Fouls and other offences

The laws of the game list several direct-free-kick offences when committed against an opponent — including kicking, tripping, jumping at, charging, striking, pushing, tackling or challenging unfairly, holding and impeding with contact.

For most physical fouls, the referee judges not just whether contact happened, but how the contact was made. The same movement can be legal contact, a careless foul, a reckless foul or a sending-off offence depending on timing, force and danger.

Handball is also a direct-free-kick offence when it meets the handball criteria, but it has enough detail to be treated separately. This page summarises it as part of the wider offence picture and links to the dedicated handball guide.

Penalties are given for any offence that would have resulted in a direct free kick if it had happened outside the penalty area. The kick is taken from the penalty spot, with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Indirect free kicks can also be given inside the penalty area, but only for indirect-free-kick offences. These are taken from where the offence happened, although in the goal area the kick is moved to the nearest point on the line that runs parallel to the goal line.

Dangerous play covers actions like raising a foot near another player's head, attempting an overhead kick when an opponent is close, or playing the ball while on the ground in a way that risks a kick from another player. If contact is made, it is usually treated as a normal foul.

If there is no contact and the play is judged dangerous, the referee awards an indirect free kick rather than a direct one.

Handball can be deliberate, where a player intentionally touches the ball with the hand or arm, or it can be accidental and still penalised because of where the arm is in relation to the body. The general principle is that a player should not make their body unnaturally bigger with the arm.

There is also a special rule for goals. A player cannot score directly with the hand or arm, even accidentally, and a goal is ruled out if the scorer puts the ball in the net immediately after the ball has touched their hand or arm. Earlier accidental handball in the move is not automatically penalised unless it is deliberate or the player has made their body unnaturally bigger.

The Laws of the Game usually describe this as delaying the restart of play rather than simply "time wasting". A player can be cautioned for actions such as taking too long over a restart, kicking or carrying the ball away after the referee has stopped play, pretending to take a throw-in before leaving it for a teammate, or delaying leaving the field when substituted.

The card does not normally change the restart itself. If the ball was already out of play, the referee shows the yellow card and play restarts with the original decision, such as a free kick, throw-in, corner kick, goal kick or penalty kick.

Time wasting can also be managed before it reaches the point of a card. Referees may warn players, add time on, or hurry up a restart, but clear or repeated delay can lead to a caution.

Some misconduct happens as part of a foul. A reckless tackle, a challenge that endangers an opponent, a foul that stops a promising attack, or an offence that denies an obvious goalscoring opportunity can all lead to disciplinary action as well as a free kick or penalty.

Other misconduct can happen away from a normal challenge for the ball. Examples include dissent, delaying the restart, persistent offences, unsporting behaviour, offensive language, violent conduct, or entering and leaving the field without the referee's permission.

A card does not replace the restart. The referee still decides how play should restart — such as with a direct free kick, indirect free kick, penalty kick, dropped ball or another restart — depending on the offence, where it happened and whether the ball was in play.