The Rules of Soccer

Despite being a sport that has its origins reaching down into medieval and even ancient times, soccer was never really played under a firm set of strict rules until 1863.  That literally means that a whole lot of people played it, but they made the rules up as they saw fit on that particular day.

On 26 October, 1863 several amateur and semi-professional clubs from England gathered in London and formed up the Football Association and came up with a "constitution" for the game which included a set of rules which standardized soccer.  The "Laws of football" as they were called back then were just a set of basic soccer rules and they didn't cover every aspect of the game.

The major points expressed in these rules by the Football Association were regarding violence on the field, as oftentimes the intense clashes in no-rules matches lead to bloody fistfights between the teams.  Since then, soccer rules have constantly evolved and eventually began covering more and more of the game's principles and also adapted the soccer rules to the era it was played in.

A simple example of this would be the offside rules which was introduced later on in the game, when matches became more and more tactical.

Without the offside rule, attackers would often have a hibernating role in the team, simply staying up front and waiting for the ball to come, hence with the new rule, they were forced to work as much as the other players on the field.

The "Laws of the Game" are not really a simple thing to understand. The official FIFA rules have 17 sections and the rule book is about 70 pages long. There are also an additional 44 pages titled "Questions and Answers".  Additionally, how to interpret the rules is constantly discussed in referee clinics, special memos, videos for referees, and a guidebook for soccer officials that is over 300 pages long.  You would think that the rules were made by our congress in Washington!

Looking at the official soccer rules of today, we will give them a bit of an explanation for why they are there and how they have come to affect the game:

Soccer field dimensions - since not all soccer fields could be the exact same size, FIFA decided on a length and width threshold in order for a field to be playable.  So the minimum length of a soccer field must be at least 100 yards long, and the maximum length must be no more than 130 yards.

A greater difference was allowed for the width, which can be as small as 50 yards and as wide as 100 yards.  So any good sized pasture would do for a good game of soccer!  You might have noticed that the minimum length is the same as the maximum width!  Although it might sound strange, soccer could actually be played on a square field, however, no one built that kind of field yet!

Number of players - The official soccer rules book states that each team can enter the field with 11 players (one of which is the goalkeeper).

The number of substitutes depends on the competition the match is played in, but in current official FIFA matches the number of substitutes can range from none to 7, with 3 substitutions eligible for each of the two teams.

However, in friendly matches, it's often the case that both teams agree upon a set number of substitutions or simply go all-out and allow every bench player to get in the game at some point, replacing one of the first team members.

Generally speaking, in youth soccer, this rule is not adhered to.  The goal of youth soccer being to allow all of the team members time on the field.

Ball in/out play soccer rules - The ball is in play whenever the referee doesn't whistle a game stop and whenever it stays inside the play area.

If the ball crosses the goal line or touch line by more than half its diameter, then it goes out of play and a goal kick/corner or throw in is given to one of the teams (the opponents of the team that last touched the ball). If a ball hits the referee ,the corner flag, the goal post or any other fixed object on the field, the ball is considered as remaining in play.

If a ball goes out the side of the field, the team that did not touch it last is allowed a throw-in.  If it goes out of the end of the field, the team that did not touch it last gets the ball.  Then the ball is either given to the goalkeeper for a goal kick or to the opposing team for a corner kick.

Fouls - Fouls are one of the most confounding of the soccer rules  since they can be easily misjudge by the referee, which often causes arguments on and off the field.  Theoretically, a foul is whistled and a direct or indirect kick is given when a player trips, kicks, pushes, punches, charges or holds an opponent.

However, in the fast pace of the game, it's often hard for the referee to see if a tackle (that's a touch on the ball by a defender trying to get the ball) touches the feet of the attacker or the ball. It's considered a foul even if the defending player doesn't touch the attacker at all, but has a dangerous intervention such as a high kick.

This next rule is one that gets most parents mad until they understand it...
Advantage Rule - The referee does not have to stop play every time he detects a foul. If the offending team gains an advantage from the offense, he will certainly do so. But sometimes it is penalizing the innocent team to stop play: if, for instance, a defender deliberately handles the ball to bring it under control but only succeeds in deflecting it to an opponent who is well placed for a shot at goal. To stop play at this moment would penalize the attacking team. In such a case, the referee would apply the so-called advantage rule and allow play to go on.

Goals - Last but not least, the essence of soccer rules and the object of the game itself is the making of a goal.

In order to score a goal, the attacking team must pass the ball beyond the other team's goal line. The attacker can kick the ball, head the ball or push it in with any other body part other than the hand (in which case it is considered handball).

Not all shots that end up in the net are goals though, as a goal can be cancelled if it was scored after the attacker broke one of the other soccer rules, such as fouling a defender or the goalkeeper, using his/her hand to control the ball, being offside or scoring directly from an indirect free kick.

These are the basic soccer rules and although there are a few smaller twists to learn, if you manage to understand these, you'll be able to watch, and understand a soccer match without problems. Outside the offside rule the other official soccer rules are quite easy to grasp.

If you want an overview of the official rules, we suggest you go to www.fifa.com and review the Table of Contents of the "Laws of the Game"

Another good source to help you understand the rules of the game can be found at:
http://www.soccerhelp.com/Soccer_Rules_Rules_Of_Soccer.shtml

Here's The Deal

This page has barely touched on the "Rules of the Game" so to speak.  But to really enjoy soccer all you need to do is have your kid on the field and watch!  In a no time at all, you will start to understand enough about the game to sound somewhat knowledgeable at a dinner party when you are bragging on your kids.