Corner Kick

A corner kick is awarded when the ball fully crosses the goal line having last been touched by a defending player. It is also the sanction for two delay offences: a goalkeeper controlling the ball for more than eight seconds inside their own penalty area, and a player delaying the taking of their team's goal kick.^5, ^6, ^7, ^8, ^9, ¹⁰

Key points

✓Awarded when the whole of the ball passes over the goal line having last touched a defending player, and no goal is scored^6, ⁷
✓Also awarded where the referee penalises the goalkeeper for controlling the ball with the hands or arms for more than eight seconds^5, ^6, ^8, ⁹
✓That eight-second offence is a goalkeeper inside their own penalty area, controlling the ball before releasing it, which Law 12 states and Law 17's line does not repeat⁵
✓Also awarded where the referee penalises a player for delaying the taking of a goal kick for their team^6, ^8, ¹⁰
✓Taken from the corner area nearest the point where the ball passed over the goal line, stationary, by a player of the attacking team^12, ^13, ^14, ¹⁵
✓In play when kicked and clearly moves, and it does not need to leave the corner area¹⁴

Show the remaining 5 key points

✓The corner flagpost must not be moved¹⁵
✓Opponents must remain at least 9.15 m (10 yds) from the corner arc until the ball is in play¹⁶
✓A goal may be scored directly, but only against the opposing team: straight into the kicker's own goal is a corner to the opponents¹¹
✓The kicker touching the ball again before another player is an indirect free kick, or a direct free kick for a handball offence^17, ¹⁸
✓A clearly incorrectly awarded corner is reviewable only as a competition option, and only where it can be changed immediately without delaying the restart^3, ⁴

Read the full rule

Scenarios

Scenario 1

Defender diverts ball behind own goal line

No goal

A cross is deflected behind the goal line by a defender.

Correct call: Corner kick to the attacking team.

Common mistake: Awarding a goal kick because the referee loses track of who touched it last. The last touch determines the restart.

Law^6, ⁷

Scenario 2

Goalkeeper holds the ball too long

Foul

A goalkeeper catches a cross and keeps hold of it past the referee's visible five-second countdown, reaching nine seconds of control.

Correct call: Corner kick to the opposing team. Controlling the ball with the hands or arms for more than eight seconds inside their own penalty area is one of the ways Law 17 awards a corner, and it does not require the ball to have left the field at all.

Common mistake: Reaching for an indirect free kick. Law 17 names the corner kick as the restart for this offence, and Law 12 states the offence itself in the same terms.

Law^5, ^6, ^8, ⁹

Scenario 3

Corner kick swings directly into goal

Goal

A player takes a corner and the ball swings directly into the net without anyone touching it.

Correct call: Goal. A goal can be scored directly from a corner kick.

Common mistake: Disallowing the goal and awarding a goal kick. Direct corner goals are legal.

Law¹¹

The full rule

A corner kick is a method of restarting play. The familiar route is that the whole of the ball passes over the goal line, on the ground or in the air, having last touched a player of the defending team, and a goal is not scored. Law 17 then lists two further routes that have nothing to do with the ball leaving the field. A corner kick is awarded where the referee penalises the goalkeeper for controlling the ball with the hands or arms for more than eight seconds, and where the referee penalises a player for delaying the taking of a goal kick for their team. The eight-second offence carries conditions Law 17's own line does not repeat: Law 12 states it as a goalkeeper, inside their penalty area, controlling the ball for more than eight seconds before releasing it. The Laws' own philosophy section describes the eight-second corner as a successful implementation already in place and the throw-in and goal-kick measures as further steps taken to address deliberate tempo disruption and time lost, which is as much rationale as the document gives. The procedure: the ball is placed in the corner area nearest the point where it passed over the goal line, it must be stationary and kicked by a player of the attacking team, and it is in play when kicked and clearly moves, without needing to leave the corner area. The corner flagpost must not be moved. Opponents must remain at least 9.15 m (10 yds) from the corner arc until the ball is in play. A goal may be scored directly from a corner kick but only against the opposing team; if the ball goes directly into the kicker's own goal, a corner kick is awarded to the opponents. If the kicker touches the ball again before it has touched another player, an indirect free kick is awarded, or a direct free kick for a handball offence. One VAR note: a clearly incorrectly awarded corner is reviewable only as a competition option, and only where the decision can be changed immediately and without delaying the restart, so a quickly taken corner cannot be undone.^1, ^2, ^3, ^4, ^5, ^6, ^7, ^8, ^9, ^10, ^11, ^12, ^13, ^14, ^15, ^16, ^17, ¹⁸