LAW 7- THE DURATION OF THE MATCH

Time

LAW 7 – THE DURATION OF THE MATCH

Periods of Play

The match lasts two equal periods of 45 minutes, unless otherwise mutually agreed between the referee and the two participating teams. Any agreement to alter the periods of play (for example to reduce each half to 40 minutes because of insuffi cient light) must be made before the start of play and must comply with competition rules.

Half-Time Interval

Players are entitled to an interval at half-time. The half-time interval must not exceed 15 minutes. Competition rules must state the duration of the half-time interval. The duration of the half-time interval may be altered only with the consent of the referee. Allowance for Time Lost Allowance is made in either period for all time lost through:

• substitution(s)

• assessment of injury to players

• removal of injured players from the field of play for treatment

• wasting time

• any other cause The allowance for time lost is at the discretion of the referee.

Penalty Kick

If a penalty kick has to be taken or retaken, the duration of either half is extended until the penalty kick is completed. Abandoned Match An abandoned match is replayed unless the competition rules provide otherwise. Preliminaries A coin is tossed and the team that wins the toss decides which goal it will attack in the first half of the match. The other team takes the kick-off to start the match. The team that wins the toss takes the kick-off to start the second half of the match. In the second half of the match, the teams change ends and attack the opposite goals.

Kick-off

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 A goal may be scored directly from the kick-off. Procedure

• all players are in their own half of the field

• the opponents of the team taking the kick-off are at least 9.15 m (10 yds) from the ball until it is in play

• the ball is stationary on the centre mark

• the referee gives a signal

• the ball is in play when it is kicked and moves forward

• the kicker does not touch the ball a second time until it has touched another player After a team scores a goal, the kick-off is taken by the other team.