Law 2: The Ball3. Additional balls·Page 56, 2026/27 edition

3. Additional balls

The provision as it is printed, and everything on Ruleside that turns on it.

Additional balls which meet the requirements of Law 2 may be placed around the field of play and their use is under the referee's control.
IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, page 56 · clause law-2-3427f5c1

Verdicts that turn on it 2

Walk the tree to any of these and this clause is part of the answer.

The ball may not be changed without the referee's permissionball-in-play
The replacement balls are supervised by the fourth officialmatch-officials

The Laws of the Game are published by The IFAB and quoted here for the purpose of explaining the decisions on this site. Ruleside is not affiliated with The IFAB or FIFA. Every clause of The Ball that Ruleside cites.