Unit 3: Football: Rules and regulations

I. Orientation — governing framework of football

Association football is governed internationally by the Laws of the Game, maintained by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The Laws define the field, equipment, participants, officials, methods of scoring, offences, and procedures used in matches. Competition rules may add administrative requirements, but they must remain consistent with the Laws.

• Governing authority: IFAB determines the Laws; FIFA and national associations administer competitions and appoint officials.
• Basic objective: Two teams attempt to score more goals than the opponents by legally moving the ball into the opponents’ goal.
• Match structure: A normal match has two equal halves, generally of 45 minutes each, with a half-time interval and allowance for time lost.
• Core conventions: The referee applies the Laws, decisions are made according to the facts of the match, and the spirit of the game requires fairness, safety, respect, and sporting conduct.
• Main laws: The Laws cover the field, ball, players, equipment, referee, other officials, duration, start and restart, ball in and out of play, result, offside, fouls, misconduct, free kicks, penalty kicks, throw-ins, goal kicks, and corner kicks.

II. Field of football — dimensions, layout and markings

A. dimensions, layouts and marking of fields of football

The football field, or pitch, is a rectangular area whose markings and measurements determine how play is started, restarted, and judged.

• Shape and dimensions: The touchline must be longer than the goal line. For ordinary matches, the touchline is 90–120 m and the goal line is 45–90 m; for international matches, the touchline is 100–110 m and the goal line is 64–75 m.
• Boundary lines: The two longer boundaries are touchlines, while the shorter boundaries are goal lines. The line itself belongs to the area it encloses, so a ball touching the line remains in play.
• Line width: Markings must be continuous and must not create a danger. Their width must not exceed 12 cm; the goal line has the same width as the goalposts and crossbar.
• Halfway line and centre mark: The halfway line divides the pitch into two equal halves. A centre mark is placed at its midpoint, surrounded by a centre circle with a radius of 9.15 m.
• Penalty area: Two lines are drawn 16.5 m from the inside of each goalpost and joined by a line parallel to the goal line. This area contains the penalty mark and governs goalkeeper handling and penalty-kick offences.
• Goal area: Lines are drawn 5.5 m from the inside of each goalpost and extended 5.5 m into the field. Goal kicks are taken from this area.
• Penalty mark and arc: The penalty mark is 11 m from the midpoint between the goalposts. The penalty arc has a radius of 9.15 m from the penalty mark and helps keep other players at the required distance during a penalty kick.
• Corner area: A quarter-circle with a radius of 1 m is marked inside each corner. A corner kick is taken from this area, with a corner flagpost at least 1.5 m high.
• Goals: The distance between the inside edges of the posts is 7.32 m, and the distance from the lower edge of the crossbar to the ground is 2.44 m. Posts and crossbar must be safe and normally white.
• Safety and layout: Technical areas, team benches, advertising, and perimeter arrangements are controlled by competition regulations. The surface may be natural or artificial if approved and safe.

III. Rules and their interpretations of football — laws applied in play

A. rules and their interpretations of football

The Laws provide the formal rules, while interpretation means applying them consistently to actual situations, including advantage, contact, offside, and misconduct.

• Players and substitutions: Each team has up to 11 players, one being the goalkeeper; a match cannot start or continue if a team has fewer than 7 players. The number of substitutes and substitutions is set by competition regulations, commonly up to five in many competitions.
• Ball in and out of play: The ball is out when it wholly crosses a touchline or goal line, or when play is stopped by the referee. It remains in play if it rebounds from a goalpost, crossbar, corner flagpost, or match official and stays within the field.
• Start and restart: A kick-off begins each half and restarts play after a goal. Dropped balls restart play when the referee stops the match for a reason not otherwise covered; the procedure depends on where play was stopped and which team had possession.
• Scoring: A goal is scored only when the whole ball passes over the goal line, between the posts, and under the crossbar, provided no offence has occurred by the scoring team.
• Offside position: A player is in an offside position when part of the head, body, or feet is nearer to the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. Hands and arms are not considered.
• Offside offence: Being in an offside position is not automatically an offence. It becomes an offence when the player interferes with play, interferes with an opponent, or gains an advantage from a rebound, deflection, or deliberate save.
• Advantage: The referee may allow play to continue when the non-offending team benefits from continuation. If the expected advantage does not occur within a short period, the referee may return to the original offence when permitted.
• Direct and indirect free kicks: A direct free kick may score directly in the opponents’ goal. An indirect free kick requires the ball to touch another player before a goal can be scored.
• Penalty kick: A penalty is awarded for a direct-free-kick offence committed by a player inside that player’s own penalty area. The kick is taken from 11 m, and all players except the kicker and goalkeeper must remain outside the penalty area, behind the penalty mark, and at least 9.15 m away.
• Fouls and contact: Kicking, tripping, charging, striking, pushing, holding, handball, and careless or reckless challenges may be penalised. “Careless” usually requires no disciplinary sanction; “reckless” requires a caution; excessive force requires a sending-off.
• Handball interpretation: Deliberately touching the ball with the hand or arm is an offence. An unnatural enlargement of the body may also be penalised, while accidental contact is not automatically an offence.
• Disciplinary sanctions: A yellow card indicates a caution, including unsporting behaviour, dissent, delaying the restart, or repeated offences. A red card sends a player or team official off for serious foul play, violent conduct, denying a goal-scoring opportunity in specified circumstances, or receiving a second caution.
• Restarts: A throw-in is awarded when the ball wholly crosses the touchline and is taken with both hands from behind and over the head. A goal kick follows an attacking touch over the goal line without a goal; a corner follows a defending touch over the goal line.

IV. Qualification and number of officials in the football

A. qualification and number of officials in the football

Football officials are trained decision-makers who control the match, assist with factual judgments, and protect the authority and safety of the game.

• Referee on the field: One referee has full authority to enforce the Laws, keep time, record incidents, control restarts, apply advantage, and stop or suspend play. The referee’s decisions on facts connected with play are final within the match.
• Assistant referees: Two assistant referees normally operate on the touchlines. They signal when the ball leaves play, indicate which team receives a throw-in, identify possible offside offences, and assist with substitutions and penalty-area incidents.
• Fourth official: When appointed, the fourth official manages substitution procedures, checks equipment, displays added time, supervises technical areas, and acts as a communication link between match officials.
• Additional officials: Competition regulations may appoint additional assistant referees, a reserve assistant referee, a video assistant referee (VAR), and an assistant VAR (AVAR). Their authority and technology use depend on the approved competition protocol.
• Number in the standard team: The standard on-field officiating team consists of one referee and two assistant referees. A fourth official and video officials are additional rather than universal requirements.
• Qualification: Officials must be registered or licensed through the relevant national or regional association. Qualification normally includes Laws examinations, practical assessment, fitness tests, medical standards, and supervised match experience.
• Technical competence: A qualified official must understand the 17 Laws, signals, positioning, restart procedures, advantage, offside, and disciplinary terminology. Fitness is essential because officials must maintain suitable distance from play.
• Impartiality and conduct: Officials must disclose conflicts of interest, avoid bias, remain neutral, and communicate respectfully. Referee development commonly evaluates accuracy, positioning, teamwork, fitness, and professional behaviour.
• Teamwork: The referee maintains final authority, but effective officiating depends on eye contact, agreed signals, communication equipment where available, and coordinated movement between the referee and assistants.

V. Coaching in the football — planning, instruction and management

A. coaching in the football