Back pass rule explained: when can a goalkeeper pick it up?
Passing to your goalkeeper is allowed, but inside their own penalty area they normally cannot handle a ball deliberately kicked to them by a team-mate. Direction does not matter. A direct team-mate's throw-in also restricts handling. Illegal handling gives the opponents an indirect free kick, with no card for that handling alone.
Can the goalkeeper pick it up? Nine common situations
Can the keeper pick it up?
All handling in these examples is inside the keeper's own penalty area.
Deliberate kick. A defender deliberately kicks the ball to their own goalkeeper.
The defender meant to kick the ball to the goalkeeper. Touching it with a hand or arm is restricted here.
Opponents take an indirect free kick at the handling spot, with the goal-area adjustment if needed. No card for this handling offence alone.
Each case supplies the intent and sequence. No extra player touch or other offence is assumed.
Read all nine examples: feet and hands
- Deliberate kick
A defender deliberately kicks the ball to their own goalkeeper.
Use feet: Play on: feet are allowed. A deliberate pass to the goalkeeper can be controlled or passed on with the feet. The keeper may continue with their feet. Handling this pass would be an offence.
Handle ball: No: indirect free kick. The defender meant to kick the ball to the goalkeeper. Touching it with a hand or arm is restricted here. Opponents take an indirect free kick at the handling spot, with the goal-area adjustment if needed. No card for this handling offence alone.
- Sideways pass
A team-mate deliberately kicks sideways to the goalkeeper. The ball does not travel backwards.
Use feet: Play on: feet are allowed. The keeper can play this sideways pass with a foot. The pass direction changes nothing: handling would still be restricted.
Handle ball: No: indirect free kick. The deliberate kick was to the goalkeeper. Sideways and forward passes have the same handling restriction as backwards passes. Opponents take an indirect free kick at the handling spot, with the goal-area adjustment if needed. No card for this handling offence alone.
- Underhit pass
A defender means to pass to the goalkeeper but slips as they kick. The pass falls short; the keeper reaches it inside the penalty area.
Use feet: Play on: feet are allowed. The keeper reaches the underhit pass and plays it with a foot. The weak pass does not itself stop play. Handling it would be an offence.
Handle ball: No: indirect free kick. The intended target was the goalkeeper. An underhit or inaccurate kick is still a deliberate pass to them. Opponents take an indirect free kick at the handling spot, with the goal-area adjustment if needed. No card for this handling offence alone.
- Normal header
A defender heads an incoming high ball to the goalkeeper in ordinary play. No one has set up a trick to avoid the handling restriction.
Use feet: Play on: feet are allowed. The keeper can play this ordinary header with a foot. Handling is also allowed in this example because no deliberate trick is involved.
Handle ball: Yes: handling allowed. An ordinary header is not a kick. This example has no deliberate trick. The keeper may catch the ball. Ordinary chest and knee passes follow the same distinction.
- Accidental deflection
An opponent's shot accidentally rebounds off a defender towards the goalkeeper. The defender has not deliberately kicked it to the keeper.
Use feet: Play on: feet are allowed. The keeper plays the accidental rebound with a foot. They could also gather this rebound with their hands inside their own penalty area.
Handle ball: Yes: handling allowed. This accidental rebound was not a deliberate kick to the goalkeeper. The keeper may gather the rebound. An intended pass that goes wrong would be different.
- Team-mate's throw-in
The goalkeeper receives a team-mate's throw-in directly. No other player has touched the ball.
Use feet: Play on: feet are allowed. A goalkeeper can receive a team-mate's throw-in with their feet. A control touch alone would not allow them to pick it up afterwards.
Handle ball: No: indirect free kick. The ball came directly from a team-mate's throw-in. That has its own handling restriction, even though nobody kicked the ball. Opponents take an indirect free kick at the handling spot, with the goal-area adjustment if needed. No card for this handling offence alone.
- Poor first touch
After a team-mate deliberately kicks to them, the keeper tries to control the ball with a foot and loses it. They have not tried to kick it away.
Use feet: Play on: feet are allowed. The keeper recovers from the poor touch and continues with their feet. The control touch has not made handling legal. A clear attempt to kick it away would be different.
Handle ball: No: indirect free kick. A control touch does not remove the restriction. The keeper tried to trap the pass, not kick it away into play. Opponents take an indirect free kick at the handling spot, with the goal-area adjustment if needed. No card for this handling offence alone.
- Failed clearance
After a team-mate deliberately kicks to them, the keeper clearly tries to kick the ball away into play. The clearance fails and the ball stays within reach.
Use feet: Play on: feet are allowed. The keeper continues with their feet after the failed clearance. They could also handle here because they clearly tried to kick the ball into play.
Handle ball: Yes: handling allowed. The clear attempt to kick the ball into play brings this failed clearance within the exception. The keeper may gather the ball. Merely trying to control it would not have the same result.
- Staged flick and header
A defender deliberately flicks the ball up and heads it to the keeper to get around the handling restriction.
Use feet: Indirect free kick + caution. The defender's deliberate trick is already an offence, even if the keeper uses only their feet. The defender who initiated it gets a yellow card. Restart where the trick occurred, with the goal-area adjustment if needed.
Handle ball: Indirect free kick + caution. The defender's deliberate trick is already an offence, even if the keeper uses only their feet. The defender who initiated it gets a yellow card. Restart where the trick occurred, with the goal-area adjustment if needed.
Rule source: IFAB Law 12. The deliberate-trick caution goes to the initiator; that can be the goalkeeper.
Follow three events: how the team-mate sent the ball, whether the keeper clearly tried to kick it away, and what the keeper did next. A catch is not required for the handling offence: touching the ball with a hand or arm can be enough. A keeper can usually choose to keep playing with their feet; the deliberate-trick example is the important exception.
Each worked example supplies the intent and sequence of touches. To assess a real incident, you need those facts too. A short clip starting as the keeper reaches the ball may leave out the original kick, a throw-in or an earlier clearance attempt. These examples explain the stated situations; they cannot establish what happened in an unseen match.
Does a back pass have to go backwards?
No. The key is a deliberate kick to the goalkeeper. The direction can be backwards, sideways or forwards, and the keeper can move to meet the ball. In IFAB's glossary, contact with the foot or ankle counts as a kick; a normal header is a different action.
A pass intended for the goalkeeper remains deliberate if it is underhit or inaccurate. An accidental rebound from a blocked shot is different. Equally, a mis-hit pass aimed at another team-mate is not automatically a deliberate kick to the keeper just because the keeper collects it. The referee must judge the original action, not only where the ball ended up.
Can a goalkeeper catch a header, chest pass or knee pass?
Yes, after an ordinary header, chest pass or knee pass from a team-mate. For example, a defender can head an incoming high ball to the goalkeeper, who can catch it. The choice to head towards the keeper is allowed; it is not itself a trick.
A player must not arrange a deliberate trick to evade the handling restriction, such as flicking the ball up specifically to head it to the keeper. That is an indirect free kick even if the keeper never handles it. The player who initiated the trick is cautioned, including the goalkeeper if they initiated it. The restart is where the trick occurred, subject to the goal-area adjustment explained below.
Can a goalkeeper pick up a team-mate's throw-in?
Not when they receive it directly from the team-mate. The keeper may play it with their feet, but a control touch does not then permit them to pick it up. The same applies if they control the throw-in outside the penalty area and dribble into it: their own touches have not removed the restriction. A clear attempt to kick it into play is a separate exception.
An opponent's throw-in does not carry this team-mate restriction. If another player touches a team-mate's throw-in before the goalkeeper receives it, assess that new touch. A new deliberate kick to the keeper by a team-mate can still restrict handling. The word 'directly' does not mean every later touch makes catching legal.
What if the keeper mis-kicks it or takes a poor touch?
A failed clearance can allow the keeper to use their hands. They must have clearly kicked, or tried to kick, the ball to release it into play. If that attempt fails, they may then gather the ball inside their own penalty area. This exception applies after both a team-mate's deliberate kick and a direct team-mate's throw-in.
Merely trying to trap the ball does not remove the restriction. A poor first touch, a bounce off the keeper's foot or a slip afterwards is not enough on its own. Look for a clear attempt to send the ball away into play. The fact that the ball stayed close to the keeper does not tell you whether they tried to clear it or control it.
Where is the indirect free kick taken?
Where is the free kick taken?
Use the spot where the keeper illegally touched the ball with a hand or arm. In the small box, move the kick to the nearest point on its front line.
The kick or throw-in handling offence has already happened inside the penalty area. This tool locates that restart, not a deliberate trick or handball outside the area.
The central example is shown. The rule and all four examples are readable below.
Free kick: 5.5 m from the goal line, level with the goal centre.
The handling is inside the goal area. Use the nearest point on its boundary parallel to the goal line: 5.5 m from goal, at the same left–right position.
Indirect: another player must touch the ball before a goal can count.
Goal at the top. Left and right are as you look at this diagram.
Handling: 2 m from the goal line, level with the goal centre.
Read the rule and all four restart examples
A restricted-handling offence normally gives the opponents an indirect free kick at the handling spot. In the goal area, use the nearest point on the boundary parallel to the goal line. Its front line is 5.5 m from goal; the side boundaries are 9.16 m either side of the goal centre. Boundary lines belong to the area, so a point on a side line moves forward, while a point already on the front line stays there.
- Inside small box
- Handling: 2 m from the goal line, level with the goal centre. Free kick: 5.5 m from the goal line, level with the goal centre. The handling is inside the goal area. Use the nearest point on its boundary parallel to the goal line: 5.5 m from goal, at the same left–right position.
- Beside small box
- Handling: 2 m from the goal line, 12 m right of the goal centre. Free kick: 2 m from the goal line, 12 m right of the goal centre. The handling is beside the goal area, although close to goal. It is still inside the penalty area; the indirect free kick stays at the handling spot.
- Beyond small box
- Handling: 10 m from the goal line, level with the goal centre. Free kick: 10 m from the goal line, level with the goal centre. The handling is beyond the goal area and still inside the penalty area. The indirect free kick stays at the handling spot.
- On small-box line
- Handling: 5.5 m from the goal line, level with the goal centre. Free kick: 5.5 m from the goal line, level with the goal centre. The handling is already on the front goal-area line, 5.5 m from goal. The line belongs to the area, but the restart needs no move.
For any position in the sliders' range, keep the same left–right coordinate. Move only the distance from goal, to 5.5 m, if the point is in the goal area. The sliders cover 1–16 m from goal and 18 m left to 18 m right; they do not cover the whole pitch.
Defenders normally stay at least 9.15 m from the ball until it is in play. They can stand nearer on their own goal line between the posts. If three or more defenders form a wall, attackers must stay at least 1 m from it until the ball is in play.
Rule sources: IFAB Law 13: free-kick position and Law 1: area lines and dimensions.
Start at the spot where the keeper illegally touched the ball with a hand or arm. The team-mate's passing position does not decide this restart. If the handling happened in the goal area, the smaller box, use the nearest point on the goal-area line parallel to the goal line. That front line is 5.5 metres, or six yards, from goal.
Being close to goal is not enough to trigger the adjustment: handling beside the small box stays at the handling spot. The boundary lines belong to the area. A point on a side boundary moves to the front line; a point already on the front line stays there. The examples let you compare those positions.
Is it a penalty, a yellow card or a red card?
For these back-pass and direct-throw-in handling offences inside the keeper's own penalty area, the restart is an indirect free kick. There is no penalty kick and no card for the handling offence alone, even if the keeper prevents the ball entering the goal. The deliberate trick carries its own caution, as explained above.
Separate offences have separate consequences. Outside their own penalty area, the keeper follows the same handball rules as an outfield player: a handball offence gives a direct free kick and can carry a card. A second-touch offence after the keeper's own restart, before another player touches the ball, can require a yellow card for stopping a promising attack or a red card for denying a goal or an obvious scoring chance. That can apply to a second touch with the feet as well as the hands.
Indirect means the ball must touch another player before a goal can count; that player can be on either team. The referee signals an indirect free kick with a raised arm. If a properly signalled indirect free kick goes straight into the opponents' goal without another touch, the restart is a goal kick. This is why attackers often use a short touch to a team-mate before shooting.
The eight-second rule is separate: a goalkeeper who controls the ball with their hands or arms inside their own penalty area for more than eight seconds concedes a corner. That time limit does not change the back-pass decision.
When was the back pass rule introduced?
The back-pass handling restriction was introduced in 1992, the year the Premier League began. It stopped teams repeatedly passing to the keeper to pick the ball up and slow play. The Premier League's retrospective on Peter Schmeichel describes him joining outfield passing drills as he prepared for the change.
The rule makes a pass to the goalkeeper a moment to watch. Follow the delivery, the keeper's next action and any attempt to clear the ball. If an indirect free kick follows, check the handling spot against the small box. Those details explain the decision more reliably than the direction of the pass.