{
  "id": "direct-vs-indirect-free-kick",
  "type": "comparison",
  "name": "Direct vs indirect free kick",
  "summary": "The two free kick types differ in three practical ways under the 2026/27 Laws: whether a goal can be scored without another touch, which offences produce them, and what they become inside the penalty area. This comparison separates all three, bound to Laws 12 and 13.",
  "locale": "en",
  "tags": [
    "comparison",
    "free-kicks",
    "laws-of-the-game",
    "refereeing"
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "rel": "compares",
      "target": "direct-free-kick"
    },
    {
      "rel": "compares",
      "target": "indirect-free-kick"
    },
    {
      "rel": "governed_by",
      "target": "law-13-free-kicks"
    }
  ],
  "questions": [
    "What is the difference between a direct and an indirect free kick?",
    "Why do some fouls give a penalty and others do not?"
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "c1",
      "text": "From a direct free kick a goal can be scored by kicking the ball directly into the opponents' goal; from an indirect free kick a goal counts only if another player of either team touches the ball first, and the referee signals the indirect kick with a raised arm held until the ball is touched or out of play.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-glossary-2026-27",
        "ifab-law-13-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.95
    },
    {
      "id": "c2",
      "text": "Direct free kicks punish the Law 12 contact offences committed carelessly, recklessly or with excessive force, plus handball, holding, impeding with contact, biting, spitting and throwing objects; indirect free kicks punish non-contact and technical offences such as dangerous play, impeding without contact, dissent, offside and goalkeeper handling offences.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-12-2026-27",
        "ifab-law-11-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.94
    },
    {
      "id": "c3",
      "text": "Inside the defending team's penalty area a direct free kick offence becomes a penalty kick, while an indirect free kick offence remains an indirect free kick, taken from the nearest point on the goal area line parallel to the goal line when the offence occurred inside the goal area.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-14-2026-27",
        "ifab-law-13-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.94
    },
    {
      "id": "c4",
      "text": "If an indirect free kick enters the opponents' goal without another touch, the restart is a goal kick; a direct free kick that does the same is a goal.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-13-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.95
    }
  ],
  "takeaways": [
    "A direct free kick can score untouched; an indirect one needs another touch.",
    "The referee signals an indirect free kick with a raised arm.",
    "In the penalty area a direct-kick offence becomes a penalty; an indirect one does not.",
    "An indirect kick straight into the goal gives a goal kick, not a goal."
  ],
  "faqs": [],
  "evidence_tier": "primary",
  "evidence": {
    "level": "industry_observation",
    "source_types": [
      "industry_observation"
    ]
  },
  "moat_flag": false,
  "winning_edge": "Answers usually stop at \"one can score, the other cannot\"; this comparison also binds the offence families and the penalty-area escalation asymmetry to the 2026/27 texts of Laws 12, 13 and 14.",
  "confidence": 0.94,
  "last_verified": "2026-08-08",
  "body": "# Direct vs indirect free kick\n\nOne free kick type can beat the goalkeeper on its own; the other needs an\naccomplice. That is the famous difference — but it is the least useful of\nthe three.\n\n## Difference 1 - Scoring\n\nA **direct** free kick can be scored by kicking the ball straight into\nthe opponents' goal. An **indirect** free kick only produces a goal if\nanother player — of either team — touches the ball on the way. If an\nindirect kick flies in untouched, the restart is a goal kick, not a goal.\n\nThe referee tells you which one it is: an indirect free kick comes with a\nraised arm, held up until the ball is touched by another player or goes\nout of play.\n\n## Difference 2 - The offences behind them\n\nDirect free kicks punish the physical offences of Law 12: charging,\njumping at, kicking, pushing, striking, tackling, tripping, holding and\nimpeding with contact — when careless, reckless or with excessive force —\nplus handball, biting, spitting and throwing objects.\n\nIndirect free kicks punish the technical and non-contact offences:\ndangerous play, impeding without contact, dissent, offside, and the\ngoalkeeper handling offences (holding too long, back-pass, throw-in from\na team-mate).\n\n## Difference 3 - What happens in the box\n\nThe asymmetry that decides matches: a direct free kick offence by the\ndefending team inside its own penalty area becomes a **penalty kick**. An\nindirect free kick offence in the same place stays an indirect free kick\n— and if it happened inside the goal area, it is taken from the nearest\npoint on the goal area line parallel to the goal line.\n\nThat is why a reckless tackle in the box is a penalty, while a back-pass\npicked up on the six-yard line is only an indirect free kick with eleven\ndefenders on the goal line.",
  "canonical_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/direct-vs-indirect-free-kick",
  "api_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/api/k/direct-vs-indirect-free-kick.json",
  "jsonld": {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "name": "Direct vs indirect free kick",
    "description": "The two free kick types differ in three practical ways under the 2026/27 Laws: whether a goal can be scored without another touch, which offences produce them, and what they become inside the penalty area. This comparison separates all three, bound to Laws 12 and 13.",
    "url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/direct-vs-indirect-free-kick",
    "license": "https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html",
    "dateModified": "2026-08-08",
    "citation": [
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Law 11 — Offside (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/offside/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Law 12 — Fouls and Misconduct (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/fouls-and-misconduct/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Law 14 — The Penalty Kick (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/the-penalty-kick/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Law 13 — Free Kicks (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/free-kicks/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Glossary — Football Terms (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/glossary/football-terms/"
      }
    ],
    "@type": "Article",
    "headline": "Direct vs indirect free kick"
  }
}