Soccer Rules Explained — A 5-Minute Guide for Beginners

Learn the rules, and the game gets 10x more fun

Soccer’s official rulebook is the 17 Laws of the Game, written and maintained by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). You don’t need to memorize all 17 — just the core ideas below are enough to change how you watch a match.

The basics — players, time, and scoring

Players: 11 per side (including 1 goalkeeper). A team can’t continue with fewer than 7 players on the pitch.
Time: Two 45-minute halves (90 minutes total) plus stoppage time. 15-minute halftime break. A drawn league match stays a draw; a knockout match goes to two 15-minute extra-time periods, then a penalty shootout.
Scoring: A goal counts once the ball fully crosses the goal line between the posts and under the crossbar. Most goals wins.
Subs: Official matches typically allow up to 5 substitutions
(varies by competition).

The most confusing rule — offside

Offside exists to stop a player from camping out near the opponent’s goal, waiting for a pass.

A player is in an offside POSITION the moment the ball is
played to them if they are:
- in the opponent's half, AND
- ahead of the ball, AND
- closer to the goal line than both the ball and the
  second-to-last opponent (usually the last defender)

→ Being in that position alone is NOT a foul.
  It only becomes an offside OFFENSE if the player then
  actively gets involved in the play.

* There is no offside from a player’s own half, or when the ball comes from a throw-in, goal kick, or corner kick.

Fouls and how play restarts

Situation	Restart
Regular foul	Opponent’s free kick (direct or indirect)
Defensive foul inside the penalty box	Penalty kick
Ball goes out over the sideline	Throw-in (thrown in by hand)
Attacker knocks the ball out over the goal line	Goal kick
Defender knocks the ball out over the goal line	Corner kick

Warnings and dismissals — cards

Yellow card (caution): rough tackles, delaying the game,
dissent, etc. Two yellows in one match = red card.
Red card (sending-off): serious foul play, violent conduct,
or denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO).
→ A sent-off player cannot be replaced — their team simply
  plays the rest of the match a player short.

VAR — video review

The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) only steps in to correct 4 categories of “clear and obvious errors”:

Goals (checking for offside or a foul in the build-up)
Penalty kick decisions — awarded or overturned
Direct red cards
Mistaken identity (the wrong player was cautioned or sent off)

Positions at a glance

GK (Goalkeeper): the only player allowed to use hands, and only inside their own penalty box
DF (Defender): stops the opponent from scoring
MF (Midfielder): links defense and attack, controls tempo
FW (Forward): responsible for scoring goals

Key takeaways

11 players, 90 minutes — a goal only counts once the ball fully crosses the goal line.
Offside requires both conditions: being in an offside position AND getting involved in the play.
Fouls restart with a free kick or penalty kick; the ball going out restarts with a throw-in, goal kick, or corner kick.
Two yellow cards or one red card means an early exit for that player.
VAR only reviews four things: goals, penalties, red cards, and mistaken identity.

This guide follows IFAB’s official “Laws of the Game.” Specific tournaments and leagues may apply their own supplementary regulations.