League Rules

1. Number of Players and Substitutes

1.1 The match is played by two teams of not more than eleven players, one of whom is the goalkeeper. A match cannot start if either team consists of fewer that seven players.

1.2 The competition rules must state how many substitutes may be nominated, from three up to a maximum of seven. Substitutes may be used provided that the teams concerned reach agreement on a maximum number. If no agreement is reached before the start of the match, no more than three substitutes are allowed.

1.3 Rolling substitutions are permitted, a player who has been replaced may later return to the field.

1.4 Any of the players may change places with the goalkeeper provided that the change is made during a stoppage in the match and the referee is informed.

2. The Player's Equipment

2.1 A player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player.

2.2 Basic compulsory equipment includes shinguards, which must be covered entirely by the stockings.

2.3 Each goalkeeper must wear colours which distinguish him from the other players

2.4 Players should not wear watches or jewellery, non-removable piercings must be safely covered.

3. The Referee

3.1 The decisions of the referee regarding facts connected with play are final. The referee may only change a decision on realising that it is incorrect and provided that he has not restarted play.

4. The Duration of the Match

4.1 The match lasts two equal periods of 45 minutes. Allowance is made in either period for all time lost through substitutions, assessment of injury to players, removal of injured players from the field of play, wasting time or any other cause.

5. The Start and Restart of Play

5.1 A coin is tossed and the team that wins the toss decides which goal it will attack in the first half of the match. The other team takes the kick-off to start the match. The team that wins the toss takes the kick-off to start the second half of the match. In the second half of the match the teams change ends and attack the opposite goals.

5.2 Kick-off
• All players are in their own half of the field
• The opponents of the team taking the kick-off are at least 9.15 m (10 yds) from the ball until it is in play
• The ball is in play when it is kicked and moves forward
• The kicker does not touch the ball a second time until it has touched another player
• A goal may be scored directly from the kick-off.

5.3 Dropped Ball
A dropped ball is a way of restarting the match after a temporary stoppage that becomes necessary, while the ball is in play, for any reason not mentioned elsewhere. The referee drops the ball at the place where it was located when play was stopped. Play restarts when the ball touches the ground.

6. Offside

6.1 It is not an offence in itself to be in an offside position.
• A player is in an offside position if he is nearer to his opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent.
• A player is not in an offside position if he is in his own half of the field of play, or he is level with the second last opponent, or he is level with the last two opponents.

6.2 Offence
A player in an offside position is only penalised if, at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play by:
• interfering with play, or
• interfering with an opponent, or
• gaining an advantage by being in that position

6.3 No Offence
There is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from:
• a goal kick, or
• a throw-in, or
• a corner kick

6.4 Infringements/Sanctions
For any offside offence, the referee awards an indirect free kick to the opposing team to be taken from the place where the infringement occurred.

7. Fouls and Free Kicks

7.1 Free kicks are either direct or indirect. For both direct and indirect free kicks, the ball must be stationary when the kick is taken and the kicker does not touch the ball a second time until it has touched another player.

7.2 Direct Free Kick
A direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following six offences in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force:
• kicks or attempts to kick an opponent
• trips or attempts to trip an opponent
• jumps at an opponent
• charges an opponent
• strikes or attempts to strike an opponent
• pushes an opponent
A direct free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following four offences:
• tackles an opponent to gain possession of the ball, making contact with the opponent before touching the ball
• holds an opponent
• spits at an opponent
• handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area)

7.3 Indirect Free Kick
An indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a goalkeeper, inside his own penalty area, commits any of the following five offences:
• takes more than six seconds while controlling the ball with his hands before releasing it from his possession
• touches the ball again with his hands after it has been released from his possession and has not touched any other player
• touches the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a team-mate
• touches the ball with his hands after he has received it directly from a throw-in taken by a team-mate
An indirect free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if a player, in the opinion of the referee:
• plays in a dangerous manner
• impedes the progress of an opponent
• prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from his hands
• commits any other offence, not previously mentioned for which play is stopped to caution or dismiss a player

8. Cautionable Offences

8.1 A player is cautioned and shown the yellow card if he commits any of the following seven offences:
• Is guilty of unsporting behaviour
• Shows dissent by word or action
• Persistently infringes the Laws of the Game
• Delays the restart of play
• Fails to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick or free kick
• Enters or re-enters the field of play without the referee's permission
• Deliberately leaves the field of play without the referee's permission

9. Sending-Off Offences

9.1 A player is sent off and shown the red card if he commits any of the following seven offences:
• Is guilty of serious foul play
• Is guilty of violent conduct
• Spits at an opponent or any other person
• Denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a goalkeeper within his own penalty area)
• Denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick
• Uses offensive or insulting or abusive language and/or gestures
• Receives a second caution in the same match

10. The Penalty Kick

10.1 A penalty kick is awarded against a team which commits one of the ten offences for which a direct free kick is awarded, inside its own penalty area and while the ball is in play.

11. The Throw In

11.1 At the moment of delivering the ball, the thrower:
• faces the field of play and has part of each foot either on the touch line or on the ground outside the touch line
• uses both hands and delivers the ball from behind and over his head

11.2 The thrower may not touch the ball again until it has touched another player.

11.3 If an attacking player throws the ball into the opponents' goal without it touching another player it's a goal kick, if a defending player does it, it's a corner.

12. The Goal Kick

12.1 The ball is kicked from any point within the goal area by the goalkeeper (or another player) of the defending team.
• Opponents remain outside the penalty area until the ball is in play
• The kicker does not play the ball a second time until it has touched another player
• The ball is in play when it is kicked directly beyond the penalty area
• If the ball is not kicked directly into play beyond the penalty area the kick is retaken

13. The Corner Kick

13.1 The ball is placed inside the corner arc at the nearest corner flagpost, but the corner flagpost is not moved
• Opponents remain at least 9.15 m (10 yds) from the ball until it is in play
• The kicker does not play the ball a second time until it has touched another player