Simplified Rules of Soccer - from the BBC Sport Academy

    The beauty of football is its simplicity to play but also the unpredictability of results, making it a game enjoyed by so many people all over the world.
    Whether you are playing in the park or at Old Trafford the aim is the same – to score more goals than the opposition.
    But when you start playing the game more seriously there are a number of rules that you'll need to be aware of.
    So to avoid any foul throws, being given offside or even getting yourself sent off, click through the Sport Academy Guide to the rules of football. The original website is at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/bsp/hi/football/rules/html/default.stm

Aim of the game
The team scoring the most goals wins, and if both teams score the same amount or no goals are scored then the match is a draw.
To score a goal the ball must pass between the goalposts and beneath the crossbar, with the whole of the ball crossing the goal line.
The Start of the Game
     The two captains toss a coin before the start of the match with the team winning the toss choosing which goal they will attack in the first half.
     The team losing the toss starts the match by taking the kick-off from the center spot and the first touch of the ball has to be played forwards.
     All players must be in their own half at the kick-off.
     The game is restarted after a goal is scored in exactly the same way, and at the start of the second half.
     It is possible to score directly from the kick-off.
Duration
     At senior level, competitive matches are played over 90 minutes, split between two periods of 45 minutes, but you can play a game over a shorter duration.
     Half-time splits the two periods, and up to 15 minutes are allowed for this.
     Additional time is allowed at the end of each half by the referee to make up for time lost through substitutions and treatment of injured players.
     In cup competitions extra-time is often played to force a result.
     Depending on the competition this can be two full 15 minute periods or the golden goal rule may be adopted.
     This sees the first team to score in extra-time being the winners.
     It's a fact: Time is added on at the end of either half if a penalty needs to be taken.
     But if the time has already elapsed there is only time for the kick to be taken, so no rebounds are allowed.
Pitch (Field) Dimensions
     The lines that mark out the field of play are part of the pitch and the ball is not out of play until the whole of it has crossed the line.
     A pitch should be a minimum of 100 yards long (90m) and a maximum of 130 yards (120m). And it should be not less than 50 yards wide (45m) and not more than 100 yards (90m).
     The center circle has a radius of 10 yards (9.15m). This keeps all opposition players at least 10 yards from the ball at the kick-off.
     The penalty area is also known as the 18-yard-box, with the smaller area, marked out inside it, called the six-yard-box.
     This area is used to take goal-kicks from after the ball has gone out of play.
     The penalty spot is marked 12 yards from the goal line, in line with the center of the goal.
     The lines that mark out the 18 yard box, count as part of the penalty area, so a foul by a defender on the line will lead to a penalty.
     The goal is eight feet high (2.44m) and eight yards wide (7.32m).
Offside
     The offside law is the rule that causes most discussion and confusion in football, and it leaves a lot to the interpretation of the match officials.
     A player is in an offside position if they are nearer to the opposition’s goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent.
     But before you think that sounds clear enough there are plenty more things to remember.
     You can’t be offside if:
• you receive the ball directly from a goal kick, a throw-in or a corner
• you are in your own half of the pitch
• you are level with the second last or last two opponents
     Still think that you are following the rule?
A player who is in an offside position will only be penalized if the referee believes that he/she is:
• Interfering with play
• Interfering with an opponent
• Gaining an advantage by being in that position
     And it is the interpretation of the above that causes the confusion.
The six click-able scenarios on the Sport Academy website on the right should make things clearer. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/bsp/hi/
football/rules/offside/html/default.stm
Direct free-kicks
     A free-kick is awarded against a team who are guilty of a foul or misconduct while the ball is in play.
     But there are two different types of free-kick – direct and indirect - and the one which is awarded depends on the offence.
     A direct free-kick allows a team to have a direct shot at goal. There are ten offences which lead to a direct free-kick, so here is the direct top ten.
     The top six would lead to a direct free-kick if in the opinion of the referee they are committed by a player who carelessly, recklessly 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
  And a direct free-kick is also awarded if a player:
- In tackling an opponent makes contact with the opponent before touching the ball
- Holds an opponent
- Spits at an opponent
- Handles the ball deliberately
If any of these offences are committed by a player inside their own penalty area then a penalty is awarded.
It's a fact: If a team kick a direct or indirect free-kick directly into their own goal then a corner is awarded to the opposition.

Indirect free-kicks
When an indirect free-kick is awarded the ball has to be touched by at least two players before a goal can be scored.
An indirect free-kick is awarded when, in the opinion of the referee, a player:
- Impedes the progression of an opponent (obstruction)
- Plays in a dangerous manner
- Prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from his hands
  Or when a goalkeeper, inside his own penalty area:
- Holds on to the ball for more than six seconds
- Handles a back-pass
- Handles the ball after receiving it from a team-mate direct from a throw-in
- Touches the ball again with his hands, before it is touched by another player, after releasing it from his possession.
Penalties
     Any foul which would normally lead to a direct free-kick that is committed by a team inside their own penalty area leads to a penalty.
     This allows one player a direct shot from the penalty spot (12yds out) with only the goalkeeper to beat.
     The goalkeeper is allowed to move sideways before the kick is taken but must stay on his goal line.
     The other players all stand outside the penalty area and can’t enter the area until the ball has been kicked.
     The kicker can not touch the ball a second time until it has been touched by another player.
     If a team-mate of the kicker encroaches into the area before the kick is taken and the penalty is scored the referee will order the kick to be retaken.
     If a defender moves into the area and the penalty is missed then the penalty is again retaken.
Yellow cards
There are seven different offences that can earn you a yellow card:
- Anything that can be deemed as unsporting behavior
- Dissent by word or action
- Persistent infringement of the laws, for example a series of fouls
- Delaying the restart of play
- Not retreating the full ten yards at a free-kick or corner
- Entering or re-entering the pitch without the referee’s permission
- Deliberately leaving the pitch without the referee’s permission
Red cards
In football two yellow cards equals a red one and results in a player being sent off.
But the following six offences will result in a player being shown a straight red card:
- Serious foul play
- Violent conduct such as throwing a punch
- Spitting at an opponent or another person
- A player other than the goalkeeper denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by handling the ball.
A goalkeeper would be similarly punished if he/she intentionally handles the ball outside of their goal area.

Throw-ins
     A throw-in is awarded when the whole of the ball passes over the touchline.
     The resultant throw-in should be taken from the point where the ball went out of play and is awarded against the side who had the last touch on the ball before it went out.

     When taking a throw-in the thrower must:

Be facing the pitch
Have part of each foot either on the touch line or on the ground outside the touch line
Both hands must be used and the ball must be delivered from behind and over the head

You can not score from a throw-in unless the ball has touched a player before it crosses the line.
If it is a defensive throw-in a corner is awarded. If it is an attacking throw-in then a goal-kick is awarded.

Players:
     The game is most commonly played in the five or 11-a-side format.
     While most competitive football is played over 11-a-side it is more beneficial to play junior football on smaller pitches with less players.
     With fewer players you get more time on the ball, there is more demand on accurate short passing and less emphasis on pace and power.
     Therefore your technique and touch should benefit.
     In a Premiership or League match, three substitutes from a nominated five are allowed to be used.
     But in European competition a manager can select from seven players on the bench.
     In friendlies more substitutes can be used as long as it is agreed by the teams before the game and that the referee is informed.
     It's a fact: The laws of the game state that in an 11-a-side match, a game can not begin if either side has less than seven players.
     Click on any of the positions below to go to the Sport Academy website to read a description of these positions:

Positions
     A side looking to attack will push more players into an advanced position than a team that is on the defensive.
     Formations are listed from the defense through to the attack and don’t include the goalkeeper.
     Therefore a 4-4-2 formation has four defenders, four midfielders and two strikers.
     Click on the links below to go to the Sport Academy website to find out more about some of the formations used by professional teams and also the roles of players in different positions.

The officials
     The referee takes charge of a match with two assistant referees helping out. In professional matches a fourth official is also involved.
     The referee enforces the laws of the game, awarding free-kicks if there is any foul play and keeping a check on the time.
     And the referee can also postpone, stop, suspend or call off a match if there are weather or crowd problems.
     The assistant referee helps out with decisions such as throw-ins and offsides and sometimes will have a better view of incidents than the referee.
     The fourth official is based on the touchline, assisting with substitutions and keeping a check on the managers.
     Click the links below to go to the BBC Sport Academy to see a demonstration of the proper signals used for each of these situations.

History of Soccer

Ancient China
A number of different games likely to have played a part in the rules of the game.
Tsu Chu was played in ancient China around 200 BC with the aim being to kick a leather ball filled with feathers and hair through a narrow goal marked by bamboo poles.
Greeks & Romans
     The Greeks had a variation dating back to 4BC called pheninda that involved kicking, running with and handling the ball.
     The Romans played a game called harpastum with teams defending opposing ends of a field.
     While in Japan at around the fifth century AD, players would kick the ball to each other across a square pitch in a game called Kemari.
English Monarchs
     A succession of English monarchs attempted to ban what was known as Shrovetide football which was played between the 12th and 19th centuries.
     Reportedly started on Shrove Tuesday in Ashbourne, Derbyshire the whole town would be involved in a game.
     The purpose was to gain possession of the ball and take it back to the town or parish.
England leads way
     To unify the game across England a meeting was held in October 1863 to make sure that the same rules were being adhered to across the country.
     The English FA was the world’s first football association, founded in this year.
      It was at that time that rugby football and association football began to go their separate ways and the game as we now know it began to take shape.
      Scotland (1873), Wales (1875) and Ireland (1880) soon followed England in forming their own football associations.
     And as the game began to spread across the world, Fifa, the international governing body was formed in 1904.

Talking a good game
If you listen to any footballer being interviewed after a game you will find that the game is riddled with clichés.
Here is a guide to what they actually mean and some of the other funny things that players have said.
- A – ‘All credit to the lads’
  The best way of highlighting that it was a ‘team performance’.
- B – ‘Bottle’
  A word that makes many an appearance in football chat. Players can either have bottle, lack it or in some cases hit it – but generally it refers to bravery and ‘getting in where it hurts’.
- C – ‘Couldn’t hit a cow’s backside with a banjo’
  A term associated with a striker struggling to find the back of the net. Extra shooting practice is a better remedy than upsetting cattle with a musical instrument.
- D – 'A dig'
  A speculative long range effort can be simplified as a ‘dig’. You'll have to be ‘different class’ to score, unless of course you are up against a ‘dodgy keeper’.
- E – 'Early doors'
  Making a good start to a game can be simplified by scoring ‘early doors’. The ‘early’ part of this statement speaks for itself but quite where the ‘doors’ come in we're not sure.
- F – ‘Funny old game’
  Isn’t it? Apparently so, we’re told it often enough.
- G – ‘Game of two halves’
  This piece of footy chat is not used to simply describe the fact that a match is split by the half-time interval, but to highlight how the first and second halves were vastly different.
- H – 'Home draw'
  The ever-enthralling cup draws always spark exactly the same response from players and managers; “you can’t ask for more than a ‘home draw’.
- I – 'I'm flattered by their interest'
  Whenever a player is linked with a move to another club, out come these immortal words. A few days later the player will be on the move.
- J – 'Job'
  Modern day footballers don't put in a good performance, they ‘do a job’.
- K – ‘Killer goal’ or ‘keep it tight’
  Not the most inspire of clichéd letters but take your pick from ‘Killer goal’ or ‘keep it tight’.
- L – 'Left peg'
  Talented left footers are blessed with one of these. Right-footed players never have their feet described as pegs.
- M – 'Mixer'
  The mixer is in the penalty area, close to the goal.
- N – ‘Not over til the fat lady sings’
  A match normally finishes with the referee blowing the final whistle, but as any good player knows it's ‘Not over til the fat lady sings’.
- O – ‘Onion bag’
  Another name for the net.
- P – 'Pop'
  A variation from using ‘dig’.
- Q – ‘Quality’
  Sometimes it shines through, but on other occasions it is sadly lacking.
- R – ‘Rotation’
  As in squad rotation. Rather than referring to players spinning around, it describes a manager’s prerogative to chop and change the side.
- S – 'Sleeping giant'
  A club starved of success but still believing they are actually any good.
- T – 'Taking each game as it comes'
  In order to try and avoid accusations of complacency, footballers often wheel this one out.
- U – ‘Unfashionable club’
  Any small town team that even dares to mix it with the big boys.
- V – 'Very much so'
  Players often looks for ways to string out sentences to sound more interesting and intelligent than they really are. ‘Very much so’ can often replace a simple yes.
- W – 'Wire'
  So often we are told that the race for the championship is going to ‘go down to the wire’, but rarely is it actually the case.
- X – 'X-rated'
  Rash, wild and late are all different ways of describing foul challenges but the very worst ones are saved for the ‘X-rated’ category.
- Y – 'You know'
  No interview is complete unless every sentence is rounded off perfectly with the words ‘you know’.
- Z – 'Row Z'
  Most commentators will tell you that defenders are the least skilled passers in a team. Yet when it comes to clearing the ball out of play they are always expected to find ‘Row Z’. Asking a bit much, isn’t it?