Soccer

It was the middle of the summer and my soccer team was in the championship game. There were only seconds remaining as the other slotted a goal past our keeper. We immediately appealed for offside but the referee allowed the goal. We lost that championship game and the result of it caused me to read and research the laws of soccer so that I could fully understand them. Basically, in soccer, one team tries to kick a ball in to the goal of the opposing team, scoring one point called a goal. A goalkeeper, the only team member permitted to handle the ball with his hands, guards the goal. All the other players must either kick the ball or, when possible, try to hit it with their heads, called heading (Soccer). The laws of soccer consist of basic rules, field requirements, and equipment standards.

There are many rules in soccer, ranging from specific to basic. Basic rules consist of things such as the number of players on the field, duration of the match, offside, and free kicks (FIFA). A regulation soccer game consists of two teams of eleven players (Woog). The game lasts two equal periods of forty-five minutes, unless otherwise mutually agreed between the referee and the two participating teams (FIFA). The game is started with a kickoff, which is won by a team winning a coin toss (FIFA). Play is restarted after a goal has been scored, at the start of the second half of the match, and at the start 0of any extra time periods due to a tie (FIFA).

Play is stopped when the ball goes out of play. The ball is out of play when it has wholly crossed the goal line or touch line whether on the ground or in the air and if play has been stopped by the referee (FIFA). One method of restarting play is a corner kick. A corner kick is awarded when the whole of the ball, having last touched a player of the defending team, passes over the goal line, either on the ground or in the air, and a goal is not scored (FIFA). For a corner kick, the ball is placed inside the corner arc of the nearest corner flag post. A player of the attacking team then takes the kick (FIFA).

There are fouls and misconducts in the game of soccer. Some of the main or more serious fouls are kicking or attempting to kick an opponent, tripping an opponent, jumping at an opponent, charging an opponent violently, charging an opponent from behind, and hitting or attempting to hit an opponent (Woog). These fouls will all result in a direct free kick. A direct free kick can be directly kicked into the opponent’s goal but an indirect free kick must touch another player before the ball enters a goal (FIFA). A penalty kick is awarded if a foul is committed by a player inside his own penalty area, irrespective of the position of the ball, provided it is in play (FIFA).

Offside is the most difficult rule in soccer. The idea of offside is to prevent goal hanging (one player waiting in front of the opponents net for a pass. Basically, a player is offside if he or she is the attacking half of the field, and does not have at least two opponents between him or herself and the ball. However, a player can be in an offside position and not be called offside, provided that that player is not part of the play, and the opponents are not defending the player, or distracted by him or her. Also, offside can be called only on a pass or a shot; it cannot be called if a player is dribbling. This allows a player in an offside position to scramble back onside (Soccer).

The field of play must be rectangular. The length of the touchline must be greater than the length of the goal. The field must be a minimum of 100 yards in length and fifty yards in width. It cannot exceed 130 yards in length and 100 yards in width. The field of play is marked with lines. These lines belong to the areas of which they are boundaries. The two longer lines are called touchlines. The two shorter lines are called goal lines. All lines are no more than five inches wide. The field is divided into two halves by a halfway line. The center mark is indicated at the midpoint of the halfway line. A circle with a radius of ten yards is marked around it. The goal area is defined at each end of the field as follows: two lines are drawn at right angles to the goal line, six yards from the inside of each goalpost. These lines extend into the field of play for a distance of six yards and are joined by a line drawn parallel with the goal line. The area bounded by these lines and the goal line is the goal area. The penalty area is defined at