Rules and refereeing

70 terms · Whole glossary

Abandoned match: A match stopped before full time because of weather, crowd trouble or other reasons; it is replayed or a result is awarded.
Added time: Minutes added to a half for substitutions, injuries, VAR checks and time-wasting. Also called stoppage time.
Advantage: The referee lets play continue after a foul when stopping it would hurt the team that was fouled.
Aggregate: The combined score of a two-legged tie that decides who goes through.
Assist: The final pass before a goal, counted in statistics alongside goals.
Assistant referee: The flag-carrying official on the touchline who signals offsides, throw-ins and fouls in their zone.
Away goals rule: An old tiebreaker: in two-legged ties the side with more away goals went through. Scrapped in UEFA competitions in 2021.
Back-pass rule: A goalkeeper may not handle the ball after a deliberate kick or throw-in from a teammate.
Ball in play: Time when the ball is on the field and play is running; on average about 55–60 minutes per match.
Behind closed doors: A match played in an empty stadium, often as a punishment for fan misconduct.
Brace: Two goals by one player in a single match.
Captain’s armband: The armband worn by the team captain, who speaks to the referee for the players.
Card accumulation: Collecting a set number of yellow cards in a competition, which triggers a one-match ban.
Centre circle: The 9.15 m circle in the middle of the pitch that opponents must stay outside at kick-off.
Clean sheet: A match in which a team or goalkeeper concedes no goals.
Concussion substitute: An extra substitution allowed when a player has a suspected concussion, on top of the normal ones.
Corner kick: A restart from the corner arc, given when the ball last touched a defender and crossed the goal line outside the goal.
Crossbar: The horizontal bar of the goal, 2.44 m (8 ft) above the ground.
Dangerous play: Play that risks injury, such as a high boot near an opponent’s head, even without contact. Punished with an indirect free kick.
DOGSO: Denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. Usually a red card; inside the box a genuine attempt to play the ball reduces it to a yellow.
Dropped ball: Restart after the referee stops play without a foul; the ball is dropped for a player of the team that last had it.
Equaliser: A goal that levels the score.
Extra time: Two halves of 15 minutes played in knockout ties that are level after 90 minutes.
Foul: An offence against an opponent such as tripping, pushing, kicking or holding, punished with a free kick or penalty.
Fourth official: The official between the dugouts who shows added time and substitutions and controls the technical areas.
Free kick: A restart from the spot of a foul with opponents at least 9.15 m away. Direct free kicks can be scored straight away; indirect ones need a second touch.
Goal area: The 5.5 × 18.3 m box at the goal from which goal kicks are taken. Also called the six-yard box.
Goal kick: A restart from the goal area after the ball crosses the goal line having last touched an attacker.
Goal line: The short boundary line. A goal is scored when the whole ball crosses it between the posts and under the bar.
Goal-line technology: Electronic system that tells the referee within a second whether the whole ball crossed the goal line.
Goalkeeper time limit: A goalkeeper may not hold the ball too long; since 2025 holding it for more than eight seconds gives the opponents a corner.
Goalpost: One of the two uprights of the goal, 7.32 m (8 yards) apart.
Halfway line: The line dividing the pitch in two. A player cannot be offside in their own half.
Handball: An offence when an outfield player touches the ball with a deliberately or unnaturally extended hand or arm. Inside their own box it means a penalty.
Hat-trick: Three goals by one player in a single match.
Haul of four: Four goals by one player in one game. Sometimes called a poker.
Home and away: A format in which teams meet once at each other’s ground.
IFAB: The International Football Association Board, the body that decides changes to the Laws of the Game.
Impeding: Blocking an opponent’s path without trying to play the ball. Punished with an indirect free kick.
Indirect free kick: A free kick from which a goal only counts if another player touches the ball first. The referee signals it with a raised arm.
Kick-off: The restart from the centre spot that begins each half and resumes play after a goal.
Kit clash: When the teams’ kits are too similar and the away side changes to its alternate strip.
Laws of the Game: The 17 laws of football maintained by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).
Neutral venue: A stadium that is home to neither team, as used for finals.
Offside: An attacker is offside if, when the ball is played to them, they are nearer the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last defender. Punished with an indirect free kick.
On-field review: The referee watches a replay on the pitch-side monitor after a VAR recommendation and makes the final decision.
Own goal: A goal a player scores into their own net; it counts for the opponents.
Penalty: A spot kick from 11 metres (12 yards), awarded for a foul by the defending team inside its own penalty area. Only the goalkeeper may defend it.
Penalty arc: The arc at the edge of the box that keeps players 9.15 m from the ball during a penalty. Also called the D.
Penalty area: The 16.5 × 40.3 m box in front of goal where the goalkeeper may handle the ball and defensive fouls become penalties.
Penalty shoot-out: Five kicks each from the spot, then sudden death, used to decide a knockout tie still level after extra time.
Penalty spot: The mark 11 m (12 yards) from goal where penalties are taken.
Perfect hat-trick: A hat-trick scored with the right foot, the left foot and the head.
Postponed match: A match that does not start on its scheduled date and will be played later.
Quick free kick: A free kick taken immediately, before the opponents can organise a wall.
Red card: A sending-off for the rest of the match. The team plays a player short and the offender is usually suspended for further games.
Referee: The official on the pitch who enforces the Laws, keeps time and makes the final decisions in a match.
Second yellow: A second caution in the same match, which automatically becomes a red card.
Simulation: Faking a foul or an injury to deceive the referee. Punished with a yellow card. Also called diving.
Substitution: Bringing on a substitute for a player on the pitch. Most competitions allow five changes in three windows.
Sudden death: The stage of a shoot-out where teams take one kick each until one scores and the other misses.
Suspension: A ban from upcoming matches after a red card or an accumulation of yellows.
Tactical foul: A deliberate foul to stop a promising attack, usually punished with a yellow card. Also known as a professional foul.
Throw-in: A restart from the touchline with both hands from behind the head, both feet on the ground, after the ball leaves the field over the side line.
Touchline: The long boundary line of the pitch; when the ball crosses it, a throw-in follows.
VAR: Video Assistant Referee: officials who review replays of goals, penalties, straight red cards and mistaken identity.
Walkover: A result awarded without play or instead of the real one, usually 3–0, for a no-show or a breach of the rules. Also called a forfeit.
Wall: A line of defenders standing in front of a free kick to block part of the goal.
Winner: The goal that turns out to decide the match.
Yellow card: A caution for unsporting behaviour, time-wasting or reckless play. Two in one match mean a sending-off.