What does it mean if you say a player is off sides in soccer?

Answer 1

When a player is offside it means that they are past the last defender* when the ball is kicked. So for example if we have to teams, blue and red, the blue defenders are all standing in a line, but a red attacker is standing behind them( close to the blue teams goals) and a red teammate kicks the ball to the red attacker. If the red attacker is behind the last blue defender than they are offside if they are standing in front of the last blue defender when the ball is kicked they are onside. It's hard to explain without a diagram. Offsides were created to stop players from just standing near the oppositions goal and waiting for the ball to be lobbed over to them (also known as cherry picking). Offsides are one of the most controversial elements in football as they are easy to get wrong and may result in goals. If a player is offside the opposition gets a free kick from where the player was called offside. Hope this made a little bit more sense. *the goalkeeper is actually the last defender so technically it is the second last defender