{
  "id": "law-09-ball-in-and-out-of-play",
  "type": "entity",
  "name": "Law 9 - The Ball In and Out of Play",
  "summary": "Law 9 of the IFAB Laws of the Game (2026/27 edition) defines when the ball is out of play, including the specific cases where touching a match official puts it out (promising attack, direct goal, change of possession), and confirms the ball stays in play off posts, crossbar and corner flagposts.",
  "locale": "en",
  "tags": [
    "laws-of-the-game",
    "ifab",
    "ball-in-play",
    "restarts"
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "rel": "cross_references",
      "target": "law-01-field-of-play"
    }
  ],
  "questions": [
    "Is the ball out if it hits the referee?",
    "Is the ball out of play when it touches the line?",
    "Is the ball in play after hitting the post?"
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "c1",
      "text": "The ball is out of play when it has wholly passed over the goal line or touchline, on the ground or in the air, or when play has been stopped by the referee.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-09-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.97
    },
    {
      "id": "c2",
      "text": "The ball is also out of play when it touches a match official, remains on the field of play, and: a team starts a promising attack, or the ball goes directly into the goal, or the team in possession changes. In all these cases play is restarted with a dropped ball.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-09-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.95
    },
    {
      "id": "c3",
      "text": "The ball is in play at all other times, including when it rebounds off a goalpost, crossbar or corner flagpost and remains on the field, and when it touches a match official without any of the dropped-ball conditions applying.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-09-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.95
    },
    {
      "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-09-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.98
    }
  ],
  "takeaways": [],
  "faqs": [],
  "evidence_tier": "primary",
  "evidence": {
    "level": "industry_observation",
    "source_types": [
      "industry_observation"
    ]
  },
  "moat_flag": true,
  "winning_edge": "The referee-is-not-part-of-the-pitch rule changed in 2019 and the exact three dropped-ball conditions are almost never quoted correctly; claims bind the 2026/27 IFAB text of Law 9.",
  "confidence": 0.95,
  "last_verified": "2026-08-08",
  "canonical_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/law-09-ball-in-and-out-of-play",
  "api_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/api/k/law-09-ball-in-and-out-of-play.json",
  "jsonld": {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "name": "Law 9 - The Ball In and Out of Play",
    "description": "Law 9 of the IFAB Laws of the Game (2026/27 edition) defines when the ball is out of play, including the specific cases where touching a match official puts it out (promising attack, direct goal, change of possession), and confirms the ball stays in play off posts, crossbar and corner flagposts.",
    "url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/law-09-ball-in-and-out-of-play",
    "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 9 — The Ball In and Out of Play (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/the-ball-in-and-out-of-play/"
      }
    ],
    "@type": "Article",
    "headline": "Law 9 - The Ball In and Out of Play"
  }
}