Rules
Soccer rules, explained simply
Every lesson answers one question, in two minutes. Tap a level to filter, or scroll the topic clusters below.
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The basics every new fan needs.
Soccer in 5 minutes — the basics
The whole game in 60 seconds — goals, positions, and basic rules.
Learn fast →How Long Is a Soccer Game?
A standard soccer match is 90 minutes — two 45-minute halves separated by a 15-minute interval — plus stoppage time added to each half by the referee.
Start lesson →What Does Ball Out of Play Mean?
The ball is out of play only when the whole ball has crossed the touchline or goal line. Lines are part of the field — a ball on the line is in play.
Start lesson →Soccer Positions Explained
Eleven players per team — one goalkeeper and ten outfield players organised into defenders, midfielders, and forwards. Positions are tactical; only the goalkeeper has special rules.
Start lesson →During the Match
Fast answers for the moments that make you reach for your phone — disallowed goals, red cards, handballs, and time added on.
Why Was That Goal Disallowed?
A goal can be disallowed for offside, a foul in the build-up, handball, encroachment, or a goalkeeper violation. Here are the most common reasons — explained in plain English.
Learn fast →Why Did VAR Not Overturn That?
VAR only overturns calls that are a clear and obvious error — not close calls. If the original decision was defensible, VAR cannot change it even if replays suggest otherwise.
Learn fast →Why Was That a Red Card?
Red cards are given for serious foul play, violent conduct, DOGSO, a second yellow, spitting, biting, or deliberate handball denying a goal. Here is what each means.
Learn fast →Why Was That Not Called a Foul?
Not every contact is a foul. Referees look for careless, reckless, or excessive force — not just contact. Here are the most common reasons a challenge is allowed.
Learn fast →Why Was There So Much Stoppage Time?
Stoppage time is added for goals, substitutions, VAR reviews, injuries, time-wasting, and any other delays. IFAB now requires more accurate time-keeping, leading to longer stoppages.
Learn fast →Why Was That Called Handball?
Handball is judged on arm position, not just intent. If the arm makes the body unnaturally bigger, it can be handball even if accidental. Here is how referees decide.
Learn fast →Can You…?
Instant answers to the rules questions fans search mid-match — offside exceptions, red card appeals, direct goals, and more.
Can You Be Offside from a Throw-In?
No. A player cannot be offside directly from a throw-in. Throw-ins are one of three restarts exempt from the offside law — alongside goal kicks and corner kicks.
Learn fast →Can You Be Offside in Your Own Half?
No. Offside only applies in the opponent's half of the pitch. A player in their own half cannot be in an offside position, no matter how far ahead of the defenders they are.
Learn fast →Can You Be Offside from a Goal Kick?
No. Goal kicks are offside-exempt under Law 11. A player can be in any position — including well past the last defender — and legally receive a goal kick without an offside call.
Learn fast →Can VAR Review a Yellow Card?
No. Yellow cards are not reviewable by VAR. VAR operates in exactly four categories — goals, penalties, direct red cards, and mistaken identity — and yellow cards fall outside all of them.
Learn fast →Can You Score Directly from a Corner Kick?
Yes. A goal scored directly from a corner kick without another player touching the ball is legal. It is called an Olympic goal, or Gol Olímpico. If the ball curves into your own goal directly, it is a corner to the opponents.
Learn fast →Can You Score Directly from a Free Kick?
You can score directly from a direct free kick. You cannot score directly from an indirect free kick — the ball must touch at least one other player first. If an indirect free kick enters the goal without a touch, the restart is a goal kick.
Learn fast →Can a Goalkeeper Score a Goal?
Yes. Any player on the pitch, including the goalkeeper, can legally score a goal. Goalkeepers most commonly score from powerful long kicks that travel over the opposing goalkeeper, from penalty kicks, or from set pieces when they come forward late in a game.
Learn fast →Can a Red Card Be Rescinded?
Yes. A red card can be rescinded in two ways: VAR can recommend overturning a straight red during the match, or the competition's disciplinary appeals process can rescind it after the match, typically within 24–48 hours.
Learn fast →Comparisons
Side-by-side breakdowns of the terms fans confuse most — stoppage time vs extra time, yellow vs red, foul vs handball, and more.
Extra Time vs Stoppage Time — What's the Difference?
They are completely different things. Stoppage time is added minutes at the end of each half to compensate for delays. Extra time is a separate 30-minute period played only in knockout matches when the score is tied after 90.
Learn fast →Direct vs Indirect Free Kick — What's the Difference?
A direct free kick can be shot straight into goal. An indirect free kick must touch at least one other player first — if it goes directly into goal without that touch, no goal is awarded.
Learn fast →Yellow Card vs Red Card — What's the Difference?
A yellow card is a caution — the player stays on but is warned. A red card means immediate dismissal — the player leaves the pitch and cannot be replaced, so the team plays with ten players for the rest of the match.
Learn fast →Penalty Kick vs Penalty Shootout — What's the Difference?
A penalty kick is awarded during a match as punishment for a foul or handball inside the penalty area. A penalty shootout is a tie-breaking procedure after extra time in knockout matches — not a punishment for any foul.
Learn fast →Offside vs Onside — What's the Difference?
A player is onside if they are level with or behind the second-last defender at the moment the ball is played. A player is offside if any body part that can legally play the ball is ahead of that defender — but being offside is only an offence if the player is involved in active play.
Learn fast →Foul vs Handball — What's the Difference?
A foul is illegal physical contact with an opponent — tripping, holding, pushing, or reckless challenges. Handball is touching the ball with the hand or arm in a position the law deems illegal. Different tests, different rules, but both can give a direct free kick or penalty.
Learn fast →Offside
The rule everyone argues about.
What is the offside rule in soccer?
The rule everyone argues about — explained in one clear example.
Start lesson →Offside: Active vs Inactive Player
Being in an offside position isn't a foul. The player has to become involved in active play before the flag goes up.
Start lesson →You Can't Be Offside from a Goal Kick
Goal kicks, corner kicks, and throw-ins are the three offside-exempt restarts. A player in an offside position can legally receive the ball directly from any of them.
Start lesson →What Is the Offside Trap?
The offside trap is a defensive tactic that uses the offside rule as a weapon — defenders step forward in unison to leave attackers stranded in offside positions.
Start lesson →Offside Controversies Explained Like a Ref
Offside was written for the naked eye. Modern technology measures it to the millimetre. The gap between law and intuition is what creates controversy.
Start lesson →VAR & Controversies
What VAR can and cannot do.
What is VAR in soccer?
Understand what VAR checks, why it takes time, and who decides.
Start lesson →VAR: Clear and Obvious Error
VAR is not a second referee. It only intervenes when the on-field decision contains a clear and obvious error.
Start lesson →What Can VAR Review?
VAR can only review four categories: goals, penalty decisions, direct red cards, and mistaken identity. Everything else is out of scope.
Start lesson →Why VAR Calls Are So Controversial
VAR was built to correct clear and obvious errors. The controversy is rarely about whether the call was right — it is about whether the standard is right.
Start lesson →Fouls & Cards
How referees judge contact, intent, and misconduct.
What is a foul in soccer?
What counts as a foul and what the referee looks for.
Start lesson →Yellow card vs red card — what's the difference?
See what each card means and when a player is sent off.
Start lesson →What is the advantage rule in soccer?
Why referees sometimes wave play on after a foul.
Learn fast →What is handball in soccer?
When handball is a foul and when the referee ignores it.
Start lesson →Legal Tackle vs Foul
A clean tackle plays the ball without endangering the opponent. Winning the ball doesn't cancel a careless or reckless challenge.
Start lesson →Handball Edge Cases
Handball turns on arm position, body shape, and intent — and an accidental handball before a goal is still penalised.
Start lesson →Handball Controversies Explained Like a Ref
The handball law has been rewritten multiple times. Arm position replaced intent. The result is a rule that often feels unjust to fans applying older logic.
Start lesson →DOGSO Explained
Denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. The four Ds determine the call — and where the foul happens changes the punishment.
Start lesson →Careless, Reckless, or Excessive Force?
Every foul is judged on a force scale: careless means no card, reckless means yellow, excessive force means red.
Start lesson →What is Serious Foul Play?
A challenge that uses excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent — automatic red card, even if the ball was won.
Start lesson →What is Violent Conduct?
Using or attempting to use excessive force against a person when not competing for the ball — a direct red card, even when the strike does not connect.
Start lesson →What is Unsporting Behaviour?
The catch-all yellow-card category — covering simulation, deliberate handball, encroachment, shirt-pulling, and conduct that violates the spirit of the game.
Start lesson →What is Simulation / Diving?
Falling, feigning injury, or exaggerating contact to deceive the referee — punished as unsporting behaviour with a yellow card.
Start lesson →What is Persistent Infringement?
A pattern of repeated minor fouls that earns a yellow card — even when no individual foul would have justified one on its own.
Start lesson →What Happens After a Red Card?
A red card means the team plays with ten players for the rest of the match — no replacement allowed. Substitutions still available, suspensions follow.
Start lesson →Think Like a Ref
DOGSO, SPA, advantage, tactical fouls — the calls referees actually wrestle with.
DOGSO vs Stopping a Promising Attack
DOGSO is a red card. SPA is a yellow. The four Ds — direction, distance to goal, distance to ball, defenders — decide which one applies.
Start lesson →Why Do Referees Play Advantage?
Letting play continue after a foul, then deciding within seconds whether the advantage materialised — and still calling the original foul if it didn't.
Start lesson →Second Yellow vs Straight Red
Two paths produce a red card — accumulating two yellows in one match or a single straight red — and VAR can review one but not the other.
Start lesson →What Are Tactical Fouls?
Deliberate fouls used to stop a dangerous attack — committed cynically as a trade for a free kick, and increasingly punished by referees who recognise the pattern.
Start lesson →Delaying the Restart of Play
Time-wasting at restarts is a yellow-card offence — and 2026/27 introduces visible five-second countdowns for delayed throw-ins and goal kicks.
Start lesson →Set Pieces & Restarts
Free kicks, corners, goal kicks, throw-ins, subs.
What is a free kick in soccer?
Direct, indirect, and the 10-yard wall — explained simply.
Learn fast →Direct vs Indirect Free Kick
Direct free kicks can be shot straight at goal. Indirect free kicks must touch a second player first.
Start lesson →What is a corner kick?
Why corners happen and what happens next.
Learn fast →What is a goal kick?
When a goal kick is given and how it restarts play.
Learn fast →How do substitutions work in soccer?
Teams get 5 subs, but only 3 stoppages to use them. Halftime doesn't count as a stoppage — it's a free window.
Start lesson →Goalkeeper & Match Flow
Time, restarts, and how 90 minutes actually unfolds.
When Can a Goalkeeper Use Their Hands?
Inside the penalty area, on live play, with no back-pass — and only for so long. Goalkeeper handling is more restricted than it looks.
Start lesson →The Goalkeeper 8-Second Rule
Under IFAB 2025/26, a goalkeeper must release the ball within eight seconds of controlling it with their hands. Holding longer is delaying the restart, punished by a corner kick to the opposition.
Start lesson →The Back-Pass Rule Explained
A goalkeeper can't handle a deliberate kick from a teammate. Headers and chest passes are still fair game.
Start lesson →What is stoppage time in soccer?
Learn why extra minutes are added after 45 and 90.
Learn fast →What is extra time in soccer?
What extra time is, when it happens, and why it's not stoppage time.
Learn fast →What Happens When the Ball Hits the Referee?
If the ball hits the referee and goes into the goal or creates a clear advantage, play stops and a dropped ball restarts the match.
Start lesson →The Dropped Ball Rule Explained
Since 2019, the dropped ball is no longer contested. It restores possession to the team that last had the ball — or to the goalkeeper if play stopped in the penalty area.
Start lesson →Penalties
The penalty kick and shootout — encroachment, double touch, and goalkeeper rules.
What is a penalty kick?
What earns a penalty kick and how it's taken.
Learn fast →How does a penalty shootout work?
Understand the 5 kicks, sudden death, and how the winner is decided.
Start lesson →Penalty Kick Encroachment Explained
When players enter the penalty area before the ball is struck, the outcome of the kick determines whether the penalty is retaken or stands.
Start lesson →Goalkeeper Encroachment on Penalties
The goalkeeper must remain on the goal line until the ball is kicked. VAR enforcement of this rule has changed how penalties are taken at top-level matches.
Start lesson →Double Touch on Penalty Kicks
The penalty taker cannot touch the ball again until another player has touched it. Rebounds off the post or crossbar are not enough.
Start lesson →Can a Goalkeeper Score a Goal?
Yes. Any player on the pitch, including the goalkeeper, can legally score a goal. Goalkeepers most commonly score from powerful long kicks that travel over the opposing goalkeeper, from penalty kicks, or from set pieces when they come forward late in a game.
Learn fast →Can VAR Review a Yellow Card?
No. Yellow cards are not reviewable by VAR. VAR operates in exactly four categories — goals, penalties, direct red cards, and mistaken identity — and yellow cards fall outside all of them.
Learn fast →Can You Be Offside from a Goal Kick?
No. Goal kicks are offside-exempt under Law 11. A player can be in any position — including well past the last defender — and legally receive a goal kick without an offside call.
Learn fast →Can You Be Offside from a Throw-In?
No. A player cannot be offside directly from a throw-in. Throw-ins are one of three restarts exempt from the offside law — alongside goal kicks and corner kicks.
Learn fast →Can You Be Offside in Your Own Half?
No. Offside only applies in the opponent's half of the pitch. A player in their own half cannot be in an offside position, no matter how far ahead of the defenders they are.
Learn fast →Can You Score Directly from a Corner Kick?
Yes. A goal scored directly from a corner kick without another player touching the ball is legal. It is called an Olympic goal, or Gol Olímpico. If the ball curves into your own goal directly, it is a corner to the opponents.
Learn fast →Can You Score Directly from a Free Kick?
You can score directly from a direct free kick. You cannot score directly from an indirect free kick — the ball must touch at least one other player first. If an indirect free kick enters the goal without a touch, the restart is a goal kick.
Learn fast →Direct vs Indirect Free Kick — What's the Difference?
A direct free kick can be shot straight into goal. An indirect free kick must touch at least one other player first — if it goes directly into goal without that touch, no goal is awarded.
Learn fast →Extra Time vs Stoppage Time — What's the Difference?
They are completely different things. Stoppage time is added minutes at the end of each half to compensate for delays. Extra time is a separate 30-minute period played only in knockout matches when the score is tied after 90.
Learn fast →Foul vs Handball — What's the Difference?
A foul is illegal physical contact with an opponent — tripping, holding, pushing, or reckless challenges. Handball is touching the ball with the hand or arm in a position the law deems illegal. Different tests, different rules, but both can give a direct free kick or penalty.
Learn fast →How do substitutions work in soccer?
Teams get 5 subs, but only 3 stoppages to use them. Halftime doesn't count as a stoppage — it's a free window.
Start lesson →How does a penalty shootout work?
Understand the 5 kicks, sudden death, and how the winner is decided.
Start lesson →How Long Is a Soccer Game?
A standard soccer match is 90 minutes — two 45-minute halves separated by a 15-minute interval — plus stoppage time added to each half by the referee.
Start lesson →Offside vs Onside — What's the Difference?
A player is onside if they are level with or behind the second-last defender at the moment the ball is played. A player is offside if any body part that can legally play the ball is ahead of that defender — but being offside is only an offence if the player is involved in active play.
Learn fast →Penalty Kick vs Penalty Shootout — What's the Difference?
A penalty kick is awarded during a match as punishment for a foul or handball inside the penalty area. A penalty shootout is a tie-breaking procedure after extra time in knockout matches — not a punishment for any foul.
Learn fast →Soccer in 5 minutes — the basics
The whole game in 60 seconds — goals, positions, and basic rules.
Learn fast →Soccer Positions Explained
Eleven players per team — one goalkeeper and ten outfield players organised into defenders, midfielders, and forwards. Positions are tactical; only the goalkeeper has special rules.
Start lesson →What Does Ball Out of Play Mean?
The ball is out of play only when the whole ball has crossed the touchline or goal line. Lines are part of the field — a ball on the line is in play.
Start lesson →What is a corner kick?
Why corners happen and what happens next.
Learn fast →What is a foul in soccer?
What counts as a foul and what the referee looks for.
Start lesson →What is a free kick in soccer?
Direct, indirect, and the 10-yard wall — explained simply.
Learn fast →What is a goal kick?
When a goal kick is given and how it restarts play.
Learn fast →What is a penalty kick?
What earns a penalty kick and how it's taken.
Learn fast →What is extra time in soccer?
What extra time is, when it happens, and why it's not stoppage time.
Learn fast →What is handball in soccer?
When handball is a foul and when the referee ignores it.
Start lesson →What is stoppage time in soccer?
Learn why extra minutes are added after 45 and 90.
Learn fast →What is the advantage rule in soccer?
Why referees sometimes wave play on after a foul.
Learn fast →What is the offside rule in soccer?
The rule everyone argues about — explained in one clear example.
Start lesson →What is VAR in soccer?
Understand what VAR checks, why it takes time, and who decides.
Start lesson →Why Was That a Red Card?
Red cards are given for serious foul play, violent conduct, DOGSO, a second yellow, spitting, biting, or deliberate handball denying a goal. Here is what each means.
Learn fast →Why Was That Called Handball?
Handball is judged on arm position, not just intent. If the arm makes the body unnaturally bigger, it can be handball even if accidental. Here is how referees decide.
Learn fast →Why Was That Goal Disallowed?
A goal can be disallowed for offside, a foul in the build-up, handball, encroachment, or a goalkeeper violation. Here are the most common reasons — explained in plain English.
Learn fast →Why Was That Not Called a Foul?
Not every contact is a foul. Referees look for careless, reckless, or excessive force — not just contact. Here are the most common reasons a challenge is allowed.
Learn fast →Why Was There So Much Stoppage Time?
Stoppage time is added for goals, substitutions, VAR reviews, injuries, time-wasting, and any other delays. IFAB now requires more accurate time-keeping, leading to longer stoppages.
Learn fast →Yellow card vs red card — what's the difference?
See what each card means and when a player is sent off.
Start lesson →Yellow Card vs Red Card — What's the Difference?
A yellow card is a caution — the player stays on but is warned. A red card means immediate dismissal — the player leaves the pitch and cannot be replaced, so the team plays with ten players for the rest of the match.
Learn fast →You Can't Be Offside from a Goal Kick
Goal kicks, corner kicks, and throw-ins are the three offside-exempt restarts. A player in an offside position can legally receive the ball directly from any of them.
Start lesson →Can a Red Card Be Rescinded?
Yes. A red card can be rescinded in two ways: VAR can recommend overturning a straight red during the match, or the competition's disciplinary appeals process can rescind it after the match, typically within 24–48 hours.
Learn fast →Delaying the Restart of Play
Time-wasting at restarts is a yellow-card offence — and 2026/27 introduces visible five-second countdowns for delayed throw-ins and goal kicks.
Start lesson →Direct vs Indirect Free Kick
Direct free kicks can be shot straight at goal. Indirect free kicks must touch a second player first.
Start lesson →DOGSO Explained
Denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. The four Ds determine the call — and where the foul happens changes the punishment.
Start lesson →Legal Tackle vs Foul
A clean tackle plays the ball without endangering the opponent. Winning the ball doesn't cancel a careless or reckless challenge.
Start lesson →Offside: Active vs Inactive Player
Being in an offside position isn't a foul. The player has to become involved in active play before the flag goes up.
Start lesson →The Back-Pass Rule Explained
A goalkeeper can't handle a deliberate kick from a teammate. Headers and chest passes are still fair game.
Start lesson →What Happens After a Red Card?
A red card means the team plays with ten players for the rest of the match — no replacement allowed. Substitutions still available, suspensions follow.
Start lesson →What is Persistent Infringement?
A pattern of repeated minor fouls that earns a yellow card — even when no individual foul would have justified one on its own.
Start lesson →What is Serious Foul Play?
A challenge that uses excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent — automatic red card, even if the ball was won.
Start lesson →What is Simulation / Diving?
Falling, feigning injury, or exaggerating contact to deceive the referee — punished as unsporting behaviour with a yellow card.
Start lesson →What Is the Offside Trap?
The offside trap is a defensive tactic that uses the offside rule as a weapon — defenders step forward in unison to leave attackers stranded in offside positions.
Start lesson →What is Unsporting Behaviour?
The catch-all yellow-card category — covering simulation, deliberate handball, encroachment, shirt-pulling, and conduct that violates the spirit of the game.
Start lesson →What is Violent Conduct?
Using or attempting to use excessive force against a person when not competing for the ball — a direct red card, even when the strike does not connect.
Start lesson →When Can a Goalkeeper Use Their Hands?
Inside the penalty area, on live play, with no back-pass — and only for so long. Goalkeeper handling is more restricted than it looks.
Start lesson →Why Did VAR Not Overturn That?
VAR only overturns calls that are a clear and obvious error — not close calls. If the original decision was defensible, VAR cannot change it even if replays suggest otherwise.
Learn fast →Why Do Referees Play Advantage?
Letting play continue after a foul, then deciding within seconds whether the advantage materialised — and still calling the original foul if it didn't.
Start lesson →Double Touch on Penalty Kicks
The penalty taker cannot touch the ball again until another player has touched it. Rebounds off the post or crossbar are not enough.
Start lesson →Goalkeeper Encroachment on Penalties
The goalkeeper must remain on the goal line until the ball is kicked. VAR enforcement of this rule has changed how penalties are taken at top-level matches.
Start lesson →Handball Edge Cases
Handball turns on arm position, body shape, and intent — and an accidental handball before a goal is still penalised.
Start lesson →Penalty Kick Encroachment Explained
When players enter the penalty area before the ball is struck, the outcome of the kick determines whether the penalty is retaken or stands.
Start lesson →Second Yellow vs Straight Red
Two paths produce a red card — accumulating two yellows in one match or a single straight red — and VAR can review one but not the other.
Start lesson →The Dropped Ball Rule Explained
Since 2019, the dropped ball is no longer contested. It restores possession to the team that last had the ball — or to the goalkeeper if play stopped in the penalty area.
Start lesson →The Goalkeeper 8-Second Rule
Under IFAB 2025/26, a goalkeeper must release the ball within eight seconds of controlling it with their hands. Holding longer is delaying the restart, punished by a corner kick to the opposition.
Start lesson →VAR: Clear and Obvious Error
VAR is not a second referee. It only intervenes when the on-field decision contains a clear and obvious error.
Start lesson →What Can VAR Review?
VAR can only review four categories: goals, penalty decisions, direct red cards, and mistaken identity. Everything else is out of scope.
Start lesson →What Happens When the Ball Hits the Referee?
If the ball hits the referee and goes into the goal or creates a clear advantage, play stops and a dropped ball restarts the match.
Start lesson →Careless, Reckless, or Excessive Force?
Every foul is judged on a force scale: careless means no card, reckless means yellow, excessive force means red.
Start lesson →DOGSO vs Stopping a Promising Attack
DOGSO is a red card. SPA is a yellow. The four Ds — direction, distance to goal, distance to ball, defenders — decide which one applies.
Start lesson →Handball Controversies Explained Like a Ref
The handball law has been rewritten multiple times. Arm position replaced intent. The result is a rule that often feels unjust to fans applying older logic.
Start lesson →Offside Controversies Explained Like a Ref
Offside was written for the naked eye. Modern technology measures it to the millimetre. The gap between law and intuition is what creates controversy.
Start lesson →What Are Tactical Fouls?
Deliberate fouls used to stop a dangerous attack — committed cynically as a trade for a free kick, and increasingly punished by referees who recognise the pattern.
Start lesson →Why VAR Calls Are So Controversial
VAR was built to correct clear and obvious errors. The controversy is rarely about whether the call was right — it is about whether the standard is right.
Start lesson →