<P> The compromise rule that was written into the Laws of the Game in 1866, and eventually adopted universally, was to adopt a form of the Cambridge rule, but with "at least three" rather than "more than three" opponents . </P> <P> The rule changed to "two opponents" in 1925 and led to an immediate increase in goal - scoring . 4,700 goals were scored in 1,848 Football League games in 1924--25 . This number rose to 6,373 goals (from the same number of games) in 1925--26 . </P> <P> In 1990 the law was amended to adjudge an attacker as onside if level with the second - to - last opponent . This change was part of a general movement by the game's authorities to make the rules more conducive to attacking football and help the game to flow more freely . </P> <P> During the 1973--74 and 1974--75 seasons, an experimental version of the offside rule was operated in the Scottish League Cup and Drybrough Cup competitions . The concept was that offside should only apply in the last 18 yards of play (i.e. inside or beside the penalty area). To signify this, the horizontal line of the penalty area was extended to the touchlines . FIFA President Sir Stanley Rous attended the 1973 Scottish League Cup Final, which was played using these rules . The manager of one of the teams involved, Celtic manager Jock Stein, complained that it was unfair to expect teams to play under one set of rules in one game and then a different set a few days before or later . The experiment was quietly dropped after the 1974--75 season, as no proposal for a further experiment or rule change was submitted for the Scottish Football Association board to consider . </P>

When is a player considered offside in soccer