What are the rules of football?

the rules of football

Referees

Football matches are managed by one main referee and two assistant referees. The main referee’s task is to control the course of play in accordance with the laws of the game, and to make any arbitration decisions related to violations, free kicks, side throws, calculating lost time, and other matters. The two assistant referees are responsible for providing technical support to the main referee so that he can perform his duties to the fullest extent. These two referees are entrusted with the task of controlling offside cases and monitoring the ball’s exit from the field. Whether across the sidelines or across the goal lines.

The match referee can use his authority to show yellow and red cards as punishment for any of the players committing technical or even behavioral errors. The yellow card is considered a warning given to one of the players as a result of committing violations that require it. If the player receives two yellow cards in the same match, he will be expelled from it. By showing a red card in his face, and the red card is given in football when a player plays dangerously against another player, or when he insults a player, or by deliberately interfering with him; Giving a player a red card results in his expulsion from the match and his removal from the field.

Offside law

A football player is considered to be in an offside position if the ball is directed at him and any part of his head, body, or feet is closer to the goal line of the opposing team than one of the players of this team. The hands and arms of all players, including goalkeepers, are excluded from this rule. An offside violation is charged against the player if he is on the same line with any of the opposing team’s players other than the goalkeeper. In order for the offside to exist, the team player must be participating in active play. An indirect free kick is charged against the player who committed the offside violation on behalf of the opposing team. If infiltration is proven.

Penalty kicks

Extra times or penalty kicks, or both, are used when the rules of the competition in football require determining a winning team in the match, and penalty shoot-outs are taken from the penalty mark after the end of the original time of the match; The referee draws lots to determine the team that will start taking the penalty kicks, and all of the team’s main or reserve players have the right to take those kicks. When the kick is taken, all players must be in the middle circle of the field, except for the goalkeeper and the player who is meant to take the kick. The penalty kick is considered completed when The ball stops moving, or when it leaves the field, or even when the referee stops play as a result of a specific violation, and if the goalkeeper is the one who committed the violation, the kick is retaken again, and the referee has the right to warn or expel any of the players during Executing penalty kicks.

Hand touch

On March 2019, XNUMX, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) amended the law on touching the ball with a player’s hand during play. Football federations were instructed to implement the new law on touching the ball. These amendments stipulated that a violation and a free kick are counted when a player moves. The hand or arm is in the direction of the ball and then touches it, or when the player controls the ball or takes possession of it after it touches his hand or arm. The new amendment to the law on touching the ball also indicates that the player scoring or attempting to score using his hand directly is considered a violation, as well. This violation is counted if the ball touches the player's hand or arm when it is placed in a way that makes the player appear bulkier and larger than he is, or while raising the hand or arm at a level higher than the level of the player's shoulders.

Game time and win

A football match is played over two halves, each lasting forty-five minutes, meaning that the total number of playing minutes in a football match is ninety minutes. This time may be increased by minutes when play stops on the field, depending on what the match referee decides, and the match ends with the referee firing. To the final whistle of the match, the team in football that can score the largest number of goals during the match time wins. Some match results may end in a tie between the two competing teams at the end of the match, and a tie may not be an acceptable result in some matches. Extra time or penalty kicks are then used to determine the winner, and the two extra halves must be equal in terms of time duration. The duration of each half should not exceed a maximum of a quarter of an hour.

The field, the ball and the number of players

Football matches are played on a field whose length ranges between 90-120 meters and its width between 45-90 meters. Each part of the field contains a goal located at an equal distance from the flags located in the corner area in the corners of the field. Each goal consists of two vertical posts, the distance of which is They are 7.30 meters apart, and between these two posts is a horizontal crossbar that is 2.45 meters high above the ground. Two teams, each consisting of eleven players, including the goalkeeper, compete on the football field. They play the match with a round ball weighing between 140 and 450 grams. Its circumference ranges from 68 to 70 cm.

Throw-in, corner kick and penalty kick

A throw-in is awarded to the team if one of the players of the other team removes the ball from the sidelines of the playing field. This throw is taken by a player who did not touch the ball before it left the field by a player of the opposing team. A corner kick is awarded if the ball leaves the field. From one of the two teams' goal line, one of the two teams is awarded a penalty kick when one of the opposing team's players commits a violation inside his team's penalty area during the course of the match.

Direct and indirect free kick

Direct and indirect free kicks are counted in favor of the team when one of the opposing team’s players commits a violation on the field. An indirect free kick is counted when a violation is committed in a place on the field where it is clear that the other team’s players cannot score a direct goal from that place. When executing indirect free kicks, the ball must touch one of the team's players after executing it. A goal is not scored if the ball enters the goal directly, and an indirect free kick is awarded against the player if he plays in a dangerous manner or intercepts an opposing player without any contact occurring or if he offends one of the players in any way. This type of free kick is awarded when the goalkeeper delays play and keeps the ball, or if he touches the ball with his hands when it is passed to him by one of his team’s players.

Direct free kicks are kicks that are executed when a violation occurs in one of the places from which goals can be scored directly. This type of violation is awarded if one of the players touches the ball with his hands, with the exception of the goalkeeper, as long as he is inside his team’s penalty area, or if the goalkeeper touches the ball with his hands. A player pushes, jumps on, kicks, tries to kick, hit, obstruct, or elude another team player using excessive force.

Modern laws in football

Football has witnessed some changes to its laws. This is in accordance with the modern laws issued during the 2019-2020 football season, and the following shows these changes:

• Drop the ball: It is the process in which play is restarted again, and it has been modified so that it now stipulates that if the play is stopped inside the penalty area, the process of dropping the ball will be for the goalkeeper only, while if the process of stopping play is outside the penalty area, then the process of dropping the ball will be for the last player. Touching the ball before play stops.
• Free kicks: The rules relating to free kicks have been amended to stipulate that attackers of the team that has won a free kick are not permitted to be less than one meter from a defensive wall consisting of three or more defenders.
• Celebrating the goal: If the penalty is issued by the referee to a specific player while celebrating a goal, the penalty remains valid, even if the goal is disallowed as a result of it being incorrect.
• Goal kick: A player is allowed to receive the ball from his team's goalkeeper even if he is in the penalty area.
• hand touch: Any handball is considered a foul even if the touch is unintentional.
• Pumpkin: The team that wins the lottery has the right to decide whether it wants to choose the kick-off or the goal side.

The body responsible for football laws

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) is the official body that sets the laws and rules of the game of football in the world, and then ensures the implementation of these laws by the football federations. The Federation holds an annual meeting to approve any changes that occur to the laws of the game and then informs all members of those amendments. Which have been made to any of the laws of the game, and it is obligatory for the member federations to implement these amendments as soon as possible or after the end of the football season and the start of a new football season. It should be noted that before the founding of FIFA in the year 1904 AD, what was known as the International Federation Council The Football Association (IFAB), which was founded in 1886 AD, is the body responsible for setting and amending the laws of the sport of football. This association became part of the FIFA organization after its founding.