Football Rules, Protocol & Etiquette The Rules of Football The best time to teach the rules of football is during practice. Please refer to the Official Special Olympics Sports Rules Book for the complete listing of football rules. The International Federation of Football Association’s (FIFA) Fair Play Philosophy is advocated throughout the football world. The following guidelines are taken from FIFA’s Laws of the Game and Universal Guide for Referees. As coach, it is your responsibility to know and understand the rules of the game. It is equally important to teach your players the rules and to make them play within the spirit of the game. Below are selected laws of the 17 laws that govern the game of football. Maintain current copies of the Special Olympics Sports Rules and your national and international federation football rulebooks. Know the differences and carry them to every game. Law V - Referees The referee is responsible for the entire game, including keeping a record of the game and acting as the timekeeper. The referee makes decisions on penalties, cautions and ejects players for misconduct. The referee may also end the game due to inclement weather, spectator interference, etc. Referee determines injury time outs and other time stoppages. All decisions by the referee are final. Law VI - Linesmen Two linesmen are primarily responsible for indicating to the referee when the ball is out of play and which team is entitled to a throw-in, goal kick or corner kick. Law VIII - The Start of Play At the beginning of each half and after a goal is scored, a kickoff starts play. The ball is placed on the center spot inside the center circle. The ball must be kicked forward and roll the distance of its circumference before it is officially in play. All players must remain on their half of the field, and the opposition must be outside of the center circle until the ball is in play. The player kicking the ball may not play the ball again until is it touched by another player. A goal may not be scored directly from a kickoff. A player other than the kicker must touch the ball before a goal can be scored. A coin toss at the beginning of the game determines which team decides between taking the kickoff or defending a chosen side first. The team that does not take the kickoff at the beginning of the game takes the second half kickoff. A team that is scored upon is awarded a kickoff to restart the game. Teaching the Rules of Football Special Olympics Football Coaching Guide Created: February 2004 127