Soccer Rules

Officially soccer rules are called ‘Laws of the Game’. They are revised every year, normally in July, during a special session of FIFA, to make them absolutely fool proof. However, the youth federations make their own rules which perfectly accommodate the needs of the children taking part in this sport.

There are many differences that could be found in the rules followed in the soccer played by the professionals as compare to that of the children. These differences could be found in the sizes of the field, length of the game, number of the players that each team could play with, and the number of the substitutions that could be made by a team. According to the children soccer rule the ‘offside foul’ is not allowed. Slide tackling is also disallowed as it is considered dangerous for the children.

The first ever constitution of the soccer was formed in 1863 by a group of amateur and semi- professional clubs from England, who formed an organization by the name of ‘ Football Association’. However, at that time the set of soccer rules did not include all the aspects of the game. The main points considered at that times were to cater the problems of the violence on the pitch where certain clashes on the field would often result in bloody fights between the teams. However, later on there were many rules which were included in the constitution. The offside rule was introduced later on when the game became more tactical. Without the offside rule, the attackers hardly had any role to play as they used to remain in hibernation most of the time till the ball reached in the opponents half.

The soccer rules and regulations are thoroughly explained in the ‘Law of the Game’. It follows different rules for the beginners to the professionals. Some of the basic soccer rules are as follows;

1. As it is difficult to follow the same dimension of the soccer field every where, FIFA has set a standard by providing with minimum and maximum length and width patterns. The minimum length of a soccer filed for the professionals must be not less than 100 yards, and maximum should be within 130 yards. The minimum width scale is 50 to 100 yards.

2. The number of players should not be more than eleven players, including the goal keeper. However, the numbers of substitutes vary according to the nature of the match. In a cup match only three substitutes are allowed for each side, but in a friendly match the teams decide their own mutual number of substitutions, or even allow all the players on the bench to enter the field.

3. The ball remains in the play till the referee blows his whistle or by the time the ball does not go out of the touch lines. If it crosses the line with more than half of its circumference then a free throw in, goal kick or a corner is awarded to the opposite team.

4. Fouls become the hardest one to follow by the referee on the pitch, as due to the fast nature of the game it becomes very difficult for the referee to really judge it correctly all the time. A direct or an in direct kick is awarded every time a player is tripped, kicked, punched, or pushed.

5. In order to score a goal the ball must cross the other team’s goal line. The attacker can kick the ball, head it, or push it inside the goal with any part of the body other than the hand, in which case a hand ball foul is awarded and the goal is disallowed. The goal is also disallowed in case the player is judged offside by the line men or the player has committed some kind of foul.