# Soccer offside vs hockey offside

Same word, structurally opposite rules. What gets measured, when the picture freezes, and whether the position is itself an offence — all different.

| | Soccer — IFAB Law 11 | Hockey — NHL Rule 83 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **What part of the player is measured** | The foremost part that could legally score — head, body or feet. Hands and arms are excluded for everyone including goalkeepers, with the boundary at the bottom of the armpit. | Skates, and only skates. The stick is irrelevant, and so is the body — a player can lean well over the line and stay onside. |
| **When the picture freezes** | The moment a TEAM-MATE plays or touches the ball. Not when the ball is received. | The moment the PUCK crosses the leading edge of the blue line. |
| **Is being in an offside position an offence?** | No. It is only an offence with involvement in active play: interfering with play, interfering with an opponent, or gaining an advantage. | Effectively yes. Preceding the puck into the zone is itself the infraction. |
| **What happens at exactly level, or on the line** | Level with the ball or the second-last opponent is ONSIDE. | A skate on, or above, the leading edge has not broken the plane, so ONSIDE. |
| **Does anything reset it** | Yes. An opponent who DELIBERATELY plays the ball resets the situation; a deflection, a save, or a rebound off the post does not. | Yes, but differently: a delayed offside can be negated by tagging up — every attacker clearing the zone — and there the skate must contact the line. |
| **Restarts it cannot happen from** | Throw-in, goal kick, and corner kick. Absolute, whatever the positions. | Not applicable — offside is about zone entry, not about the restart type. |

Rule texts belong to IFAB and the NHL and are not reproduced here. This is the decision procedure restated, with the governing body named.

---

Canonical URL: https://sports-rules.gumballtools.com/offside/soccer-vs-hockey-offside
JSON API: `GET https://sports-rules.gumballtools.com/api/v1/offside?sport=soccer&attacker=40&ball=30&secondLastDefender=35`
MCP endpoint: `https://sports-rules.gumballtools.com/api/mcp`