Game on!
With the FIFA World Cup’s kickoff drawing close, many viewers new to the sport might find themselves wondering what some of the common penalties and fouls mean when referees inevitably call them out during play.
From the meaning of “offside” to the differences between yellow and red cards, as well as how corner and penalty kicks work, here is your guide to how things work — along with some new rules coming into effect this year for the 104-game tournament.
“I think what’s so exciting about this World Cup is that there are a bunch of new rules that are being implemented that nobody has actually seen implemented before, so we’re all going to be learning about them and seeing them in action in real time altogether,” said Ben Rayner, head referee of North Toronto Soccer.
“I think the big focus with this World Cup is bringing people together, and for the love of the sport.”
Here’s what you need to know.
Offside plays can be a thorn in many fans’ sides, often occurring at the most inopportune moments of a match.
Offside rules have evolved throughout the years but can be difficult to comprehend for a casual fan. For this World Cup, FIFA rules state that a player is penalized for offside “at the time the ball is touched or played by one of his teammates.”
This means that every inch of a player’s head, body or feet have to be in front of the last defender when the ball is passed to them.
If the referee determines that a player is offside, the referee then awards an indirect free kick where the offence occurred. But the ball must be passed to another player before a goal can be scored.
Players can avoid being offside by checking if there is a defender further up on the field at all times. The player must additionally make sure that the defender does not slip behind them, which would cause them to be in an offside position.
Rayner said that where offside differs in soccer in comparison to hockey is that no players on the attacking team can cross the blue line until the puck crosses it.
A yellow card is meant to serve as a warning to a player from the referee, which can occur from arguing with officials, running the clock or any questionable play.
The player can stay in the match, but the yellow card stays on the player’s record. If the same player were to receive a second yellow card, either in the same match or a future one, they’re suspended for the next match and immediately sent off the pitch. That team also is required to finish the match with 10 players against 11.
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Coaches, substitutes and other bench personnel can also be given yellow cards.
When a player receives a red card, they must leave the field immediately and cannot take any further part in the match.
The Football Association (FA) states that a red card can be shown if a player “denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, serious foul play, violent conduct, and using offensive, insulting, or abusive language and gestures.”
FIFA rules also state that after two yellow cards, a player can be ejected from a match, with a red card equalling an immediate ejection.
Penalty kicks are awarded when a player commits a foul in their own penalty box. The opposing team awarded the penalty has a chance to take a shot on goal from 12 yards, striker vs. goalkeeper, with all other players staying outside the penalty area until the ball is struck.
Different fouls can include a handball, tripping, kicking or pulling an opposing team’s jersey, amongst others.
They are also used to settle the score if a match remains tied following overtime.
There are also direct and indirect kicks, which International Football Association Board (IFAB) rules state as being “awarded to the opposing team of a player, substitute, substituted or sent-off player, or team official guilty of an offence.”
“Direct free kicks are basically free kicks for fouls that involve mostly for any type of contact between players, and those free kicks can actually be shot and scored directly into the net doesn’t have to touch any other player on the field,” Rayner explained.
“But for indirect free kicks, you’ll see the referee raise one arm straight up right into the air and that way it lets everybody who’s on the field know it’s indirect free kick. They must touch a second player on the field whether it’s an attacker or a defender before it enters the net in order to count as a goal.”
A corner kick serves as a method to restart play with a player kicking the ball into play at the corner of a field, with the rest of the players crowded in the penalty box.
The IFAB states a corner kick is awarded when “the whole of the ball passes over the goal line, on the ground or in the air, having last touched a player of the defending team, and a goal is not scored.”
Goals can be scored as a result of corner kicks, “but only against the opposing team; if the ball directly enters the kicker’s goal, a corner kick is awarded to the opponents,” according to the IFAB.
Rules surrounding time limits are set to change this tournament, one being how long a goalkeeper can hold onto the ball.
Now, keepers will have eight seconds to play the ball or risk conceding a corner kick to the opponent for time wasting. The referee will then signal a five-second countdown to the goalkeeper once the ball has been held for three seconds, pushing the ball to be played before that expires. The referee is also allowed to verbally count.
This rule is also set to apply to throw-ins where a time violation will result in the opponent taking over the throw-in.
In addition, FIFA is applying a rule used in Major League Soccer (MLS), where subbed-out players will have 10 seconds to leave the field, with exceptions for injuries or security reasons, such as a fan on the field.
If the subbed-off player doesn’t leave the field in time, the replacement will have to wait a minute before coming on to play at the first stoppage. That forces the penalized team to play with one less player for a minute, which can be a costly move.
Players also must wait one minute to re-enter the pitch if they go off for treatment, unless a goalkeeper is concussed or if a penalty kick is awarded and the injured player is the penalty taker.
Carmine Isacco, director of soccer at Vaughan Soccer, said that FIFA and the IFAB implemented time changes with the goal to “eliminate gamesmanship.”
“It’s in the new spirit of the game. It eliminates some of this little rubbish of time waste.”
What is reviewable under video assistant referee (VAR), a technology-driven system that is meant to help referees make the correct call, is also growing.
The IFAB states that the system “may assist the referee only in the event of a ‘clear and obvious error’ or ‘serious missed incident’ in relation to:
- Goal/no goal
- Penalty/no penalty
- Red card
- Mistaken identity”
Corner kicks that were incorrectly awarded are now eligible for VAR review, yet goal kicks incorrectly ruled off the attacking team are not.
Also, players will now receive a red card if they cover their mouths while addressing an opponent during an altercation, regardless of what is being said.
In addition, players or managers will be given a red card if they leave the pitch to protest a referee’s decision.
