Laws of Football 2026/27 | Fouls, Restarts and Decision-Making Basics
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Problem 1
In a normal 11-a-side match, one team is down to six players through a sending-off and an injury. Immediately afterwards the ball crosses the touchline and play stops.
Which action by the referee is correct under the Laws of the Game?
View explanation
In the 11-a-side game each team must have at least seven players. Here one team has only six at the moment play stops, so the match cannot be restarted with that number. There is no provision for artificially levelling the numbers, so reducing the opponents does not satisfy the requirement either.
Problem 2
Play has stopped and a substitute is waiting at the halfway line. The player being replaced is still walking across the field towards the exit point.
Under the normal substitution procedure, at what point may the substitute enter?
View explanation
The substitute enters from the halfway line during a stoppage, after the player being replaced has left the field and the referee has given the signal. The substitution is complete when the substitute enters, so the board alone does not make them a player.
Problem 3
Seen from directly above, a ball rolling near the touchline is mostly outside the field, but part of its circumference still overlaps the line. The referee has not stopped play.
Which describes the state of this ball correctly?
View explanation
The ball is out of play only when the whole of it crosses the touchline or goal line, on the ground or in the air. If any part still overlaps the line, the whole ball has not crossed it and it remains in play, however the center or the contact point may look.
Problem 4
A pass by the blue team strikes the referee's foot. The ball stays on the field but reaches a red team player who was unlikely to have played it otherwise, and possession changes.
Which action is correct under the 2026/27 Laws of the Game?
View explanation
When the ball touches a match official, stays on the field, and that contact changes possession, play is stopped and restarted with a dropped ball. Contact with an official is not always a reason to stop play, but this situation meets the exception set out in the Laws.
Problem 5
At the moment a teammate shoots, attacker A is in an offside position near the opponents' goal. A does not move and affects neither the ball nor the line of vision or movement of any opponent. The shot goes wide.
Which offside decision regarding A is correct?
View explanation
Being in an offside position is not in itself an offence. A does not play the ball, does not interfere with an opponent by blocking their line of vision or otherwise, and gains no advantage from a rebound, so no offside offence occurs here.
Problem 6
From an attacking throw-in, teammate A, who is nearer the goal line than the defenders, receives the ball directly without anyone else touching it.
If A plays on, which offside decision is correct?
View explanation
A player receiving the ball directly from a throw-in, goal kick or corner kick does not commit an offside offence. The exception rests on the method of restart, not on the direction of the throw or the position of the thrower's feet.
Problem 7
The referee raises one arm above the head to indicate an indirect free kick. The kicker's shot enters the opponents' goal without touching any other player.
Which is the correct decision and restart?
View explanation
For a goal to be scored directly from an indirect free kick, another player must touch the ball before it enters the goal. If it enters the opponents' goal untouched, no goal is awarded and play restarts with a goal kick to the opposing team.
Problem 8
At a direct free kick, four defenders line up shoulder to shoulder to form a wall. The attacking team wants to station a player 50 centimeters in front of the wall to chase a rebound.
What must be corrected before the ball is in play?
View explanation
Where the defending team forms a wall of three or more players, attacking players must remain at least 1 meter from it until the ball is in play. The 9.15 meters is, as a rule, the distance opponents keep from the ball, and there is no provision requiring the same distance of the attacking side.
Problem 9
At a penalty kick, at the moment the ball is kicked part of the goalkeeper's left foot is touching the goal line while the right foot is in front of it. There is no improper distraction of the kicker.
Considering only the position of the feet, which decision is correct?
View explanation
At the moment of the kick the goalkeeper must have at least part of one foot touching, in line with, or behind the goal line. Here the left foot meets that requirement, so the right foot being in front is not by itself an infringement of foot position.
Problem 10
With the ball in play, a defender carelessly trips an opponent inside their own penalty area. The contact is not reckless and does not deny an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.
Which combination of restart and disciplinary sanction should the referee give?
View explanation
Carelessly tripping an opponent is a direct free kick offence, and committed by a defender inside their own penalty area it becomes a penalty kick. A careless offence does not in itself require a card, so with no recklessness, SPA or DOGSO, no disciplinary sanction is added.