Technical officials such as referees, linesmen, and the fourth official help control and enforce the rules of soccer matches. The referee is the head official and uses a whistle to signal starts, stops, fouls, and shows yellow or red cards. Linesmen run along the touchlines and signal using flags for events like throw-ins, goal kicks, and offsides. The fourth official keeps track of substitutions and stoppage time. Together these officials work to ensure matches proceed fairly according to the rules.

2. WHAT IS A TECHNICAL OFFICIAL?

3. As in most sporting competitions,
football or soccer employs officials in
order to control the flow of the game
and enforce the rules.

4. Referees
Linesman
The Fourth Officials

5. Referee
The most important official.
He carries a whistle and he uses it
to signal the starts and stops of
play. Those include kickoff, half-
time, full-time, goals, and fouls.

6. Referee
*Give yellow and red card.
*Control the whole game.

8. Linesmen
*they patrol the length of the
touch line between the halfway
line and one goal line.
*They each carry a brightly-
colored flag and use it to signal
when the ball has left the pitch
either for a throw-in, a goal
kick, or a corner kick.

9. Linesmen
also wave their flags to catch the
referee’s attention if they believe
they have spotted a foul.
Finally, it is also the linesman’s
responsibility to signal when an
attacking player is in an offside
position by raising his flag.

11. The Fourth Official
Keeps track of all the stoppages
during the game. And, at the
end of each half, he informs the
players how much time will be
added on to make up for them
by flashing a number on a
board.

12. The Fourth Official
*In charge of verifying
substitutions.
*Coordinate with the referee.

14. Rules and Regulations
*The match lasts two equal periods of
45 minutes, unless otherwise
mutually agreed between the referee
and the two teams.

15. Allowance
• substitutions
• assessment of injury to players
• removal of injured players from the fi
eld of play for treatment
• wasting time
• any other cause

16. A kick-off is a way of starting or
restarting play:
• at the start of the match
• after a goal has been scored
• at the start of the second half of
the match
• at the start of each period of
extra time, where applicable

17. A direct free kick is awarded to the
opposing team if a player commits
any of the following seven offences in
a manner considered by the referee
to be careless, reckless or using
excessive force:

18. • kicks or attempts to kick an opponent
• trips or attempts to trip an opponent
• jumps at an opponent
• charges an opponent
• strikes or attempts to strike an opponent
• pushes an opponent
• tackles an opponent

19. Penalty Kick
*A penalty kick is awarded if any of
the above ten offences is
committed by a player inside his
own penalty area, irrespective of
the position of the ball, provided it is
in play.

20. Throw in
A throw-in is a method of restarting play.
A throw-in is awarded to the opponents of
the player who last touched the ball
when the whole of the ball crosses the
touch line, either on the ground or in the
air.
A goal cannot be scored directly from a
throw-in.
Athrow-inisamethodofrestartingplay.
Athrow-inisawardedtotheopponentsoftheplayerwholasttouchedtheball
whenthewholeoftheballcrossesthetouchline, eitheronthegroundorin
theair.
Agoalcannotbescoreddirectlyfromathrow-in.

21. Goal Kick
*A goal kick is awarded when the
whole of the ball passes over the
goal line, either on the ground or in
the air, having last touched a player
of the attacking team.

22. Corner Kick
*A corner kick is awarded when the
whole of the ball passes over the goal
line, either on the ground or in the air,
having last touched a player of the
defending team, and a goal is not
scored in accordance with Law 10.
A goal may be scored directly from a
corner kick, but only against the opposing
team.