 The simple show explains the offside rule. This is Philip. He's a passionate football fan who, with his friends, watches every game that their favourite teams play. And this is Philip's girlfriend, Marie. The two are totally in love, but there's one issue that can cause tension between the pair. Marie never comes along to the stadium because she doesn't understand the rules, especially the offside rule. It's way too complicated. What is it anyway? Philip draws a football pitch. He's the goalkeeper and his mates are the defenders. Marie and her friend are the strikers on the opposing team. If, at some point, Marie passes the ball to her friend, who happens to be standing closer to Philip's goal than one of his defenders, that's offside. A goal scored in this situation would be disallowed. It would be allowed if Marie's friend was standing anywhere on the same line as the defender. Philip also explains that the offside rule doesn't always apply. For example, if Marie's friend had the ball passed to her while she was still standing in her own half. Marie is thrilled and now accompanies Philip to a game. The lovely Marie is quickly surrounded by his football buddies. Suddenly, Philip is the one caught out by the offside trap. Time to get back on the ball.