Foul Location: Where is the Free Kick Taken?

A free kick is taken from the place where the offence occurred, not from where the player falls, and Law 13 lists four exceptions to that. An offence inside the offender's own penalty area is a penalty kick, and because the lines are part of the area they enclose, contact on the line is inside it.^1, ^2, ^7, ¹²

Key points

✓The free kick is taken from the place where the offence occurred, not from where the player falls⁷
✓Law 13 prints four exceptions to that: the attacking team's indirect free kick inside the opponents' goal area moves to the goal area line, the defending team's free kick in its own goal area may be taken from anywhere in it, an offence involving a player entering or leaving the field without permission is taken from where the ball was, and some positions are designated by Laws 3, 11 and 12^7, ^8, ^9, ^10, ¹¹
✓The location of the offence, inside or outside the penalty area, is a reviewable matter under the VAR protocol, so the point of contact is what a review looks at^13, ¹⁴
✓Contact outside the area and a fall inside it is a free kick outside, because the place of the offence is what counts⁷
✓A defender who starts holding an attacker outside the penalty area and continues holding inside it concedes a penalty kick⁶
✓A direct free kick offence inside the offender's own penalty area is a penalty kick, whoever commits it, the goalkeeper included^2, ¹²
✓The lines are part of the area they enclose, so contact on the penalty area line is inside the area¹

Read the full rule

Scenarios

Scenario 1

Contact outside area, player falls inside

No penalty

A defender makes contact with an attacker just outside the penalty area. The attacker's momentum carries them and they fall inside the box.

Correct call: Direct free kick just outside the penalty area, not a penalty. The location of the contact is what determines the restart, not where the player falls.

Common mistake: Awarding a penalty because the player went down inside the box. This is one of the most common errors fans make when analysing incidents. VAR checks the exact point of contact.

Law^7, ^13, ¹⁴

Scenario 2

Attacker dribbles in, is tripped exactly on the line

Penalty

An attacker is tripped by a defender and the contact occurs exactly on the penalty area line.

Correct call: Penalty kick. Law 1 makes the lines part of the area they enclose, so contact on the penalty area line is contact inside the penalty area.

Common mistake: Giving a free kick because the contact appeared to be on the line rather than inside. The line is part of the area.

Law^1, ^2, ¹²

Scenario 3

Foul by goalkeeper on attacker inside the area

Penalty

A goalkeeper rushes out and fouls an attacker inside the penalty area.

Correct call: Penalty kick: a direct free kick offence inside the offender's own penalty area is a penalty, and the goalkeeper is not treated differently for a physical offence.

Common mistake: Awarding an indirect free kick because a goalkeeper was involved. The goalkeeper's own indirect free kick offences are about handling the ball, and they do not reach a foul on an opponent.

Law^2, ¹²

Scenario 4

Attacker shoots, defender blocks with hand on the line

Penalty

An attacker shoots and a defender on the edge of the box deflects the ball with their arm. The arm is on the penalty area line.

Correct call: Penalty kick for handball, if the handball is an offence at all: the arm is on the line, and the line is part of the area. Whether it is an offence is Law 12's question, deliberate handling or a hand or arm that has made the body unnaturally bigger.

Common mistake: Giving a free kick outside the area because the player's body appeared to be outside. The place of the offence is where the ball met the arm, and that was on the line.

Law^1, ^3, ^4, ^5, ¹²

The full rule

The place of the offence decides the restart, not where the player ends up. If contact happens outside the penalty area and the player falls inside it, the free kick is outside, and the location of an offence inside or outside the penalty area is one of the things the VAR protocol names as reviewable, which is why a review looks at the point of contact rather than the fall. A direct free kick offence committed inside the offender's own penalty area is a penalty kick, and that holds whoever commits it: a goalkeeper who fouls an attacker in their own area concedes a penalty like anyone else, since the goalkeeper's special provisions are about handling rather than about physical offences. Law 1 settles the boundary case in one sentence, that the lines are part of the area they enclose, so contact on the penalty area line is contact inside the area. There is one case where an offence runs across the line rather than happening at a point, and Law 12 answers it directly: a defender who starts holding an attacker outside the penalty area and continues holding inside it concedes a penalty kick. And "where the offence occurred" has four printed exceptions: an indirect free kick to the attacking team for an offence inside the opponents' goal area is taken from the nearest point on the goal area line parallel to the goal line, a free kick to the defending team inside its own goal area may be taken from anywhere in that area, a free kick for an offence involving a player entering, re-entering or leaving the field without permission is taken from the position of the ball when play was stopped, and some offences have their position designated elsewhere in Laws 3, 11 and 12.^1, ^2, ^6, ^7, ^8, ^9, ^10, ^11, ^12, ^13, ¹⁴