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Law 13 - Free Kicks

Law 13 of the IFAB Laws of the Game (2026/27 edition) distinguishes direct and indirect free kicks, sets the procedure (position, stationary ball, opponent distance, the attacking one-metre wall rule) and what happens when each type of kick goes directly into either goal.

Why this wins its question: The 2019 one-metre attacker rule and the goal-area positioning subtleties are missing from most free-kick explainers; claims bind the 2026/27 IFAB text of Law 13 with the edition pinned.

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. The referee signals an indirect free kick by raising an arm above the head and maintains the signal until the kick has been taken and the ball touches another player or goes out of play.

    confidence 0.95Law 13 — Free Kicks (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  2. A goal may be scored directly from a direct free kick against the opposing team. If an indirect free kick enters the opponents' goal without touching another player, a goal kick is awarded; if a free kick of either type enters the kicker's own goal directly, a corner kick is awarded to the opponents.

    confidence 0.96Law 13 — Free Kicks (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  3. The ball must be stationary and opponents must be at least 9.15 m (10 yds) from the ball until it is in play, unless they are on their own goal line between the goalposts.

    confidence 0.95Law 13 — Free Kicks (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  4. Where three or more defending players form a wall, all attacking players must remain at least 1 m (1 yd) from the wall until the ball is in play; the sanction for infringement is an indirect free kick.

    confidence 0.95Law 13 — Free Kicks (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  5. An indirect free kick awarded to the attacking team for an offence inside the opponents' goal area is taken from the nearest point on the goal area line parallel to the goal line; the defending team may take a free kick in its own goal area from anywhere in that area.

    confidence 0.94Law 13 — Free Kicks (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  6. The kicker must not touch the ball again before it has touched another player; doing so is sanctioned with an indirect free kick.

    confidence 0.94Law 13 — Free Kicks (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary

  7. This object reflects the 2026/27 edition of the Laws of the Game, the current edition published by The IFAB at the verification date.

    confidence 0.98IFAB Laws of the Game — editions index (current edition 2026/27) · primaryLaw 13 — Free Kicks (Laws of the Game 2026/27) · primary