Into the Book - Laws of The Game - Law 1 & Law 2
This series by CRO will dive into the IFAB Laws of The Game to cover all 17 Laws that IFAB has for soccer. We’re going to cover them in a way that simplifies them and gives you a chance to learn the laws and what we find important in each Law. While we expect referees to read through the full laws we know that sometimes understanding them and how to apply them on your own is difficult. We will tell go through how to implement certain parts of the Laws and where certain Laws can be adapted to for local Youth and Adult Leagues and Events. We hope this series helps you easily learn the Laws one week at a time while we take a deep dive Into The Book with us.
Law 1 - The Field of Play
Law 1 covers what the surface of the field is allowed to be and the size and dimensions of all the different parts of the field. This comes first in the Laws and should be the first thing referees check when they arrive. We also find out first Cautionable (Yellow Card) offense in Law 1, keep reading to find out more about Law 1.
Field Dimensions - Yards - Click on picture to see
Field Dimensions - Meters - Click on picture to see
Why this is important
The primary responsibility of referees to to ensure the safety of the players. Our first step in this is ensure the field is safe to play on. We make sure the Goals are anchored and field is in playable condition. Additionally, when walking the field pregame, we need to make sure the field is in compliance with the Laws of the Game and League standards.
Things to remember
The back of the Goal Post must be in line with the BACK of the Goal Line
No technical area? - Ask a coach to put out cones to create one
Goals must be anchored for safety.
No Corner Flags? - You can still play, ask the home coach if they have any
Law 1 - Misconduct
A player who makes unauthorized marks on the field of play must be cautioned for unsporting behavior. If the referee notices this being done during the match, the player is cautioned when the ball next goes out of play.
Law 2 - The Ball
We can’t have a game without the ball, part of our job is to make sure the ball meets the standards of the Laws of the Game. We included the ball in the same blog post as Law 1 because the Pre-game time is when referees will make sure the ball meets the standards listed below!
All balls must be:
Spherical
Made of suitable material
Of a circumference of between 68 cm (27 ins) and 70 cm (28 ins)
Between 410 g (14 oz) and 450 g (16 oz) in weight at the start of the match
Of a pressure equal to 0.6–1.1 atmosphere (600 –1,100 g/cm²) at sea level (8.5lbs/sq in–15.6 lbs/sq in)
What CRO Recommends when checking the balls
Always have a pump in your referee bag! It is best to have a gauge to check the pressure as well.
Does the pressure fall into the PSI listed on the ball next to the hole to add air? If the answer is no, add some air.
Check multiple balls before the game, you want to make sure any ball used for the match has the correct amount of air.
What happens if the ball becomes flat or bursts during the game?
Play is stopped, change out the ball, restart the game with a drop ball to the team that was in possession of the ball at the time play was stopped.
If the ball becomes defective at a kick-off, goal kick, corner kick, free kick, penalty kick or throw-in, the restart is retaken.
The ball may not be changed during the match without the referee’s permission.
Remember, the Laws of the Game are detailed and have much more information than we have put into this section. We put this here so referees can get a quick view of what we see as the highlights of the Law. We recommend referees fully review the LOTG to know the them best - https://www.theifab.com/