Football Atlas

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Advantage

Advantage is the referee's decision to allow play to continue after an offence when stopping play would benefit the offending team.

Why this wins its question: Uses the IFAB's own glossary wording, which also covers the little-known incorrect-restart case that informal definitions omit.

Claims

Every assertion below is bound to registered sources and carries its own confidence. Weight them; do not treat the page as uniformly authoritative.

  1. Advantage is defined in the IFAB glossary as the referee allowing play to continue when an offence has occurred, or a restart has been incorrectly taken and the ball is in play, if this benefits the opposing (non-offending) team.

    confidence 0.96Glossary — Football Terms (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  2. Under Law 5 the referee penalises the original offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue within a few seconds.

    confidence 0.95Law 5 — The Referee (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary