Laws of the Game

Laws 1 through 4 deal with the field size and layout, ball size, number of players and substitutes, and players' equipment.

Legal full-sized fields range from 50 to 100 yards wide and 100 to 130 yards long. It must be a rectangle in shape.

• U5 through U8 teams use a size 3 ball

• U9 through U12 teams use a size 4 ball

• U13 and older teams use a size 5 ball

Laws 5 and 6 describe the duties of the Center Referee and the Assistant Referees.

Law 5 contains the "advantage clause", the following is an example:
The referee saw a shirt pull, but held his whistle to see if the player (whose shirt was pulled) could recover his balance and gain a breakaway shot on goal. When it becomes apparent that the player could not recover, the referee blew his whistle and awarded the kick. If he had signaled the foul instantly, he would have been awarding the player who pulled the opponent's shirt by allowing his team to regroup their defense.

Law 5 also instructs referees to eject Team Officials "who fail to conduct themselves in a responsible manner", removing them from the field and its immediate surroundings. Many associations, such as ours, extend this definition to include Disruptive Spectators.

Laws 7 and 8 cover timekeeping and procedures for kickoffs, free kicks and drop balls.

U7 - U8 Four 12 minute quarters with a 5 minute halftime break*
U9 - U10 Two 25 minute halves with a 5 minute halftime break*
U12 Two 30 minute halves with a 5 minute halftime break*
U14 Two 35 minute halves with a 5 minute halftime break*

*Referees may extend the halftime break to a maximum of 15 minutes during hot weather, and may allow water breaks during each half.

Laws 9 and 10 concern the ball completely crossing the relevant field line before the referee awards a goal kick or throw-in. American newcomers to the sport often wrongly assume a score if the ball merely breaks the plane of the goal line, however, the entire ball must pass beyond the line before it is considered out of play.

Law 11 defines offside. It has two elements: position and activity.

Position:

• "A player is in an offside position if he is nearer his opponent's goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent."

• NOTE: the goalkeeper's position is not a determining factor in offsides except that he is normally one of those last two defenders.

• There is no offside offense if a player receives the ball directly form a goal kick, throw-in, corner kick, or if he is on his own half of the field."

Activity:

• "At the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team", a player must be either interfering with play, interfering with an opponent, or gaining an advantage by being in an offside position before there is a penalty."

• Spectators often demand penalties based on positioning alone, but a winded forward slow in returning to his side of the field and ignoring the change of attack on the opposite side of the field has surrendered any advantage he might have gained and should not be penalized.

• Frequently, according to the referee's pre-game instructions, the Assistant Referees raises his flag to mark an offside position and the Center Referee then determines the effect of the activity, sometimes waiving down the penalty. Crowds often mistake this for conflict between the officials.

Law 12 describes fouls and misconduct. The offenses are grouped according to the sanction imposed and are subject to the override of qualifies within Law 12 and the overriding "advantage clause" of Law 5. These fouls include:

• Kicking or attempting to kick an opponent

• Tripping or attempting to trip and opponent

• Striking or attempting to strike an opponent

• Jumping at an opponent (as a means of intimidating)

• Pushing an opponent

• Charging an opponent

These first six are penalized with a Direct Free Kick only if done "in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless, or using excessive force." There is a lot of room for flexibility with consideration given to the age and skill level of the players.

The other four Direct Free Kick offenses are still subject to the "advantage clause", but not the careless, reckless, and excessive force provision of the first six. These offenses are:

• Tackling an opponent, making contact with the opponent before touching the ball

• Holding an opponent

• Spitting at an opponent

• Handles the ball deliberately

All 10 of the offenses listed above are called Penal Fouls because they result in a penalty kick when committed by a defender within his own "penalty area" (the large rectangular area in front of the goal).

There are eight other fouls defined by Law 12, which are punishable by an Indirect Free Kick. A goal is not scored on an indirect kick unless the ball first touches another player of either team on its way into the net. The referee holds up one hand until after the ball has touched another player to show that a score must be made indirectly.

• Dangerous Play (to himself or others)

• Impeding the progress of an opponent
  (Parents often call "obstruction" while a player is tactically shielding the ball from an opponent while it rolls out of play from an opponent's last touch. The player is actively playing the ball by not touching it. Blocking an opponent when the ball is not within playing distance or by using his arms is the forbidden act.)

• Preventing the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from his hands.

• Commits any other offense, not previously mentioned in Law 12, for which play is stopped to caution or dismiss a player

The last four non-penal fouls involve the goalkeeper in his own penalty area.

• The goalkeeper may not touch the ball again with his hands after releasing it back into play until it is first touched by another player.

• Touch the ball with his hands when it has been deliberately kicked or thrown to him by a teammate

• Touches the ball with his hands after he has received it directly from a throw-in taken by a team-mate

• Take more than 6 seconds to release the ball into play once he has controlled it

Law 12 also describes offenses, which warrant more than a free kick or which may occur off the field or off the clock. Again, Law 5 has the overriding advantage provision. The referee need not stop the play to issue a card, but may wait until the next convenient stoppage to do so. A player may be cautioned with a Yellow card if he:

• Is guilty of Unsporting Behavior (UB)

• Show Dissent by word or action (D)

• Persistently Infringes the Laws of the Game (PI)

• Delays the Restart of the game (DRP)

• Fails to Yield the required distance on a kick (FRD)

• Enters or leaves the field without permission of the referee (ENT or LF)

The referee may remove a player from the field with a RED card, and for the remainder of the game, his team will have to "play short". These are serious offenses involving:

• Serious Foul Play (SFP)

• Violent Conduct (VC)

• Spitting at an opponent or anyone else (S)

• Using offensive, Insulting or Abusive Language (OIA)

• Receiving a second Yellow card (SC)

• Denying a goal or an obvious goal scoring opportunity with a deliberate handball (DGH)

• Denying a obvious goal scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the goal by an offense usually punishable by a free kick or penalty kick (DGF)

The key word in these last two instances is "obvious". How sure can we be that a player would have scored on a kick from 18 yards out had his shirt not been pulled?

Laws 13 through 17 describe the mechanics of throw-ins and various free kicks.

Once a game is started, most referee calls are judgments balancing the need to prevent player injuries while assuring that tense competition does not degenerate into poor sportsmanship. When a foul occurs, the referee and his Assistant Referees have about two seconds to weight the advantage and then either make or waive the call.

Often, spectators are unaware of a silent communication system known as field mechanics used by the Center Referee and his Assistant Referees. It is their intent to be as unobtrusive to the game as possible. If the players are performing in a fair and sporting manner, abiding by the rules and agreeably acknowledging their own "ball outs", there will be few whistles and the three officials can virtually blend into the grass. Everyone enjoys being a part of this type of contest.