Playing field
Because of the game's origins in England and the original supremacy of
the four British football associations within the IFAB, the standard
dimension of a football field (or "pitch") are measured in
Imperial units with approximate
metric
equivalents. According to IFAB regulations the length of pitch for
international matches should be in the range 110-120 yards (100-110 m) and
the width should be in the range 70-80 yards (64-75 m). (For other matches
the constraints are looser: 100-130 yards (90-120 m) length by 50-100 yards
(45-90 m) width.) The dimensions are sometimes changed to accommodate
younger players, but the pitch should always be longer than it is wide. The
area is under
a hectare.
The pitch is divided at the centre: this is the halfway line.
Exactly halfway across the halfway line is the centre spot (kick
offs at the beginning of each half and after a goal is scored are taken from
this spot). A circle is drawn around the centre spot, the centre circle
which has a radius of 10 yards (9.5 m) from the centre spot.
At either end of the pitch is a goal mouth. This is formed by two upright
posts placed equidistant from the corner flagposts, 24 feet (7.3 m) apart
and 8 feet (2.4 m) in height, joined at the top by a crossbar. Nets are
usually placed behind the goal, but are not required by the Laws of the
Game. Two boxes are marked out on the pitch in front of the goal. The
smaller box, called the 6 yard box or "goal area, is laid
out to surround the goal at an equal distance of 6 yards (5.5 m). "Goal
Kicks" and any free kick to the defending team may be taken from anywhere in
this area; indirect free kicks to the attacking team must be taken from the
point on this line parallel to the goal line nearest where an infraction
occurred. The outer box is known as the penalty area or the 18
yard box, and is set 18 yards (16.5 m) to each side of the goal, and 18
yards in front of it. A small semicircle (called the restraining arc) is
also drawn at the edge of the penalty area, the D, 10 yards (9.5 m)
from the penalty mark. This is an exclusion zone for all players other than
the one taking the kick in the event of a
penalty being awarded.
The penalty spot (or penalty mark) is immediately in the middle
of and 12 yards (11 m) in front of the goal.
In each corner of the pitch a small quarter circle with a 1 yard radius
is drawn where corner kicks are taken from.
All lines drawn on the pitch are a part of the area which they define. A
ball on the touchline is still on the field of play, a ball on the line of
the goal area is in the goal area, and a foul committed over the 18-yard
line is in the penalty area. A ball must wholly cross the touchline to be
out of play, and a ball must wholly cross the goal line (between the goal
posts) before a goal is scored; if any part of the ball is still over the
line, the ball is still in play.
Duration
Standard durations
A standard adult football match consists of two periods (known as halves)
of 45 minutes each. There is usually a 15-minute break between halves, known
as half-time. The end of the match is known as full-time.
Extra time and shootouts
Most games simply end after these two halves, either with one team
winning or with a draw (a tied game). However, some games, particularly
knockout competition matches, provide for
extra
time in the event of a tied result at the end the two halves of normal
time: two further periods of 15 minutes are played. Until recently, IFAB
have experimented with various forms of 'sudden death' extra time (see below
for details); however, these experiments have now been abandoned.
If the score is still tied after extra time, some competitions allow the
use of
kicks from the penalty mark (colloquially known as penalty shoot-outs)
to determine a winner. Other competitions may require the game to be
replayed.
Note that goals scored during extra time periods count towards the final
score of the game, unlike kicks from the penalty mark which are only used to
decide the team that progresses to the next part of the tournament (with
goals scored not making up part of the final score).
Referee as official timekeeper
The referee is the official timekeeper for the match, and it is part of
his duties to make allowance for time lost through substitutions, injured
players requiring attention, cautions and dismissals, sundry time wasting,
etc (although normally no allowance is made for small amounts of time lost
during most short breaks in play, such as for throw-ins or free kicks,
unless the referee anticipates a large amount of time will be lost before
the restart). When making such an allowance for time lost, the referee is
often said to be "adding time on". The amount of time is at the sole
discretion of the referee, and the referee alone signals when the match has
been completed; there are no other timekeepers, although assistant referees
carry a watch and may provide a second opinion if required to by the
referee. In matches where a fourth official is appointed, towards the end of
the half the referee will signal how many minutes remain to be played, and
the fourth official then signals this to players and spectators by holding
up a board showing this number. Note that there is often semantic debate as
to whether the referee is "adding on" time to the end of a half, or rather
treating time during stoppages as though it never existed as part of the
match time; this distinction has little bearing on the practical conduct of
a game, however it may be noted that the pre-1997
wording of the laws stated that the referee "shall ... allow the full or
agreed time adding thereto all time lost through injury or
accident" (Law V), and later FIFA guidelines regarding the annotation of
goal scoring times suggested that time is indeed "added-on" to the end of
the agreed half period.
Golden and silver goal experiments
See main articles:
Golden goal;
Silver goal.
In the late
1990s, the IFAB experimented with ways of making matches more likely to
end without requiring
kicks from the penalty mark, which were often seen as an undesirable way
to end a match.
These involved rules ending a game in overtime early, either when the
first goal in overtime was scored (golden
goal), or at the end of the first period of overtime if one team was by
then leading (silver
goal). Both these experiments have been discontinued by IFAB.
