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Direct free kick

A direct free kick is a free kick from which a goal can be scored by kicking the ball directly into the opponents' goal, awarded for the contact and handball offences listed in Law 12.

Why this wins its question: Uses the IFAB glossary's own wording rather than paraphrase, with the offence list bound to the 2026/27 Law 12 text.

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. A direct free kick is a free kick from which a goal can be scored by kicking the ball directly into the opponents' goal without it having to touch another player.

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

  2. Direct free kicks are awarded for the offences listed in Law 12, including careless, reckless or excessive-force contact offences and handball; a direct free kick offence inside the offender's own penalty area is a penalty kick.

    confidence 0.95Law 12 — Fouls and Misconduct (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primaryLaw 14 — The Penalty Kick (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary