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.

 

40 thoughts on “Laws of football

  1. this is Delano Collins and i play football for my school and have to say that is a Good work is done and i am pleas with what am seeing now thank you good bye

  2. Good changes, but want to suggest that offsides should only be awarded if 1 meter off. Let d goals roll against laxity.

    • It creates the same problem as in the current situation. It’s sometimes difficult to see if someone’s onside or offside. There can be a 1cm difference. That’s also the problem with 1.01 m ofside or 99 cm offside. And measuring the difference between players might be more difficult than seeing if players are on the same level. How would you make sure the 1m difference will be properly observed?

  3. This time I realise a lot of improvement in my know
    knowledge on the LOTG.
    Thanks a lot Jan. Please keep on.????????????????⚽️

    • Try to get all the advice you can. Evaluate your performances. Make sure you have a plan. What are your long-term and short-term goals? Just a few thoughts.

    • I’ve never done the video quizzes. I do case studies every now and then, but the quizzes are text only and always published on Friday at noon (CET).

  4. Iam so delighten with fifa law of the game so it made me abetter referee in our country am Denis in Africa more especialy uganda so iwant to become agood referee in our areas,ihave refreeing more tournaments than others can expected iam 15yrs old thanks.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.