Non-moving attacker exception to the offside rule; what is it? When was it implemented?

Question

I didn't know there is an exception for offside for attackers if one does not

• retrieve or attempt to retrieve the ball,

• move towards it, or

• move at all while another attacker receives it (or not) who was not in an offside position.

For example, the third goal in this YouTube video has a player stand still when the ball almost makes contact with him, and is not penalised.

Does anyone know since when there is such a rule? Or what is the specific exception?

Answer 1

This is just the definition of an offside offence in the Law Of The Game being applied as it always has.

Law 11.2 is the text you need. Quoted in part to illustrate the key points:

2. Offside Offence

A player in an offside position at the moment the ball is played or touched* by a team-mate is only penalised on becoming involved in active play by:

• interfering with play by playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate or

• interfering with an opponent by [doing any of a list of specific actions]

or

• gaining an advantage by playing the ball or interfering with an opponent when it has [rebounded or deflected off anything except a teammate or been saved by an opponent]

There is no exception needed. Unless such a player has done something that in the opinion of the referee, meets one of the requirements above, that player has not committed an offside offence, and therefore should not be penalised.

Your key issue lies in separating an offside offence from merely being in an offside position. It has been decades since these were considered the same thing, and even then, not by every association.

The shift from treating any player in offside position (PIOP) as also committing an offence if they so much as look in the ball's direction has been shifting more towards the treatment seen in the video for around 10-15 years.

That is, unless the PIOP actually does something to affect play, their presence is irrelevant; if where they stand now means nothing, where they stood five seconds ago is even less important.

Unfortunately, as with all sports, it takes time for these technical points to move into the collective minds of teams and team officials, let alone that of spectators.

Answer 2

There is no generic exception for "non-moving"; Law 11 sets out the situations in which a offside offence is committed:

A player in an offside position at the moment the ball is played or touched by a team-mate is only penalised on becoming involved in active play by:

• interfering with play by playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate or
• interfering with an opponent [...]

or

• gaining an advantage by playing the ball or interfering with an opponent [...]

In the clip you have linked to, the player in the offside position is not doing any of those things so no offence is committed. However, had they been stood stationary in front of the goalkeeper, hindering the goalkeeper's ability to see and/or play the ball, that would have been an offence.