Offside from a corner kick?
No. You cannot be offside directly from a corner kick.
It does not matter where you are standing when the corner is taken.
You can be right on the goal line, ahead of every defender, and the referee cannot penalise you for offside.
This is one of the most useful exceptions to the offside rule for attacking teams.
Why corner kicks are exempt from offside
The offside rule only applies during open play, when a teammate plays the ball in a normal situation.
Corner kicks, like no offside throw-ins and goal kicks, are set pieces that restart play after the ball has gone out of bounds. At the moment of a restart, offside is suspended entirely.
This makes sense when you think about it.
Corners are already a disadvantage for the attacking team, since the ball went out off them. Suspending offside during corners gives attackers a fair chance to contest the ball in the box.
What this means in practice
When a corner is being taken, attackers can stand anywhere they like.
A striker can position themselves:
On the goal line between the posts
In front of the goalkeeper
Ahead of every single defender
None of it matters. The moment the ball is kicked from the corner flag, no offside can be given.
This is why you see so many attackers crowding the six-yard box at corners. They are using the exemption to get as close to goal as possible without any risk of being flagged.
When does offside apply again after a corner?
This is the important part. The exemption only covers the moment the ball is played from the corner.
Once the ball is in play and a second touch happens, the offside rule returns to normal.
So if the corner is headed clear, flicked on, or played back by anyone, the usual offside rules apply from that moment onwards.
A common scenario:
A corner is taken and swings into the box
The goalkeeper punches it clear to the edge of the area
A midfielder plays it back in
Your striker is now ahead of the last defender
That is offside. The corner exemption ended the moment the ball was first touched after the kick.
A scenario that confuses fans
Imagine a corner is whipped in towards the near post.
An attacker flicks it on with their head towards a teammate standing on the back post, who is clearly ahead of the last defender.
Is the teammate offside?
Yes. This is the key distinction. The exemption applies to receiving the ball directly from the corner kick. Once a teammate has touched it first, the offside rule is back in play. The back-post player is now in a normal open-play situation and can be flagged.
The other set piece exceptions
Corner kicks are not the only situation where offside does not apply. The same rule covers:
Throw-ins. You can receive a throw-in from any position on the pitch.
Goal kicks. Any player can receive a goal kick without being offside.
Kick-offs. Offside does not apply at the start of each half or after a goal is scored.
In all of these cases the ball is dead before play restarts, so the offside rule is suspended until the ball is properly in play again.
Test offside from corner kick yourself
Want to see exactly how the offside rule works and when it applies? Try our interactive offside simulator and see the rule in action.