise, so the exemption is considered fair.

Read more in the offside rule, offside from a goal kick, and practice scenarios at the offside scenario engine.