{
  "id": "law-16-goal-kick",
  "type": "entity",
  "name": "Law 16 - The Goal Kick",
  "summary": "Law 16 of the IFAB Laws of the Game (2026/27 edition) covers when a goal kick is awarded, the procedure (kicked from anywhere in the goal area, opponents outside the penalty area, in play when kicked and clearly moving), scoring, and the five-second countdown sanction for delaying.",
  "locale": "en",
  "tags": [
    "laws-of-the-game",
    "ifab",
    "goal-kick",
    "restarts"
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "rel": "cross_references",
      "target": "law-11-offside"
    }
  ],
  "questions": [
    "Can opponents stand in the penalty area at a goal kick?",
    "Can you score directly from a goal kick?",
    "What happens if the goal kick is delayed?"
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "c1",
      "text": "A goal kick is awarded when the whole of the ball passes over the goal line, on the ground or in the air, having last touched a player of the attacking team, and a goal is not scored.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-16-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.97
    },
    {
      "id": "c2",
      "text": "The ball must be stationary and is kicked from any point within the goal area by a player of the defending team; it is in play when it is kicked and clearly moves, and opponents must be outside the penalty area until the ball is in play.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-16-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.96
    },
    {
      "id": "c3",
      "text": "A goal may be scored directly from a goal kick, but only against the opposing team; if the ball directly enters the kicker's own goal, a corner kick is awarded to the opponents.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-16-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.95
    },
    {
      "id": "c4",
      "text": "If a player unfairly delays taking the goal kick, the referee whistles and signals a five-second countdown; if the kick is not taken within five seconds, a corner kick is awarded to the opposing team.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-16-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.92
    },
    {
      "id": "c5",
      "text": "If, after the ball is in play, the kicker touches it again before it has touched another player, an indirect free kick is awarded; a handball offence by the kicker is sanctioned with a direct free kick, unless the kicker was the goalkeeper, in which case an indirect free kick is awarded.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-16-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.92
    },
    {
      "id": "c6",
      "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-16-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.98
    }
  ],
  "takeaways": [],
  "faqs": [],
  "evidence_tier": "primary",
  "evidence": {
    "level": "industry_observation",
    "source_types": [
      "industry_observation"
    ]
  },
  "moat_flag": true,
  "winning_edge": "The five-second delayed-restart countdown is recent rule drift most explainers have not caught up with; claims bind the 2026/27 IFAB text of Law 16, including the since-2019 rule that opponents (not the ball) must clear the penalty area.",
  "confidence": 0.94,
  "last_verified": "2026-08-08",
  "canonical_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/law-16-goal-kick",
  "api_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/api/k/law-16-goal-kick.json",
  "jsonld": {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "name": "Law 16 - The Goal Kick",
    "description": "Law 16 of the IFAB Laws of the Game (2026/27 edition) covers when a goal kick is awarded, the procedure (kicked from anywhere in the goal area, opponents outside the penalty area, in play when kicked and clearly moving), scoring, and the five-second countdown sanction for delaying.",
    "url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/law-16-goal-kick",
    "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 16 — The Goal Kick (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/the-goal-kick/"
      }
    ],
    "@type": "Article",
    "headline": "Law 16 - The Goal Kick"
  }
}