Football The laws of the game

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1 Football The laws of the game When the ball is in play the rules of soccer are fairly simple. You cannot touch the ball with your hands or arms intentionally unless you are the goalie. You cannot foul another player or be offside. Other than that, the main rules of soccer are around the starting and stopping of play. The Starting and Stopping of Soccer Play: At the start of a soccer period or after a goal, there is a kick-off from the centre circle. At the kick-off all of the soccer players must be on their side of the field (the side they are defending). Only the player kicking the kick-off is allowed inside the center circle. After the kick-off the ball will be in play until the ball goes out of bounds or the referee calls a penalty. Other ways of restarting soccer include: Throw-in: When the soccer ball has gone out of bounds, the team that last touched the ball loses possession and the opposing team gets to throw-in the ball from the point where the ball crossed out of bounds. Corner kick: When the defending team last touches the ball and it crosses the goal line (and not scoring a goal), the opposing team gets to kick the ball from the corner of the field. Goal kick: When the offensive team last touches the ball before it crosses the goal line, the goalie gets to kick the ball from the goal box. Penalty kick: When a foul occurs in the penalty area, the fouled team is awarded a penalty kick.

2 The football pitch, is flexible in size. It is 100 to 130 yards (90-120m) long and 50 to 100 yards (45-90m) wide. In international play the field dimensions are a bit stricter in that the length must be 110 to 120 yards ( m) long and 70 to 80 yards (64-75m) wide. Dimension of playing field Equipment The ball must conform to regulations and the players' equipment must also follow strict guidelines. According to FIFA the ball must be spherical and be within given weight and size parameters. The players must wear sleeved jerseys, shorts, stockings, shin pads and footwear. It is up to the referee to ensure that the correct equipment is worn and used. He can refuse to start the game or allow players to enter the field until they conform to the rules. Referee Goal Area - The goal area is a box that extends 6 yards out from the goal posts. Free kicks are taken from this area. Penalty Area - The penalty area is a box that extends 18 yards out from the goal posts. In this area the goalkeeper may use their hands. Also, any penalty by the defence in this area will result in a penalty kick from the penalty mark. Penalty Mark - This is the spot where the ball is placed for penalty kicks. It is at the centre of the goal and 12 yards away from the goal line. Penalty Arc - This is a small arc at the top of the penalty box. Players other than the goalkeeper and kicker may not enter this area during a penalty kick. FOULS All referees carry a whistle, a watch, penalty cards, a data wallet with pen and paper, and a coin for determining who gets the first kick-off in each half. Most are encouraged to have more than one of each on them in case they drop a whistle or a pen runs out and so on. Often, referees utilize two watches so that they can use one to calculate time lost for stoppages for the purposes of added time. At the highest levels, referees wear a full duplex radio with customized headset to communicate between each other and assistant referees use electronic flags, which send a signal to the referee when a button is pushed. In matches with goal-line technology, the referee will have on their person a device to receive the system's alerts In order to allow players to play the game in a fair manner, the referee can call fouls. The penalty from a foul can vary depending on the type and severity of the foul. Minor offenses - The opposing team is awarded an indirect free kick. More serious offenses - The opposing team is awarded a direct free kick. This will be a penalty kick if it occurs within the penalty box. Caution - A yellow card can be given for repeated fouls. A second yellow results in a red and expulsion from the game. Expulsion - The player must leave the game and cannot be substituted for.

3 4th official It is the job of the fourth official to assist administrative or other match related tasks as directed by the referee. A fourth official s job can include: Notifying teams and fans about substitutions and injury time by means of an electronic display or numbered board. assessment of players equipment. Ensuring substitutions are conducted properly. Maintaining decorum in the respective teams technical areas and reporting any rule breaking to the referee. Official safety Types of Fouls The following actions are not allowed in soccer and will result in a foul call: Kicking an opponent Tripping Jumping into an opponent (like when you are going for a header) Charging into an opponent Pushing The referee is responsible for player safety. He must ensure that the players are not wearing anything that could harm themselves or other players, such as jewellery or inappropriate footwear. If a referee judges that a player is injured then he must stop the game to allow treatment. The playing surface must be clear of debris, particularly if it is dangerous such as broken glass. He is also responsible for the crowd's safety. If at any time the crowd is endangered by the game's continuing he is obliged to stop it. Tackling from behind Tackling an opponent and you make contact with the player prior to making contact with the ball. Holding Touching the ball with your hands (if you are not the goalkeeper)

4 Caution (Yellow Card) Linesman The referee can choose to give a caution or yellow card to a player for the following actions: Unsportsmanlike behaviour (note that this includes trying to trick the referee) Arguing with the referee Fouling a lot Delaying the game Entering or leaving the game without informing the referee Expulsion (Red Card) When the referee shows a red card, this means the player has been kicked out of the game. A red card can be given for the following actions: A serious foul Violent actions against the referee or other players Using their hands to stop a goal (when not the goalkeeper) Using bad language Number of Soccer Players There are two linesmen in an officiating crew, each assigned to one half of the field. As their name indicates, they patrol the length of the touch line between the halfway line and one goal line. They each carry a brightly coloured flag and use it to signal when the ball has left the pitch either for a throw-in, a goal kick, or a corner kick. Linesmen will also wave their flags to catch the referee s attention if they believe they have spotted a foul. Finally, it is also the linesman s responsibility to signal when an attacking player is in an offside position by raising his flag. In order to have the best possible view to make that call, the linesman stays level with the last defender of the team in his half of the field at all times. In a typical soccer game there are 11 players for each team. One player is designated as the goalkeeper. The rest of the players are not mentioned in the rules. Player positions and roles are defined by the team and coach, not by the rules. Some kids' soccer teams may have fewer players per side, especially if the fields are small. Generally, the younger the age group, the less players. Under 12 leagues may go with 8 per side, while under 10 leagues may go with as few as 6 per side.

5 Roles of official The Referee The referee is the most important of the four officials on the pitch. Only he carries a whistle and he uses it to signal the starts and stops of play. Those include kickoff, half-time, full-time, goals, and fouls. In the event of a foul, the referee can blow his whistle to award a free kick or a penalty kick if it happens to occur inside the penalty area and penalize the player who committed it. A referee s first recourse is usually a stern verbal warning. The Referee: enforces the Laws of the Game controls the match in cooperation with the assistant referees and, where applicable, with the fourth official ensures that any ball used meets the requirements of Law 2 ensures that the players equipment meets the requirements of Law 4 acts as timekeeper and keeps a record of the match stops, suspends or abandons the match, at his discretion, for any infringements of the Laws stops, suspends or abandons the match because of outside interference of any kind stops the match if, in his opinion, a player is seriously injured and ensures that he is removed from the field of play. An injured player may only return to the field of play after the match has restarted Substitutions There are strict rules for substitutions in professional and international play. These might be different that what is allowed in a youth league. In many youth soccer leagues substitutions are unlimited. This is so the coach can be sure to allot a fair amount of playing time to each player. Also, high school soccer generally allows for unlimited substitutions. Length of games A typical professional soccer match will consist of two periods each 45 minutes long with a half-time of 15 minutes. Each soccer league may have different times. Youth leagues will generally have shorter periods. High school matches are generally two 40 minute periods or four 20 minute periods. Youth soccer games are often two 20 minute periods or four 10 minute periods. Additional Time The referee can allow for time lost due to substitutions, injuries, or one team wasting time. This rule was added because players would start to stall, fake injuries, or take a long time making substitutions once they had the lead. Now the referee can just add that time to the end of the period. The end of the period is also extended to allow for a penalty kick, if needed. A Tie Game if the score is tied at the end of the second period, different things may happen depending on the rules of the soccer league. In some leagues the game is called a draw and is over. In other leagues they may go straight to penalty kicks. In FIFA World Cup Soccer they have an overtime period and then move to penalty kicks. Overtime in World Cup FIFA Sometimes extra periods are added in the case of a tie. Often this is two periods of 15 minutes each. Penalty Kicks Often times the winner of a tie game is determined by penalty kicks. Generally each team gets 5 shots on goal, with each team taking an alternate turn. A different player must take each shot. The team with the most points after 5 shots wins. More shots can be added, if needed.