The 17 Laws in plain English

In one lineFootball runs on 17 short Laws, written by a small board called The IFAB, and they apply at every level, from a World Cup final to a Sunday league.

Who writes the rules

Football’s rulebook is called the Laws of the Game. It is not written by FIFA alone. It belongs to The IFAB (the International Football Association Board).

The IFAB has five members. The football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have one vote each. FIFA, which speaks for every other national association, has four. That makes eight votes, and a change needs a three-quarters majority: six votes. So no change can pass without FIFA, and FIFA also needs at least two of the four British associations.

Changes are normally agreed at an annual meeting in February or March and arrive with the next edition. The 2026/27 edition took effect on 1 July 2026. Youth, veterans, disability and grassroots football may adapt some details, such as pitch size or match length.

Laws 1 to 4: pitch, ball, players and kit

• Law 1, The Field of Play. The pitch is a rectangle. The long sides (touchlines) must be 90 to 120 metres and the short sides (goal lines) 45 to 90 metres. International matches use a tighter range: 100 to 110 m by 64 to 75 m. The goal is 7.32 m wide and 2.44 m high, and the penalty mark is 11 m from it.
• Law 2, The Ball. It must be round, 68 to 70 cm around and weigh 410 to 450 g at the start of the match.
• Law 3, The Players. Each team has up to eleven players, one of them a goalkeeper. A match cannot start or continue if a team has fewer than seven. In top-division and senior international competitions that allow five substitutes, each team gets at most three chances to make them during play, plus half-time.
• Law 4, The Players’ Equipment. The compulsory kit is a shirt with sleeves, shorts, socks, shinguards and footwear. Nothing dangerous may be worn.

Laws 5 to 7: the officials and the clock

• Law 5, The Referee. The referee has full authority, and their decisions on facts of play, including whether a goal was scored, are final. The referee can play advantage: letting play continue after a foul when stopping it would hurt the team that was fouled.
• Law 6, The Other Match Officials. Assistant referees, a fourth official and, in some competitions, video officials help the referee, who always makes the final decision.
• Law 7, The Duration of the Match. Two halves of 45 minutes, with a half-time break of no more than 15 minutes. The referee adds time lost to substitutions, injuries, time-wasting, VAR checks and other delays. The fourth official shows the minimum added time; the referee can add more, but not less.

Laws 8 to 10: starting, stopping and scoring

• Law 8, The Start and Restart of Play. A kick-off starts each half and follows every goal. If no other restart applies, play resumes with a dropped ball.
• Law 9, The Ball in and out of Play. The ball is out only when the whole ball has crossed the goal line or touchline, on the ground or in the air, or when the referee stops play.
• Law 10, Determining the Outcome of a Match. A goal counts when the whole ball crosses the goal line between the posts and under the crossbar, and the scoring team has committed no offence. If a competition needs a winner after a draw, the Laws allow only three tools: the away goals rule, two periods of extra time of up to 15 minutes each, and penalties (a shoot-out). Competitions may combine them.

Law 11: offside

A player in an offside position is only penalised if they then become involved in play. See Offside, explained.

Law 12: fouls and misconduct

Kicking, tripping, pushing, charging, striking, jumping at or tackling an opponent is a foul if the referee judges it to be:

• careless, meaning a lack of attention: a free kick, but no card;
• reckless, meaning the player ignored the danger to the opponent: a yellow card, also called a caution;
• using excessive force, meaning the opponent’s safety was put at risk: a red card, which sends the player off.

Holding an opponent, biting or spitting, and a handball offence (touching the ball deliberately with the hand or arm, or with an arm that makes the body unnaturally bigger) also give a direct free kick. Other offences, such as playing dangerously, blocking an opponent’s path without contact, or dissent, give an indirect free kick.

A player is sent off for, among other things, serious foul play, violent conduct, biting or spitting, offensive or abusive language or gestures, a second yellow card, or denying the other team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, known as DOGSO. If a DOGSO foul inside the offender’s own penalty area was an attempt to play or challenge for the ball, and a penalty is given, the card is yellow instead.

Goalkeepers have a time limit. Since 2025/26, a goalkeeper who holds the ball in their hands for more than eight seconds concedes a corner kick. The referee counts down the last five seconds with a raised hand. The old limit was six seconds, punished with an indirect free kick.

Laws 13 to 17: the restarts

• Law 13, Free Kicks. A direct free kick can go straight into the opponents’ goal. An indirect free kick must touch another player first; the referee signals it with an arm raised above the head. Opponents stand at least 9.15 m away. If three or more defenders form a wall, attackers must stay at least 1 m from it.
• Law 14, The Penalty Kick. Given for a direct-free-kick offence by a defender inside their own penalty area. The ball sits on the penalty mark. Other players wait outside the penalty area, behind the mark and at least 9.15 m away. When the ball is kicked, the goalkeeper must have at least part of one foot touching, in line with, or behind the goal line.
• Law 15, The Throw-in. Taken with both hands, from behind and over the head, with part of each foot on or behind the touchline. A goal cannot be scored directly from a throw-in. Opponents stand at least 2 m away.
• Law 16, The Goal Kick. Given when an attacker last touched the ball before it crossed the goal line. It is taken from anywhere in the goal area and is in play once kicked. Opponents stay outside the penalty area until then. A goal can be scored directly, but only against the opponents.
• Law 17, The Corner Kick. Given when a defender last touched the ball before it crossed their own goal line without a goal. Opponents stand at least 9.15 m away. A goal can be scored straight from a corner, but only against the opponents. A corner is also the punishment when a goalkeeper holds the ball too long or, since 2026/27, when a team runs down the goal-kick countdown.

What changed in 2026/27

Most of the new changes target time-wasting and behaviour:

• Throw-ins and goal kicks. If a team is deliberately slow, the referee starts a visible five-second countdown. If it runs out, a throw-in goes to the other team, and a delayed goal kick becomes a corner to the opponents.
• Substitutions. A player being replaced must leave within ten seconds of the board going up. If not, the substitute must wait for the first stoppage after one minute of play.
• Injuries. An outfield player who is assessed by medical staff on the pitch, or who causes play to stop for an injury, must usually leave and stay off for one minute after the restart. Injured goalkeepers, and players hurt by a foul that earns a card, are among the exceptions.
• VAR can now also correct a red card that came from a clearly wrong second yellow, and a card shown to the wrong player. Competitions may also let it correct a clearly wrong corner kick, if this causes no delay.
• Competition options, approved in April 2026: a red card for covering the mouth while speaking provocatively to an opponent, and for leaving the pitch in protest at a decision.
• Advance notice. From 1 July 2027 the “only the captain” guidelines become compulsory: after key decisions, only one player per team, usually the captain, may approach the referee.

Where to go next

• Offside, explained
• VAR, explained
• World Cup formats