Football is one of the most popular sports in the world. With a few arguments pushed forward by Americans, we can say that it is the most popular sport. But, truth be told, the place where it is not topping the popularity polls is the United States of America. When it comes to sports, Americans are a unique nation. For their own amusement, they’ve developed more than a few sports. 

Soccer, as it’s called in the US, is not even among the top four sports in America. In Europe, South America, and some parts of Asia, football (soccer) is viewed as a religion. The English Premier League is one of the most viewed competitions in the world. Yet, the Americans won’t budge. They have their NBA league for basketball, NFL for football (American football), MLB for baseball, and NHL for hockey, and soccer comes in with MLS. 

Many of the issues that Americans have with football are that they don’t understand the rules. After all, it differs a lot from the NFL, NHL, or even MLB as the most peculiar of these sports. To give football a new dimension, and this article is not intended only for Americans reading, we will list the basic rules of this beautiful game. They might not be as easy to understand as playing a Thracian Treasures casino slot game, but if you read it carefully and a few times, you’ll get the hang of it. So, let’s start.  

The Offside Rule

While one of the essential rules of football, it might be the one hardest for new fans to understand. An offside occurs when a player is closer to the goal line of the opponent’s goal than with every opposition player, not including the goalkeeper, when the ball is played in the player’s direction. This rule does not apply when the player is in his own half. 

Handball

The rule of handball is a simple one. Infield players are encouraged not to touch the ball with their hands as the referee has sanctioned it. Whenever there is a handball, the game is stopped. If handball happens by the defending player inside the penalty box, a penalty is given. The only players allowed to play with their hands are the goalkeepers, who can only do it inside their penalty box. With handball, intention plays a vital role; if the contact between the hand and the ball is deemed non intentional by the player, the referee will not sanction it. 

Fouls

A player’s reckless and unfair action toward an opponent is deemed a foul. The misconducts the referee sanctions include holding, tripping, pushing, and striking an opponent. Those who referee the game make a difference between violent conduct, abusive language, foul play, and regular fouls. Depending on the severity of a foul, a player can get only a warning, a yellow card (two yellow cards, a red one), and a red card, which means that the player needs to leave the game, making the opposition more numerous. 

Free Kicks

Free Kicks occur after a foul or a handball. They can be direct or indirect. With direct free kicks, a player who is adept enough, such as Andrea Pirlo and Alessandro Del Piero, can score a goal. Indirect kicks forbid players to target the goal. The only way to score from an indirect free kick is if another player touches the ball before entering the net.

Penalty Kicks

A penalty kick is awarded when a foul or another infringement by the defending team happens within the penalty area. When one is awarded the ball, it is placed on the penalty spot, and the infield player can score a one-on-one opportunity.  For sports bettors on Bitcasino, a penalty kick is like a gift, unless your penalty taker is Galeno from Porto, who famously missed two penalties during a single match, failing to convert in added time against Santa Clara for the win. 

Throw Ins

When the ball goes out of play along the touchlines, a throw-in is awarded to the team opposing the one that kicked the ball out. So, the throw-in is taken by the team that didn’t touch the ball before it left the field. The throw-in is taken by a single player who throws the ball in by placing it behind his head before the throw using both hands. Also, both of his feet need to remain on the ground. A goal can’t be scored from a throw-in, but interestingly, Stoke City, back in the days of Tony Pulis, had the strategy of throwing the ball deep into the penalty box (by Rory Delap )where one of their target men (read Peter Crouch) brought it down for other players. For Stoke, this was like a corner kick. 

Corner Kick 

Unlike throw-ins, which are awarded when the ball crosses the touchline, corners are awarded when it crosses the goal line by being played by one of the defending players on that side of the pitch. You can score directly from corners, but usually, the ball is crossed into the penalty box for a header. A corner is taken from the corner arc, with the first defending player at least 10 yards out. 

Substitutions

A game of football is played by 11 players on each team. 10 of them are outfielders, while one is the goalkeeper between the posts. Teams are allowed to have substitutions, with the number of substitutions depending on the competition played. It can range from 5 to seven to nine, and in friendly matches, it can even exceed those numbers.  During the game, teams were allowed to make three substitutions, while after the COVID-19 years, that number increased to 5, and that rule stood in most leagues. 

Duration of the Game

A football game is 90 minutes long and divided into two halves of 45 minutes each. Depending on what happens on the field during the regular 90 minutes, the referee can add additional time. Between the two half-times, we have a 15-minute break for players to rest and coaches to make tactical adjustments. 

Bottom Line

While football has more depth than the rules we have listed, what was written should be enough for every beginner to understand this game better.