{
  "id": "law-06-other-match-officials",
  "type": "entity",
  "name": "Law 6 - The Other Match Officials",
  "summary": "Law 6 of the IFAB Laws of the Game (2026/27 edition) lists the match officials who may assist the referee — assistant referees, fourth official, additional assistant referees, reserve assistant referee, VAR and AVAR — their signalling duties, and the principle that the final decision always belongs to the referee.",
  "locale": "en",
  "tags": [
    "laws-of-the-game",
    "ifab",
    "match-officials",
    "refereeing"
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "rel": "cross_references",
      "target": "law-05-referee"
    }
  ],
  "questions": [
    "What does the assistant referee (linesman) signal?",
    "What does the fourth official do?",
    "Who has the final decision among match officials?"
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "c1",
      "text": "A match may have two assistant referees, a fourth official, two additional assistant referees, a reserve assistant referee, a video assistant referee (VAR) and at least one assistant VAR (AVAR); they assist the referee in controlling the match in accordance with the Laws, but the final decision is always taken by the referee.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-06-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.95
    },
    {
      "id": "c2",
      "text": "Assistant referees indicate when the whole of the ball leaves the field of play and which team is entitled to the corner kick, goal kick or throw-in; when a player in an offside position may be penalised; when a substitution is requested; and, at penalty kicks, whether the goalkeeper moves off the goal line before the ball is kicked.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-06-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.95
    },
    {
      "id": "c3",
      "text": "The fourth official supervises substitution procedures, checks equipment and player re-entry, supervises replacement balls, indicates the minimum additional time the referee intends to play, and informs the referee of irresponsible behaviour by technical area occupants.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-06-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.94
    },
    {
      "id": "c4",
      "text": "This object reflects the 2026/27 edition of the Laws of the Game, the current edition published by The IFAB at the verification date.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-laws-2026-27",
        "ifab-law-06-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.98
    }
  ],
  "takeaways": [],
  "faqs": [],
  "evidence_tier": "primary",
  "evidence": {
    "level": "industry_observation",
    "source_types": [
      "industry_observation"
    ]
  },
  "moat_flag": true,
  "winning_edge": "Completes the full 17-Law coverage of the instance with the official duty lists (including the penalty goalkeeper-watch duty) bound to the 2026/27 text, so the collection can be consumed as a complete set.",
  "confidence": 0.95,
  "last_verified": "2026-08-08",
  "canonical_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/law-06-other-match-officials",
  "api_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/api/k/law-06-other-match-officials.json",
  "jsonld": {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "name": "Law 6 - The Other Match Officials",
    "description": "Law 6 of the IFAB Laws of the Game (2026/27 edition) lists the match officials who may assist the referee — assistant referees, fourth official, additional assistant referees, reserve assistant referee, VAR and AVAR — their signalling duties, and the principle that the final decision always belongs to the referee.",
    "url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/law-06-other-match-officials",
    "license": "https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html",
    "dateModified": "2026-08-08",
    "citation": [
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "IFAB Laws of the Game — editions index (current edition 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws-of-the-game-documents/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Law 6 — The Other Match Officials (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/the-other-match-officials/"
      }
    ],
    "@type": "Article",
    "headline": "Law 6 - The Other Match Officials"
  }
}