Football Laws of the Game
Senior 6 · Physical Education
Football Laws of the Game
Lesson 4 of 4
25 min
Salima Mukansanga began by refereeing men's amateur matches and the women's second division in Rwanda. In January 2022 she became the first woman to referee a match at the Africa Cup of Nations, and on 22 November 2022 she was the fourth official when France beat Australia 4–1 at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, one of the first three women chosen to officiate at a men's World Cup. Her path shows that officiating is a sport career of its own, with its own fitness tests, laws examinations and promotions. This lesson describes the team of match officials under Laws 5 and 6 of the IFAB Laws of the Game 2026–27, their signals, how they position themselves, and how the video assistant referee works.
Definition
Match officials: the referee and the other officials appointed to a match: assistant referees, fourth official, reserve assistant referee, additional assistant referees, video assistant referee (VAR) and assistant VARs.
Diagonal system of control: the referee moves along a diagonal of the pitch while the two assistant referees each patrol half of opposite touchlines, so play is always seen from two sides.
Clear and obvious error: the standard for a VAR intervention: a decision that is plainly wrong, not merely one the VAR would have made differently.
| Official | Role |
|---|---|
| Referee | Full authority to enforce the Laws; decisions on facts connected with play are final. Keeps time, stops and restarts play, cautions and sends off, and reports to the competition. |
| Assistant referees (2) | Indicate when the whole ball leaves the field and which team has the restart; when a player may be penalised for offside; offences the referee did not see; substitutions; at penalties, whether the goalkeeper leaves the line and whether the ball crosses the line. |
| Fourth official | Assists with substitutions and equipment checks, controls the technical areas, shows the minimum added time, and replaces a referee who cannot continue. |
| Reserve assistant referee | Replaces an assistant referee or the fourth official who cannot continue. |
| Additional assistant referees (2) | Stand on the goal lines and advise on goals and incidents in and around the penalty areas. |
| Video assistant referee (VAR) and assistant VAR | Watch replays in the video operation room and advise the referee on clear and obvious errors and serious missed incidents. |
On the referee's diagonal, play is "sandwiched": when the ball is on one wing, the referee and the assistant on that touchline see it from opposite sides. Assistants keep in line with the second-last defender (or the ball, if it is nearer the goal line) to judge offside.
| Signal | Referee | Assistant referee (flag) |
|---|---|---|
| Direct free kick | Arm points in the direction of the kick | Flag waved, then pointed in the direction of the free kick |
| Indirect free kick | Arm raised vertically, held until the ball touches another player or goes out | — |
| Advantage | Both arms extended forward | — |
| Penalty kick | Points to the penalty mark | Flag waved, then walks along the touchline towards the corner flag (where agreed) |
| Offside | — | Flag raised; then pointed up (far side), straight out (middle) or down (near side) |
| Throw-in | — | Flag pointed at about 45° in the direction of the team taking it |
| Goal kick / corner kick | — | Goal kick: flag pointed horizontally at the goal area. Corner: flag pointed down at the corner arc |
| Substitution | — | Flag held above the head with both hands |
| VAR check / review | Finger to the ear for a check; outline of a TV screen for a review | — |
The guiding principle is minimum interference, maximum benefit. The VAR checks every incident in four match-changing categories: goal or no goal, penalty or no penalty, direct red card, and mistaken identity. Under the 2026–27 Laws the VAR may also check a red card that came from a clearly incorrect second yellow card, and a wrongly awarded corner kick if it can be corrected at once. The VAR intervenes only for a clear and obvious error or a serious missed incident. For factual matters (an offside position, the ball out of play) the referee may accept the VAR's advice directly; for judgements (the force of a challenge) the referee usually watches the replay at the pitchside monitor in an on-field review. The final decision is always the referee's.
Worked example
Worked example 1: a VAR sequence. An attacker scores. The VAR sees that 15 seconds earlier, in the same attacking phase, the scorer's team-mate handled the ball before crossing it.
Worked example
Worked example 2: the assistant's flag sequence. A through ball is played to a striker who was 1 m beyond the second-last defender, on the far side of the pitch from AR2. AR2 waits to see if the striker becomes involved (he plays the ball), then raises the flag. When the referee whistles, AR2 points the flag upwards at about 45° to show the offence was on the far side, so the referee knows where to place the indirect free kick.
Tip
Wait and see. Assistant referees delay the offside flag until the player actually becomes involved; flagging too early stops a legal attack that a deliberate defensive play might have made onside.
Warning
Common mistakes. The VAR does not make decisions: it advises. The fourth official does not decide on fouls far from the technical area unless asked. A referee's decision on facts is final once play has restarted, apart from the VAR exceptions.
Practice
Remember
Further reading
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
