Free Kick & Defensive Wall

For a direct or indirect free kick, opponents must be at least 9.15 m (10 yds) from the ball unless they are on their own goal line between the goalposts. Where three or more defending players form a wall, every attacking player must stay at least 1 m (1 yd) from it until the ball is in play, and an attacker inside that metre concedes an indirect free kick.^14, ^15, ^16, ¹⁹

Key points

✓Opponents must be at least 9.15 m (10 yds) from the ball until it is in play, unless they are on their own goal line between the goalposts^14, ¹⁵
✓An opponent closer than that when the kick is taken means a retake, unless the advantage can be applied¹⁸
✓Direct free kick: a goal can be scored directly against the opponents^7, ⁸
✓Indirect free kick: another player must touch the ball first, and one kicked straight into the opponents' goal is a goal kick^7, ⁹
✓The indirect signal is the arm above the head until the kick is taken and the ball touches another player or goes out of play, and the kick is retaken if the referee fails to give it and the ball goes straight in^5, ⁶
✓Where three or more defending players form a wall, every attacking player must stay at least 1 m (1 yd) from it until the ball is in play¹⁶

Show the remaining 4 key points

✓An attacking player less than 1 m from such a wall when the kick is taken concedes an indirect free kick to the defending team, so it is a restart rather than a warning^16, ¹⁹
✓The kicker may not touch the ball again until it has touched another player, which is an indirect free kick, or a direct free kick or penalty where the second touch is handball^11, ^12, ^20, ^21, ²²
✓Feinting to take a free kick to confuse opponents is permitted as part of football¹⁷
✓Taking a free kick from the wrong position to force a retake is a cautionable delaying offence^1, ^2, ^3, ⁴

Read the full rule

Scenarios

Scenario 1

Attacker stands inside the metre next to the wall

Foul

A four-player defensive wall is formed and an attacker stands right against it as the free kick is taken.

Correct call: Indirect free kick to the defending team. Where three or more defenders form a wall, an attacking player must be at least 1 m from it when the kick is taken, and the Law's own sanction for being closer is the indirect free kick rather than a card.

Common mistake: Treating it as something the referee only manages, letting the kick go ahead and giving the goal. The Law attaches a restart to it, and the requirement is a metre from the wall rather than simply staying out of it.

Law^16, ¹⁹

Scenario 2

Indirect free kick goes straight into goal

No goal

A player takes an indirect free kick that goes directly into the net without touching anyone else.

Correct call: Goal kick. A goal cannot be scored directly from an indirect free kick, and Law 13 prints the outcome: an indirect free kick kicked directly into the opponents' goal is a goal kick.

Common mistake: Awarding a goal because the ball crossed the line. The indirect nature of the kick overrides the result.

Law^5, ^7, ⁹

The full rule

Free kicks are either direct, from which a goal can be scored directly, or indirect, which needs another player to touch the ball first. An indirect free kick is signalled with the arm raised above the head until the kick is taken and the ball touches another player or goes out of play, and if the referee fails to give that signal and the ball is kicked directly into the goal, the kick is retaken. Until the ball is in play opponents must be at least 9.15 m (10 yds) from it, with one carve-out the Laws print in the same breath: an opponent on their own goal line between the goalposts may stand closer. Where three or more defending players form a wall, all attacking players must remain at least 1 m (1 yd) from that wall until the ball is in play, and the sanction is specific: if an attacking player is less than 1 m from such a wall when the kick is taken, an indirect free kick is awarded to the defending team. The kick is taken from the place where the offence occurred, subject to Law 13's four exceptions, and taking it from the wrong position to force a retake is a cautionable delaying offence. The ball must be stationary, it is in play when it is kicked and clearly moves, and the kicker may not touch it again until it has touched another player: doing so is an indirect free kick, or a direct free kick, or a penalty, where the second touch is a handball offence.^3, ^4, ^5, ^6, ^10, ^11, ^12, ^13, ^14, ^15, ^16, ^19, ^20, ^21, ²²