Direct and indirect free kicks: which touches make a goal?

Start with the restart type, then establish the touches. A goalkeeper is another player; a post is not. Two kicks by the original taker do not satisfy the requirement for somebody else to touch the ball.

These examples assume a stationary ball, a correctly signalled and otherwise lawful restart, and no separate offence. They isolate the touch question rather than attempting to referee a full incident. An unclear replay remains unclear.

Direct-free-kick offences include holding, handball offences and challenges such as tripping or pushing when the Law 12 conditions are met. An indirect free kick can follow dangerous play without contact, impeding without contact, certain goalkeeper handling offences or offside.

Do not reduce the distinction to serious versus minor, or contact versus no contact. Handball can be a direct-free-kick offence without contact with an opponent. A high boot needs its actual circumstances assessed; the height of a foot alone is not a complete ruling.

A card answers a separate disciplinary question. Seeing yellow does not, on its own, tell you which restart was awarded. Identify the offence and the referee's decision, rather than inferring the restart from the card.

A penalty follows a direct-free-kick offence committed by a player inside their own penalty area while the ball is in play. An indirect-free-kick offence does not become a penalty just because it happens inside that area.

For example, a goalkeeper handling a ball deliberately kicked to them by a team-mate can result in an indirect free kick. That is different from an ordinary back-pass received with the feet. The offence, not simply the location, decides the restart type.

For an attacking indirect free kick following an offence inside the goal area, the kick moves to the nearest point of the goal-area line parallel to the goal line. The small goal area and the larger penalty area are not interchangeable.

For an indirect free kick, the referee raises an arm overhead. After the kick, the signal continues until another player touches the ball, the ball leaves play or a direct goal is no longer possible. If the referee omits the signal and the untouched kick goes into goal, the indirect free kick is retaken.

There is another easy trap: kicking either type of free kick straight into your own goal gives the opponents a corner, not an own goal. Once another player has touched it, that direct-from-the-restart exception no longer applies.

Yes. Neither direct nor indirect free kicks have the direct-receipt exemption that applies to goal kicks, throw-ins and corners. A receiver's position and involvement can therefore matter when a free kick is delivered.

A touch that satisfies the indirect-free-kick requirement is not a blanket permission for the goal. Offside and other offences are separate questions. That is why the example tool states its assumptions before giving an outcome.

A goal entry tells you the recorded outcome; it may not tell you which player made the small intervening touch. Likewise, a foul entry may omit the referee's signal. Do not fill those gaps by guessing from the score or the name of the scorer.

Our examples use the IFAB Laws available on the review date, with fictional sequences and no claim to overrule a match official. They do not decide handball, advantage, offside, misconduct or a missing-signal dispute from incomplete video.

Find the fixture or result in Match XI for the recorded match context. For a disputed restart, seek the official decision and footage that actually establishes the relevant touches. A missing touch description is unknown information, not proof that nobody touched the ball.