The Laws of the Game are the codified rules that help define association football. They
are the only rules of association football subscribed to by the sport's governing body
FIFA. The laws mention the number of players a team should have, the game length, the size
of the field and ball, the type and nature of fouls that referees may penalize, the frequently
misinterpreted offside law, and many other laws that define the sport. During a match,
it is the task of the referee to interpret and enforce the Laws of the Game.
There were various attempts to codify the rules of football in England in the mid-19th
century. The extant Laws date back to 1863 where a ruleset was formally adopted by the
newly formed Football Association. The original Laws were heavily influenced by the Cambridge
rules and their early development saw substantial influence from the Sheffield Rules. Over time
the Laws have been amended, and since 1886 they have been maintained by the International
Football Association Board.
Current laws of the game The current Laws of the Game consist of seventeen
individual laws, each law containing several rules and directions:
Law 1: The Field of Play Law 2: The Ball
Law 3: The Number of Players Law 4: The Players' Equipment
Law 5: The Referee Law 6: The Assistant Referees
Law 7: The Duration of the Match Law 8: The start and restart of play
Law 9: Ball in and out of play Law 10: The Method of Scoring
Law 11: Offside Law 12: Fouls and Misconduct
Law 13: Free kicks Law 14: The Penalty Kick
Law 15: The Throw-in Law 16: The Goal Kick
Law 17: Corner kick Today, the above 17 laws are less than 50
pages of a 140 by 215 mm pamphlet. In 1997, a major revision dropped whole paragraphs
and clarified many sections to simplify and strengthen the principles. These laws are
written in English Common Law style and are meant to be guidelines and goals of principle
that are then clarified through practice, tradition, and enforcement by the referees.
The actual law book has long contained 50 pages more of material, organized in numerous
sections, that contain many diagrams but did not fit with the main 17 laws. In 2007, many
of these additional sections along with much of the material from the FIFA Questions and
Answers, were restructured and put into a new Additional Instructions and Guidelines
for the Referee section. This section is organized under the same 17 law points, consists of
concise paragraphs and phrases like the laws themselves, and adds much clarifying material
that previously was only available from National organizations and word of mouth among referees.
Referees are expected to use their judgement and common sense in applying the laws, this
is colloquially known as "Law 18". History and development
Pre-1863 Games which could be described in the most
general sense as 'football' had been popular in Britain since the Medieval period. Rules
for these games, where they existed, were not universal nor codified. A significant
step towards unification was the drafting of the Cambridge rules in 1848 – though
these were not universally adopted outside Cambridge University. The first and still
oldest Football Club was Sheffield FC, who in 1858 codified the Sheffield rules of football.
The Sheffield rules were popular and adopted by several Northern and Midlands clubs.
1863 rules
The Laws were first drawn up by Ebenezer Cobb Morley and approved at a meeting of the newly
founded Football Association on 8 December 1863. These rules were heavily based on the
Cambridge rules which were codified in 1848. The Football Association Laws of 1863 were
published on 5 December in Bell's Life in London for approval. While the game described
in the original Football Association Laws is substantially different from the modern
game, 1863 is generally considered to be the beginning of modern association football,
and the point of divergence of the game from rugby football.
Adoption of the laws was not universal among English football clubs. The Sheffield Rules
continued to be used by many. Additionally, in preference of a more physical game with
greater emphasis on handling of the ball, several decided against being part the FA
in its early years and would later form the Rugby Football Union.
At its meeting on 8 December the FA agreed that, as reported in Bell's Life in London,
John Lillywhite would publish the Laws. The first game to be played under the new rules
was a 0-0 draw between Barnes and Richmond. Evolution of the rules
The rules of the game changed over time. Variations between the rules used in England, Scotland,
Wales and Ireland led to the creation of the International Football Association Board which
governs the rules. Notable amendments to the rules include:
1866 – Forward passes are permitted, as long as there are three defending players
between the receiver and the goal. This was the first step from a consideration of offside
as seen in modern rugby towards the offside rule known in association football today.
The fair catch is eliminated. 1871 – Introduction of the specific position
of goalkeeper. 1877 – Full unity with the Sheffield Rules
is established – several features of the northern code had been incorporated into the
London-based association rulebook over the preceding 14 years.
1891 – The penalty kick is introduced. 1925 – The offside rule is reduced from
three to two defending players between the player and the opponent's goal line.
1958 – Introduction of substitutes. 1970 – Introduction of red and yellow cards.
1992 – Introduction of the back-pass rule. 2012 – Goal-line technology is permitted,
if the individual competition wishes to implement it.
Unlike in several other sports, in association football television replays are not permitted
to be part of the match officials' decision-making process. Whether game rules and practices
should be amended to allow these and/or goal-line technology is a matter of considerable current
debate. Following a number of goal-line controversies in major FIFA-organised competitions, and
several proposed technologies demonstrating that they could decide whether the ball could
cross the line in less than the required 1 second, Goal-line technology was officially
permitted in FIFA-sanctioned competitions from 2012. It was first used in competition
at the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup. International Football Association Board
The Laws of the Game are written by the International Football Association Board. They meet at least
once a year to debate and decide any changes to the text as it exists at that time. The
meeting in winter generally leads to an update to the laws on 1 July of each year that take
effect immediately. The laws govern all international matches and national matches of member organizations.
The first meeting was in 1886, with representatives from the Scottish Football Association, the
Football Association of Wales and the Irish Football Association the governing body in
the Republic of Ireland). Previously games between teams from different countries had
to agree to which country's rules were used before playing.
When the international football body on the continent FIFA was founded in Paris in 1904,
it immediately declared that FIFA would adhere to the rules laid down by the IFAB. The growing
popularity of the international game led to the admittance of FIFA representatives to
the IFAB in 1913. Today the IFAB is made up of four representatives from FIFA representing
their over 200+ member Nations and one representative each from the four associations of the United
Kingdom. Because three-quarters' approval are required to make any changes to the Laws,
no change can be made without FIFA's approval, but FIFA cannot change the Laws on its own.
References
The Rules of Association Football, 1863: The First FA Rule Book Bodleian Library
External links The current Laws of the Game
Rules & Governance The formation of the Football Association
and the First FA Rules from the Association of Football Statisticians at the Wayback Machine
Q&A Laws of the Game