The rules of soccer (called the Laws of the Game) are quite simple, because soccer is a simple game. The Laws were written by people who understand the game, for people who understand the game; therefore, a lot of terms aren’t even defined (such as tackle, jumping at an opponent, and punt). Behind the Laws is a very straightforward philosophy of "fair play", often called the spirit of the game. It is assumed that the game itself is more important than any particular match, player, coach, referee, or fan. Participants who don’t "play fair" are subject to disciplinary action (see Law 12, the section on Unsporting Behavior).
Within this spirit of fair play, there are 17 laws. Some of them may
be modified for younger, older, and female players.
Specifies the field and marking (all lines are part of the area they define). Important dimensions are:
Goal 8ft x 8 yds.
Goal Area 6 yds x 20 yds.
Penalty Area 18 yds. x 44 yds.
Please note that these dimensions are reduced for U10 and below. See your 1996 supplement.
Corner flags are mandatory and may not be moved (e.g., to take a corner
kick).
Specifies the shape, size, weight, and pressure of the ball.
Specifies the maximum and minimum of players to have a legal game.
Set the number of substitutions at 3 or 5, with no re-entry allowed. This rule is almost universally modified to allow unlimited substitutions with unlimited re-entry. Regardless of what substitution rules are used, the process is the same:
The sub must be ready to enter before the ball goes out of play
The sub must ask (and get) permission from the referee
The exiting player must completely exit the field before the sub can enter
Additionally, if you change goalkeepers (either with a substitute or
by changing places with one of the field players), you must first get permission
from the referee, and this must occur at a stoppage in play.
All players must wear a shirt, shoes, and shinguards with socks completely covering them.
Players may not wear anything dangerous, including cleats with sharp
edges. OYSA has extended this rule to ban all jewelry. Hair fasteners must
be soft. Goalkeepers may not wear baseball-style caps with a stiff bill.
Authorize the referee to control the match by:
Calling fouls
Caution and send off any participant
Stop play when necessary (e.g. for an injured player)
Keep time and record of the game
The referee is also instructed to not stop the game for slight injuries, and to not call fouls of trifling or dubious nature.
The referee is also allowed to apply advantage to any call. This means
that if the referee determines that stopping play would take away an advantage
from the offended team, he can choose to not sop play (this does not mean
that the referee is not calling the foul; it just means he is choosing
not to stop play). If the anticipated advantage does not develop, the referee
is allowed to stop play and award the free kick for the infraction, so
long as the ball has not yet gone out of play.
Authorizes two additional referees to assist in controlling the
match. These used to be called linesmen.
Law 7 – the Duration of the Game
Specifies that each half is to be 45 minutes long. This is usually modified
for younger players.
Specifies that the referee shall conduct a coin flip with a representative from each team. The team winning the toss chooses which end of the field to defend; the loser kicks off. At half-time, the teams swap ends, and the winner of the toss kicks off.
Each half of the match (as well as any overtime periods) is started with a kick-off from the center spot, which must travel forward. All players must be in their own half. A goal can be scored directly form a kick-off.
If the referee must restart the match for any reason not specifically
mentioned in the Laws, he must drop the ball into play, from waist height.
The Laws do not require the referee to allow a player from each team to
participate in the dropped ball, nor to announce in advance that he is
dropping the ball. The ball is in play once it touches the ground.
Law 9 – Ball in or out of Play
The ball is out of play when the whole ball passes over the whole of a boundary (goal or touch) line the referee signals to stop play.
The ball is in play at all other times, including: when part of the ball passes over a boundary line, when the ball rebounds from the goal post, a corner flag, the referee, or assistant referee, and stays of the field; and most emphatically, when the players assume an infraction is going to be penalized, but the referee has not yet blown the whistle.
A goal is awarded when the ball passes over the goal line, between the goal posts, under the crossbar, and no infringement has occurred (i.e., handled into the goal by an attacker, or thrown directly into goal from a throw-in). The keeper catching the ball and carrying it across the goal line while falling is a goal. No other method of scoring is authorized.
Offside is a very simple law, but is almost universally misunderstood. The intent of this law is to penalize the player who tries to camp near the opponent’s goal, to try to capitalize on easy scoring chances. The law is NOT intended to make up for poor defense.
A player is in an offside position if he is ahead of the ball, and ahead of the second-to-last opponent, and in his attacking half of the field. It is not an infraction to be in an offside position.
If a player in an offside position, at the moment the ball is played by a teammate, becomes involved in active play, then the referee shall punish that player for being offside.
It should be obvious that offside must be re-judged everytime the ball
is played. A player may be in an offside position and never interfere with
play (so there is no offside, even if a goal results), or a player may
momentarily return to an onside position just as the ball is played to
her (so there is no offside), or the ball may go to another area of the
field where the attacker was not in an offside position (so there is no
offside). Also, a player passing to himself is never offside. A player
coming back to an onside position to receive the ball is still offside,
provided he was in an offside position when the ball was played.
Law 12 is rightfully considered the heart of the Law. It defines both the letter of the Law and the spirit of the game. Law 12 is also exhaustive: If it is not listed here, it is not an infringement. For example, it is legal for players to play the ball with their head (or chest or knee etc.), because Law 12 only forbids playing the ball with hand or arm.
Law 12 describes two different kinds of infringements: fouls (punishable by some sort of free kick (see Law 13), and misconduct (punishable by some color of card).
Fouls are further subdivided into technical fouls. Penal fouls are punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick, and technical fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick.
Penal fouls are fouls of a physical nature; there are 10 of them.
If, in the opinion of the referee, a player commits any of the following offenses in a careless, reckless, or excessively forceful manner;
Kicking (or attempting to kick) an opponent
Tripping (or attempting to trip) an opponent
Striking (or attempting to strike) an opponent
Unfairly charging an opponent
Jumping at an opponent
Pushing an opponent
In addition, if a player:
Unfair tackles on an opponent
Holds an opponent
Spits at an opponent
Deliberately handles the ball
A direct free kick is awarded to the fouled team at the spot of the infringement (unless the foul is committed by a player in his own defensive penalty area, in which case a penalty kick is awarded).
A few notes on fouls:
Jumping at refers to a cleats-up, foot-first jump at an opponent, regardless of the position of the ball. If there is contact, there is a foul.
A fair charge is shoulder-to-shoulder, non-violent, both players have at least one foot on the ground, and the ball must be within playing distance (two strides). If any of these conditions is not met, it is a unfair charge.
An unfair tackle is an otherwise legal play to gain possession of the ball, but the tackler makes contact with the player before playing the ball.
Handling the ball is possibly the most misunderstood (and most frequently miscalled) foul. The law requires that it be deliberate, not incidental. A ball moving swiftly toward a 10-year old’s face may cause that player to involuntarily protect her nose with her arm. This should not be considered deliberate, even if the ball goes straight down to her feet, and she dribbles away with it.
There are a number of technical fouls. These infractions do not involve physical contact.
A second touch by the same player at a restricted restart
Offside
Dangerous play
Impeding an opponent
Interfering with the goalkeeper putting the ball into play
Goalkeeper infractions:
Taking more than 4 steps after gathering the ball with the hands
Taking more than 5-6 seconds after gathering the ball with the hands
Handles the ball twice without releasing it into play
Handles the ball after a teammate kicks it to him
Handles the ball direct from a teammate’s throw-in
wastes time
Technical fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick.
A few notes on technical fouls:
The fouls is called dangerous play, not "high kicking". A high kick is only dangerous if another player is within playing distance. And, if a player is trying to head a waist-high ball that an opponent is kicking, who is playing dangerously. The fouls should be called on the "heading" player. Hanging on the ball when an opponent is trying to play it is another common form of dangerous play.
Impeding an opponent is interpreted as playing the man, not the ball (think of a screen in Basketball). Attempting to prevent an opponent from playing the ball without putting yourself in a position to play the ball (regardless of whether you actually touch the ball) is considered impeding.
Impeding does not involve physical contact; if so, it is a push (or a trip, kick, etc.). If an impeded player pushes the impeding player (non-violently), the foul is still on the impeder.
There are seven cautionable offenses, and seven send-off offenses.
A caution (yellow card) is given for:
Unsporting behavior
Dissent
This is defined as showing disagreement, by word or gesture, with any decision of the referee. Coaches are responsible for the conduct of their team’s fans.
Entering the field without permission
Leaving the field without permission (except during the ordinary course of play)
Violent conduct
Serious foul play
Receiving a second caution in the same match
Offensive, insulting, or abusive language
Spitting at another person
In conclusion, note that a foul must be an offense by a player (one
of the 11 on the field), against an opponent (or the ball, if handling),
on the field, while the ball is in play. None of these restrictions apply
to misconduct.
There are two kind of free kicks, direct and indirect. A goal can only result from a free kick if it is direct (that is, is not touched by another player) and if it is scored against the opponents. The ball is in play when it is kicked and moves (unless it is taken from inside a team’s own defensive penalty area, in which case it must exit the penalty area). The kicker may not touch the ball again until another player has touched it.
The location of the free kick is determined by the location of the offense. If the offense was in the kicking team’s defensive goal area, the free kick can be taken from anywhere inside the goal area. For an indirect free inside a team’s attacking goal area, the free kick is located on the 6-yard line closest to where the offense occurred. For a direct free kick inside a team’s attacking penalty area, the kick is taken from the penalty spot (see law 14). In all other cases, the free kick is taken from the spot of the offense.
All opposing players must retire 10 yards from the spot of the free kick, unless they are on their own goal line and between the goal posts; if the free kick is inside a team’s defensive penalty area, the opponents must retire 10 yards and be outside the penalty area.
The referee will signal an indirect free kick by holding one arm up
until the ball is touched by another player.
A direct free kick awarded to a team inside their attacking penalty area is taken from the penalty spot. All players except the goalkeeper and the person taking the kick must be outside the penalty area, outside the penalty arc, and behind the ball (so no offside position).
The goalkeeper must remain on the goal line until the ball is played (he may move laterally, but not forward). The ball is in play as soon as it is kicked and moves forward. The kicker may not play the ball again until another player has touched it.
The kicker may not try to fool the goalkeeper. Any violation by the
kicker or his team will prevent a goal from being awarded; if a goal was
scored, the kick shall be re-taken. Any violation by the goalkeeper or
his team will not prevent a goal being awarded; if a goal was not scored,
the kick shall be re-taken.
When the ball goes out of play over either touchline, a throw-in shall be taken
By an opponent of the player who last touched the ball
From the spot where the ball went out of play
Thrown from behind and over the head
Using both hands
With at least part of each foot touching the ground on or behind the line
The thrower may not play the ball a second time until touched by another player.
A goal can not be scored directly from a throw-in.
When the ball goes out of play over the goal line, not between the posts and under the bar, last touched by an attacker, the defending team is awarded a goal kick.
The goal kick may be taken from any point inside the goal area, and is in play when it leaves the penalty area (whole ball over whole line).
Opponents must be outside the penalty area. The kicker may not play the ball a second time until it is touched by another player.
A goal can be scored directly from a goal kick, but only against the
opponents.
When the ball goes out of play over the goal line, not between the posts and under the bar, last touched by a defender, the attacking team is awarded a corner kick.
The corner kick may be taken from any point inside the nearest corner arc, and is in play when it is kicked and moves. The corner flag may not be moved.
Opponents must be 10 yards away from the ball. The kicker may not play the ball a second time until touched by another player.
A goal can be scored directly from a corner kick, but only against the opponents.