European Football Championship - Rules

European Football Championship - Rules

Whilst Moses was able to hand down God's laws in 10 commandments, football needs FIFA, UEFA, and 17 Laws to define its games.

Here is Guy's attempt to condense the rules of football onto one web page.

Law 1 - The Pitch.

International pitches must be between 100 and 110 meters long.  The width must be in the range, 64 to 75 m wide.

Goal posts are 2.44m (8 ft) apart and the crossbar is 7.32m (6 ft) high.  Goal kick boxes are marked by 5.5 m (6yd) lines.  The penalty areas extends out ward 16.5 (18 yd) from the goal line.  The penalty spot is 11.2 m (12 yds) from the goal line.

All lines must be no more than 12 cm (5 in) wide.  Centre circle radius is 9,15 m (10 yd).  [Interesting to note that all the old imperial yards are still the basis of measurement]

Law 2 - The Ball

Circumference  68-70 cm.  Weight 410 - 450 g [1 metric pound] Pressure 0.6 - 1.1 atmospheres.

Law 3 - Player Numbers

11 Maximum, one must be designated the goal keeper.  Game cannot restart if less than 7 players. 

Substitutes maximum of 3.  There is a separate regulation about how many can be on the bench, maximum of 7 at the discretion of the competition.  [Of all the rules this is the one I am most interested in knowing what Euro 2004 are using].

Law 4 - Players Equipment

Must have shirt and shorts.  Thermal under shorts are supposed to be of the same colour as shorts.  [Should not be an issue in July in Portugal]

No jewellery.  No flashing of logos under shirts. Shin guards must be covered entirely by socks.

Law 5 - The Referee

A referee has full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game.

Law 6 - The Assistant Referees. (Linesmen)

Help the ref when the ball goes out of play, raise their flag for offside.  Give the ref the not if they say any fouling.

Law 7 - The Duration of the match

Two halves of 45 mins.  Injury time added at the end of each half.  No more than 15 minutes for half time.  Allow time for injury, substitution and wasting time.

Law 8 - The Start and Restart of Play

Spin a coin to see which way the teams play.  Loser of the choice of ends, gets kick off.  [Every 6 yr old boy know this one]

Dropped ball is an option.  You don't see this much, more likely one team kicks the ball out of play, and the other team throws it back to them.

Law 9 - Ball in and out of Play

All 70 cm of the ball must cross the far end of that 12 cm line.  One cm of the ball on the last 1 cm of the line - play on.  Rebound from flags, posts even the ref, play on.

Law 10 - The method of scoring

An extension of Law 9, all of the ball must cross all of the goal line, just as though it was going out of play.

Law 11 - Offside

The principle of offside is that goal hanging is not allowed.  There must be at least two players between the attacker and the goal.  Invariably one of the defenders is the goal keeper.  A few years back the rule was changed to say that level with the 2nd last defenders feet is now onside.

A new problem arises where strikers lurk offside, but do not interfere with play, if they are tying up a shoe lace on the touchline, fair enough play on.  However, if the attacker un-sights the goalie or harasses the defender, easy, whistle blows - offside.  The problem is the grey area where they could be hindering the defence.

Remember there is no offside from a throw-in, corner or goal kick.

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct

A direct free kick is the most usual offence if a player:

Kicks or trips an opponent - intent counts even if you don't clobber them.
Jumps or charges an opponent
Strikes or pushes an opponent
Makes contact with the opponent before the ball
Out field players must not handle the ball

If any of the above occur in the penalty area, then it should be a penalty kick.

In-direct free kicks are mainly for offences by the goal keeper, taking more than 6 seconds, handling back passes.  In-direct free kicks can also be given for out field players obstructing the other side.

Yellow Cards

Persistent hacking down opponents is the most common reason for a yellow card, but it can also be given for time wasting, dissent and that catch all - unsportsmanlike like behaviour.

Sending off - the Red Card

Violent behaviour, also specifically for spitting at opponents.

Nasty tackles, O.K send them off.  However, denying a clear goal scoring opportunity is another judgement call.  Naturally, two yellow cards = one red card and off you jolly well go.

Law 13 Taking free kicks.

Free kicks must be stationary.  Here's a tricky question, what happens if an indirect free kick goes into the goal without anyone touching it.  Answer - a corner.

Law 14 - Penalty kicks.

Attacker waits for the refs whistle.  The law still states that the goal keeper must stay on his line until the kick is taken.  However, it seems to be interpreted as goalie stays on his line until the ref blows his whistle.

Law 15 - The Throw in.  (Remember no offside from a throw in)

As with free kicks, you cannot take the throw to your self.  As with an indirect free kick you cannot score from a throw in.   A few years back a rule was brought in to stop people intimidating or distract people taking long throw ins.

Law 16 - The Goal Kick

I once saw Pat Jennings score directly from a goal kick.  (Big wind and a tricky bounce.)  Other wise, no taking it to your self, and it does not have to be taken by the goal keeper.

Law 17 - The corner kick. (Remember no offside trap will work here)

Must not remove the flag, keep the ball inside the the little arc the grounds man marked, and no taking the kick to yourself.

Footnote - Substitutes

My understanding is that up to 3 substitutes are allowed.  However you can perm any 3 from the 7 who sit on the official bench.