Goalkeeper Distribution & Release

While the goalkeeper is in control of the ball with the hands or arms, an opponent may not challenge for it at all, and preventing the release or kicking at the ball during it is an indirect free kick. Once the goalkeeper has genuinely released the ball into play, they may not handle it again until another player has touched it.^1, ^2, ^3, ^4, ⁹

Key points

✓While the goalkeeper is in control with the hands or arms, an opponent may not challenge for the ball at all⁹
✓Preventing the release, or kicking at the ball while the goalkeeper is releasing it, is an indirect free kick^1, ²
✓Blocking the path of a throw or kick counts as preventing the release, with or without contact on the goalkeeper^1, ²
✓Bouncing the ball on the ground or throwing it in the air is still control, not release, so it may not be challenged^5, ⁸
✓Once genuinely released into play, the ball is contestable like any other^5, ⁹
✓And the goalkeeper may not handle it again after releasing it until another player has touched it, which is an indirect free kick^3, ⁴
✓An indirect free kick to the attacking team inside the goal area is taken from the nearest point on the goal area line, not from the spot^10, ¹¹

Read the full rule

Scenarios

Scenario 1

Attacker blocks the goalkeeper's throwing motion

Foul

A goalkeeper gathers the ball and pulls back to throw. An attacker stands in the throwing line with arms raised, without touching the goalkeeper.

Correct call: Indirect free kick to the defending team. Preventing the goalkeeper releasing the ball from the hands is its own offence, and the goalkeeper is also in control, which an opponent may not challenge at all.

Common mistake: Allowing it because the attacker never touched the goalkeeper. Contact is not part of the offence: the offence is preventing the release.

Law^1, ^2, ⁹

Scenario 2

Goalkeeper drops the ball to volley and an attacker kicks it

Foul

The goalkeeper drops the ball out of their hands to kick it clear. An attacker darts in and kicks it away before the goalkeeper's foot arrives.

Correct call: Indirect free kick to the defending team. The goalkeeper was in the process of releasing the ball, and kicking or attempting to kick it at that moment is the named offence.

Common mistake: Allowing play because the ball had left the goalkeeper's hands and touched the ground. Leaving the hands is not the same as being released into play, which is why the Laws describe the goalkeeper as being in the process of releasing.

Law^1, ²

Scenario 3

Goalkeeper rolls the ball out, then picks it up again

Foul

The goalkeeper rolls the ball out to the edge of the area, sees a defender is marked, chases it down and picks it up again. No opponent has touched it.

Correct call: Indirect free kick to the attacking team. Touching the ball with the hand or arm after releasing it and before it has touched another player is an offence, and no opponent needs to have been involved for that to be true.

Common mistake: Treating this as the goalkeeper simply regaining their own possession. Rolling the ball out is a release, and the Laws close the door behind it.

Law^3, ⁴

Scenario 4

Goalkeeper bounces the ball while walking out

No foul

The goalkeeper bounces the ball on the ground once or twice while moving to the edge of the area, then gathers it again.

Correct call: Play continues. Bouncing the ball on the ground is explicitly listed as being in control, so the goalkeeper has not released it and picking it up again is not handling after a release. An opponent may not challenge during it either.

Common mistake: Treating the bounce as a release, in either direction: penalising the goalkeeper for re-gathering, or letting an attacker nick the ball off the bounce. Both come from the same error.

Law^5, ^8, ⁹

The full rule

Two clauses do almost all the work here and they point in opposite directions, which is why this is worth separating carefully. While the goalkeeper is in control of the ball with the hand(s) or arm(s), an opponent cannot challenge for it, full stop. Separately, an opponent who prevents the goalkeeper releasing the ball from the hands, or who kicks or attempts to kick the ball while the goalkeeper is in the process of releasing it, commits an indirect free kick offence. Together those cover blocking the path of a throw, standing over a ball the goalkeeper is about to volley, and swinging a boot at it as it drops. Control is defined, and the definition is wider than holding: the ball between the hands or arms, or between a hand or arm and any surface including the ground or the goalkeeper's own body, holding it in an outstretched open hand, and bouncing it on the ground or throwing it in the air. That last one matters, because it means a goalkeeper bouncing the ball has not released it and an opponent still may not challenge. Once the ball is genuinely released into play, the position reverses completely and the ball is contestable like any other. It also becomes an offence for the goalkeeper: touching the ball with the hand or arm again after releasing it and before it has touched another player is an indirect free kick. So the goalkeeper cannot release the ball and then think better of it. The line between the two is release, not contact with the ground, which is why a bounce is still control and a rolled or thrown clearance is not.^1, ^2, ^3, ^4, ^5, ^6, ^7, ^8, ^9, ^10, ¹¹

The law · numbered to match the references above

Law 12 · 2. Indirect free kick

1An indirect free kick is awarded if a player:

2prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from the hands or kicks or attempts to kick the ball when the goalkeeper is in the process of releasing it

3An indirect free kick is awarded if a goalkeeper, inside their penalty area, commits any of the following offences:

4touches the ball with the hand/arm after releasing it and before it has touched another player

Law 12 · 3. Corner kick

5A corner kick is awarded if a goalkeeper, inside their penalty area, controls the ball with their hand(s)/arm(s) for more than eight seconds before releasing it. A goalkeeper is considered to be in control of the ball with their hand(s)/ arm(s) when:

6the ball is between their hands/arms or between their hand(s)/arm(s) and any surface (e.g. ground, own body)

7holding the ball in their outstretched open hand(s)

8bouncing it on the ground or throwing it in the air

9A goalkeeper cannot be challenged by an opponent when in control of the ball with their hand(s)/arm(s).

Law 13 · 2. Procedure

10All free kicks are taken from the place where the offence occurred, except:

11indirect free kicks to the attacking team for an offence inside the opponents' goal area are taken from the nearest point on the goal area line which runs parallel to the goal line

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