What is shielding in soccer?

Answer 1

In soccer, shielding is the act of using your body to prevent another player from being able to play the ball. This is a common tactic when the ball is about to go out of play, and the player wants to prevent the opponent from keeping it in play, such as to force a throw-in in favor of the player doing the shielding. It is important to note that off-ball shielding (doing it when neither player is in range of being able to play the ball) is actually an infraction of Law 12: interfering with the progress of an opponent.