The real reason why it's called the 'offside' rule in football will surprise fans

The real reason behind the naming of the offside rule in football might surprise fans.

Offside in its current guise has, in fact, only been a part of football since 1990.

The sport's lawmakers, IFAB, decided to reduce the margin of an error for an attacker so that if they were level with the second-to-last opponent, they would be adjudged to be onside.

Previously, from 1925 up until then, a player would be offside unless two players - including the goalkeeper - were in front of him.

The rule itself as a concept was officially recognised by the FA in their Laws of the Game all the way back in 1863, after teams realised that players were gaining too much of an advantage.

In scenes equivalent to something you might see in primary school, attackers could stand on the opposing team's goalline and simply wait for the ball to be passed to them before scoring into an empty net.

The rule has undergone small changes in recent seasons in relation to VAR and the way that incidents are reviewed, but the core concept has remained effectively the same over the past 35 years of football.

But why is the rule called 'offside'?

The word itself was originally used as a military term, to describe a soldier that was trapped among enemy lines.

It was therefore brought in to prevent the forwards breaking through those enemy lines to attempt to score goals.

There is, of course, one specific exception to the rule.

If a player is inside his own half when the pass is played through, he cannot be offside - even if he is in front of the entire opposing team.

The reason behind this is because the distance involved between the player and the goal means it is deemed that they cannot have an advantage and therefore are not offside.