Laws of football

As a referee you need to understand the laws of football. IFAB has released updated editions of the Laws of the Game for 2021-2022. Some competitions might still use the 2020-2021 laws, because they won’t change them during the season. You can find different copies below.

Get the full version of the 2021-2022 version in English or download a copy in your language below.

If you’re looking for weekly quizzes, check out the LOTG quiz page.

Laws of the Game 2021-2022

Laws of the Game 2020-2021

Get the full version in English for 2020-2021, a Dutch version or other languages below. Plus you can watch a presentation on the LOTG changes.

2019-2020 versions of laws of football

Old versions

Laws of the Game 2018-2019 in other languages

Interesting for all of you: LOTG in French, German and Spanish available now. IFAB has published these documents on their website. You can download them via the links below.

Other languages

Laws of the Game 2017-2018 in other languages

Interesting for all of you: LOTG in French, German and Spanish available now. An English version was already available. IFAB has published these documents on their website. You can download them via the links below.

Laws of the Game 2017-2018
Lois du Jeu cover
Reglas de Juego
Spielregeln

Download laws of the game 2016-2017

Some countries will use the new LOTG at the start of 2018. Want to get a copy of the 2016-2017 Laws of the Game? Get your copy of the Laws of the Game 2016-2017.

Fifa Laws of the Game 2016-2017

17 Laws of Football

Football has 17 laws in the book

  • 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 (direct and indirect)
  • Law 14: The Penalty Kick
  • Law 15: The Throw-in
  • Law 16: The Goal Kick
  • Law 17: Corner kick

Law 18: use common sense

“The most important law is not written down – the so-called ‘Law 18’ – and this is about common sense. A referee may have a great knowledge and understanding of the laws, but to apply them in a correct manner is a required skill”, is how Hugh Dallas, for Scottish international referee and current member of the Uefa Referees Committee, it decribes.

Original Sheffield rules of football

Do you know for which amount of money the original rules of the game were sold for? A record breaking £881,250. Check a previous blog post for a photo of the original rule book plus the exact rules back in 1858. Want to get an idea how football looked back that day? Former Premier League referee officiated a youth game with the original rules. Quite funny story, with a referee with a high hat.

 

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