Soccer is the most-played sport on the planet by far. It’s accessible, it’s fast-paced, and it can be played almost anywhere. All you really need is a ball and a goal.
A byproduct of all the soccer being played is that there are so many leagues and so many teams that people who are trying to become followers of “The Beautiful Game” could find themselves overwhelmed.
And then there are the rules of the game. It’s easy to grasp the basic concept of offside, but harder to detect it. Hand ball can be inscrutable. Fouls come down to who initiates the contact (but also, oftentimes, who sells the contact better). While some leagues may introduce variations, the basic rules are the same universally.
But it can difficult to get involved in soccer as an outsider. Who should you follow? Which league are they in? What is the time difference in that league? Do different leagues have different rules?
Here is what to know about soccer as a new fan, or a fan who is just passing through. Whether it’s rules, cups, times or reviews, soccer has a low floor of understanding and a high ceiling. This will get readers to the floor. The ceiling will come with watching games.
MORE: When is the Women’s World Cup Final 2023?
How long is a soccer game?
Soccer games are 90 minutes long. Teams play two 45-minute halves, with a 15-minute halftime break in between.
But in practice, matches last several minutes longer because of something known as stoppage time. Contrary to other sports, particularly those played in North America, game time in soccer is kept with a running clock that ticks upward rather than counts down.
Stoppage time is added to the end of each half based on how much time is wasted for various stoppages. It’s in the referee’s discretion to calculate how much added time to put on the clock at the end of each half.
Extra time
In most instances, a match ends in a draw if the teams are tied after the full 90-plus minutes of play. But there are times when a winner needs to be determined on the day, and a draw won’t do. (These are typically in knockout stages when one team needs to advance.)
Extra time is played in those instances after regulation has concluded. It consists of two 15-minute halves with a short break in between for the clubs to switch ends.
Extra time is not sudden-death; there is no “golden goal.” Even if goals are scored, play will continue until the 30 minutes plus stoppage time are played.
Penalty shootouts
If the teams are still tied after extra time, then a penalty shootout will determine a winner.
In a penalty shootout, each team chooses five players to shoot against the opposing goalkeeper from a spot positioned 12 yards out. Teams alternate attempts. The team with the most goals at the end of the five rounds is deemed the winner.
If both teams are tied after five rounds, the shootout proceeds one round at a time until there is a winner.
What are the rules of soccer?
Soccer’s rules are fairly consistent from country to country and league to league. These are known as the Laws of the Game as established by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).
One of the most important rules relates to offside. One of the most talked-about rules is the hand ball. (Non-goalkeepers are prohibited form playing the ball with their hands or arms.)
Here’s a closer look at both of those rules:
Offside
In simple terms, a player is offside when they’re positioned beyond the last line of defenders at the moment a teammate passes the ball in the attacking half of the field.
This rules exists to prevent players from camping out in front of a goalkeeper for an entire game. Assistant referee watching the play from the sideline will raise a flag to signal the player is offside and a free kick is given to the other team
It is permitted for an attacker to be in line with the last defender, but no part of their body that can be used to score a goal can extend beyond the plane of the last defender when a pass is delivered. Offside technology is often used to determine whether a player is offside.
There are a few twists to this rule (the Laws of the Game illustrate several examples beginning on page 93):
- a player cannot be offside in their own half of the field;
- a player cannot be offside if they’re not involved (or actively participating) in the play;
- a player cannot be offside on a throw-in.
Hand ball
The hand ball rule is simple in theory. In practice, it is complicated.
If a field player touches the ball with their hand or arm, then a hand ball infraction is whistled. The arm is defined as the bottom of the armpit to the fingertips. Goalkeepers can only use their hands inside their own penalty box.
A hand ball is a judgment call. Because the shoulder isn’t considered part of the arm, it can be difficult to determine if a ball has hit a player’s shoulder or upper arm. In addition, players generally are given some leeway if their arms and hands are judged to be in what’s called a natural position.
The penalty for a hand ball is a free kick for the opposing team or, if a defending player commits it inside their own penalty area, then a penalty kick is awarded.
Fouls
There are several types of fouls, generally stemming from physical contact:
- Kicking
- Tripping
- Jumping into an opponent
- Charging
- Pushing
- Tackling from behind
- Tackling an opponent without targeting the ball
- Holding
There is an inherent physicality to soccer, but like basketball, some contact goes beyond what is allowed.
Attackers and defenders both have a right to the ball, so contact while going for the ball is within the rules. But physical contact outside of what is deemed fair play will get a whistle and a free kick is awarded to the team that suffers the foul.
Soccer is infamous for players selling physical contact to draw foul calls against opponents. They flop and roll around on the ground. Sometimes they do this to slow down the game, other times to earn a free kick in a favorable position, and still other times in an attempt to win a penalty kick.
Some acting jobs are more obvious than others, and the bad actors can be punished with a yellow card for simulation or embellishment.
Yellow card
Yellow cards are one of the few parts of soccer that are up to the referee’s discretion.
Yellow cards can be shown to players for reckless contact, stopping a promising attack, lack of sportsmanship, arguing with referees, delaying the match, or entering/leaving the field without telling the officials.
Yellow cards serve as a caution (or warning) for players. It’s only when a player receives a second yellow card in a match that the player is ejected. A second yellow card is automatically upgraded to a red card.
Red card
In addition to a red card shown to a player as a result of receiving two yellow cards, a straight red card can also be shown for serious offenses.
A red card is also called a ‘sending-off’ since the player is ejected from the game and a team cannot replace that player, leaving them to operate with one less player on the field.
These straight red cards are given for fouls involving excessive force, violent conduct, and denial of obvious goal-scoring opportunities.
Yes, there is a limit to how many red cards can be shown to a single team in a game. If a team accrues five red cards in a match, then the match is forfeited.
What is VAR and how does it work?
VAR stands for “Video Assistant Referee” and it is soccer’s version of replay.
The VAR is a member of the referee crew who is located in a booth that can be at the stadium or at a remote location.
That VAR is charged with assisting the referee and determining whether a “clear and obvious error” was made in four specific reviewable cases: goals, penalty decisions, straight red cards, and cases of mistaken identity.
The VAR can speak to the head referee through an earpiece and the lead official can decide to do one of three things when contacted by the VAR:
- Review the play in question on video monitors positioned on the side of the field;
- Take up the VAR’s recommendation without reviewing the video;
- Disregard the VAR’s recommendation and uphold the decision made on the field without checking the monitor (this is rare).
The referee touches their ear piece to signal they are receiving feedback from the VAR. And referees make sure to hold up play until a VAR has had a chance to review a play. Once the action resumes after a stoppage, a decision on the field cannot be reversed.
If a referee decides to use the monitor on the side of the field, they indicate that by tracing a rectangle in the air with their fingers (the shape of a monitor). The time taken to conduct video reviews is added to stoppage time.
Even though a VAR has access to every replay and camera angle during a game, that does not mean that this replay technology can be used to review any facet of a match outside the four instances previously outlined: goals, penalties, red cards, and cases of mistaken identity.
MORE: Is there VAR at the 2023 Women’s World Cup?
How many substitutions do teams get in soccer?
Teams can make up to five substitutions during a soccer match, with a caveat.
A single team can only stop play a maximum of three times to make substitutions during the 90 minutes of regulation. Halftime changes do not count against this maximum of three substitution windows.
Teams get an additional substitution — and an additional substitution window to make it — if a match goes into 30 minutes of extra time.
Players who are subbed out of a match cannot return.
Why does soccer have so many cups?
It seems as though that at any given time of year, some major tournament is going on. But if you know the teams that are playing, then the competitions in which they are participating follow suit.
National Teams
Every country that is a sanctioned member of world governing body FIFA (in French, Federation Internationale de Football Association) typically fields teams showcasing their best players:
- a senior men’s national team;
- a senior women’s national team;
- youth national teams for men and women (Ex. Under-15, Under-17, Under-19, etc.).
These national teams participate in competitions in their specific region or continent. They can also participate in world championships organized by FIFA if they successfully qualify for them.
For example, in North America the U.S. men’s national team plays in regional competitions like the Gold Cup and the Nations League that are specific to the North American region.
The same U.S. men’s team also plays qualifying matches in North America to earn a spot in the men’s World Cup tournament organized by FIFA every four years.
National teams are composed of players who are eligible to represent that country, through birth, family ties or long-term residency.
Club Teams
There are thousands of club teams around the world in every country and on various tiers within each country (professional, semi-professional, amateur, etc.).
These club teams play in domestic competitions in their own country based on their tier of play. And they can also qualify to play in regional, continental, or world championships though this is usually reserved to the top division teams.
Take, for example, a top-flight first division club team based in England: Manchester United.
Manchester United plays in England’s top professional division called the Premier League, and they also participate in other club tournaments organized in England (FA Cup and Carabao Cup).
This list of domestic matches is often enough to fill the entire season calendar, but Manchester United is successful enough in England to qualify for other continental competitions in Europe.
Since they finished in the top four spots in the English Premier League in 2022/23, they earned the right to play in the lucrative European Champions League, also called the UEFA Champions League including the name of the European governing body (UEFA).
If Manchester United wins that continental competition (UEFA Champions League), they qualify to play in other continental (European Super Cup) and intercontinental competitions (FIFA Club World Cup). There is prize money and prestige attached to all of these.
Players dream of playing for the top clubs in their respective country and through the transfer system, they can earn moves to big clubs and play in the premier competitions in the world.
MORE: Premier League transfer spending rankings 2023/24: Which EPL clubs top list?
For fans, picking a team is first a matter of picking a league. Leagues in general all follow the same rules, but other aspects, such as level of competition, star power and prestige can be taken into consideration.
There’s a massive demand for soccer worldwide. The leagues and cup competitions are massive parts of the supply. And watching one league doesn’t preclude viewers from watching others. In fact, soccer’s relative uniformity makes it easier to follow multiple leagues around the world. That’s part of the beauty of ‘The Beautiful Game.’
