ect to the following restrictions: no fee of any kind may be charged for the
material; all copied material must clearly identify its source and contain the statement on copyright
shown below.

1998 jointly in the following individuals: Jim Geissman, David Graham, Jim MacQueen, Connie Matthies,
Jim Meinhold, Chris Mohr, Gary Rue, Ken Smith, Dave Teetz, Ron Tremper, who are together known
pseudonymously as the SOCCER-COACH-L LOTG COLLECTIVE Preface
Background
The project was conceived, organized and coordinated by Chris Mohr. It was a collaborative effort by
interested members of the SOCCER-COACH-L mailing list to make the Laws of the Game more accessible
to coaches and to answer some frequently asked questions about the Laws. Many of the questions are
ones, or resemble ones, that have been asked by members of the mailing list at one time or another. From
November 1997 to January 1998, members of the LOTG Project drafted various sections of this FAQ. The
drafts were circulated to all members, criticized and redrafted before being posted here.
If after you consult this FAQ you wish to reproduce any part of it, please read the notes on copyright
and reproduction below. If you'd like to suggest a question for inclusion in the FAQ on one of the Laws, by all
means send it to any member of the project team.
Youll find a current version of the project material, as well as mailing addresses for members of the
project team, at the following URL: http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~dgraham/lotg/. SOCCER-COACH-L is an
Internet mailing list for soccer (association football) coaches: you can visit the lists web page at
http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~dgraham/coach.html.
Contents
The material connected with the LOTG Project consists of the following parts:
1.
a thumbnail sketch of each Law, a commentary for coaches about the implications and workings of the
Law, and a FAQ connected with problems arising from the Law;
2.
a set of supplementary documents which amplify certain parts of the FAQ or deal with material ancillary
to the Laws but not actually contained in them, or distributed throughout them;
3.
such other similar material as may be added from time to time by the authors.
Purpose
This work is intended for the benefit of any of the following people:
1.
Novice coaches, who want and need to acquire a solid, basic understanding of the LOTG;
2.
Intermediate coaches who are familiar with the main provisions of the LOTG, but who may have many
unresolved questions about significant details;
3.
Coaches who consider themselves more advanced and know the LOTG fairly well, for whom this FAQ
may provide a stimulating review of points from a fresh, practical perspective;
4.
Anyone else -- parent, player, fan, administrator or official -- with an interest in soccer's Laws and a
desire to find out more about how they work in practice.
Licensed referees who wander in may find this FAQ interesting and helpful for your own purposes,
and you are more than welcome to stop in. Keep in mind, though, that this is written primarily as a practical
field guide to the LOTG for coaches, and not as a referee certification review course. We don't promise that
you'll find it told in here quite the way you learned it in referee school; instead, we've been watching y'all in
the field and what you actually do, as much as what the letter of the LOTG says you should do, even while
our descriptions of the rules remain faithful to the latter. So please don't write to us to say that your
interpretation of Law such-and-such is different from anything
found here -- we already know that referees interpret (and must interpret) the Laws in light of their
own conception of the Spirit of the Game. That's why we added this disclaimer: Disclaimer: the material contained in these pages is provided for the information of soccer
(association football) coaches and other interested persons everywhere. Much of the information involves
interpretation of the Laws of the Game, and there is no guarantee that the opinions given herein will
invariably apply: one of the joys and frustrations of soccer is precisely that referees have a great deal of
latitude in applying many of the provisions of the Laws.
Note on copyright: This work is a creation of the SOCCER-COACH-L LOTG collective, which is a
pseudonym for a joint project among several individuals for explaining the laws of the game of soccer, for
the benefit of all who love this wonderful game.
The copyright in this jointly created work is jointly held by the following individuals, who created and
wrote this work:
1998 Jim Geissman, David Graham, Jim MacQueen, Connie Matthies, Jim Meinhold, Chris Mohr, Gary
Rue, Ken Smith, Dave Teetz, Ron Tremper.
Note on reproduction: all copyrighted material contained in these pages (including the thumbnail
sketches of the Laws, the commentaries on or discussions of the Laws, and the Questions and Answers)
may be copied and distributed subject to the following restrictions:
a)
no fee of any kind may be charged for the material;
b)
all copied material must clearly identify its source and contain the statement on copyright shown
above.
Law 1 - The Field of Play
Thumbnail
A soccer field (or "pitch") must be rectangular, with the longer boundaries forming the sides (or "touch
lines") and the shorter boundaries forming the ends (or "goal lines" or "bye lines"), with an anchored goal
centered on the goal line at each end. These boundary lines should be marked by lines on the ground and a
flag in each of the four corners of the field. Other prominent markings on the field should include:
a)
a rectangular goal area and a larger rectangular penalty area, centered in front of each goal (see
question #1.11),
b)
a halfway line parallel to and midway between the goal lines dividing the field into two even halves
(see question #1.10),
c)
a penalty spot centered in front of each goal halfway between the goal area and penalty area (see
question #1.11);
d)
two markings to indicate 10-yard clearances that should be observed for kick-offs and penalty
shots, respectively a circle at the center of the field, and an arc just outside the top of the penalty
area (the "penalty arc") marking 10 yards from the penalty spot (see question #1.09).
Commentary
1. Size of Fields: The size of the field may vary within a wide range, so long as it is rectangular in shape.
See question #1.11 for official FIFA regulation match requirements. In an important match, e.g. a
tournament where teams from outside your league may be playing, it is important for a field to meet official size requirements. By agreement and accepted practice, fields used for younger players are
frequently scaled down below FIFA-regulation size (see FAQ 1.08 and the supplement on modifications
of the Laws for young players).
2. Goals: The most important requirements are that the goals be securely anchored to the ground, that the
goals be formed at least of two vertical goalposts and a horizontal crossbar between them to form the top
of the goal, and that the crossbar and goalposts remain intact and firmly secured in place so that they do
not become displaced or broken during the match, or become dangerous to the players (see questions
#1.03 and #1.04). See question #1.11 for official FIFA regulation dimensions. Like the field of play, goals
for young players are usually scaled down below regulation size.
3. Boundary Lines are always in bounds, not out of bounds for the particular area they mark, whether they
mark the sides (touch line), goal line (ball on the line is not a goal), or penalty area (foul on the line is in
the penalty area).
4. Essential Field Markings: An official match field should always be laid out with all the regular markings in
paint or chalk along the ground; for the proper dimensions of these various areas, see question #1.11.
However, sometimes rain, snow or heavy use will obscure the markings, or someone will forget to bring
corner flags, or whoever was supposed to maintain the markings before the games will fail to do their job,
but everyone would still rather play than not. The one internal area of the field that must be visibly
marked at all times during a match is the penalty area, because of the potentially dire game-altering
consequences of fouls which result in penalty shots if committed within that area. Controversy can also
arise if the goal line (especially between the goalposts) becomesobscured. This can usually be
acceptably dealt with by properly positioned referees and linesman on critical plays. If the touch lines and
goal lines are well marked, corner flags can be done without in a pinch. If these lines are obscured in any
significant part, securely anchored corner flags are essential to be able to interpolate the position of the
touch line and goal lines. Since flat cones are easily moved, they are not an acceptable substitute for
field markings or corner flags in a match. They may be used for informal scrimmages.
Questions on Law 1
1.01: How can I be sure the field is safe?
Good question! The first priority of every coach should be to ensure that the field is safe for the
players. Coaches, like referees, should take a quick walk within the field before a match to ensure that there
are no hazards such as rocks, debris, holes and ruts. If the field contains many rocks, line the players up on
the halfway line equally spaced. Have them perform a sweep to the goal line, picking up the dangerous
rocks that they find. Holes and ruts can often be filled in using soil from outside the boundaries of the field.
1.02: What if it's snowing or rain