9 football rules you didn't know

1 - A free-kick into your own net is not considered an own goal

More commonly known is that you cannot score from a throw in, be it in your own goal or in the opponents - but did you know that you cannot score an own goal from a free kick? In the event of this happening, the opposition is granted a corner. In fact you cannot score an own goal from any sort of restart, be it a free kick, corner kick, goal kick, throw in or penalty. This makes the corner kick rule seem logical - the ball has crossed your goal line but a goal cannot be awarded, therefore the fact that your team has had the last touch implies that a corner kick will follow.

2 - The back pass rule’s intricacies

The back pass rule dictates that an indirect free kick will be awarded in the event of a team mate’s pass being handled by the keeper. An intricacy to the rule disallows flicking the ball up to pass it back to the keeper with a different part of the body (i.e. the head) - if you give it a try you may get a yellow card for your troubles.

3 - A foul initiated outside the box continuing into the box

If a foul is initiated outside the box, and then continues inside the box (i.e. initial contact is made just outside the box and contact continues into it) will a penalty be awarded? The answer is yes. The furore that surrounded Martin Demichelis’ red card against Barcelona in the 2013/14 Champions League was misplaced - the foul was in fact a penalty as the foul concluded inside the box, and probably was also a red card.

4 - Red cards before the first whistle

Remember to be on your best behaviour even before the game has started - however while the referee used to be well within his/her rights in sending you off before he/she has blown the first whistle, 2016 brought changes to the law that disallowed showing a card for misconduct before the first, or after the final, whistle.

5 - Penalty shoot outs

Another rule regarding penalty kicks - a decisive pass is permitted from a penalty kick. Just as with any restart, you can pass the ball to one of your teammates. This rule manifested in an infamous Premier League failure as in 2005 Pires and Henry sought to pass the ball into the net from a penalty - they failed and threw away an easy goal.

6 - The offside rule

I’m sure you know the basics of the offside rule, but did you know that regardless of your positioning in relation to the last defender (not the goalkeeper), you will still be offside if there are less than two opposition players between you and the goal line. Therefore, if the goalkeeper finds his or herself on the halfway line the positioning of the last defender becomes irrelevant for the offside rule.

7 - Penalty kick rebounds

Obviously you can’t dribble from the penalty sport and expect not to hear the referee’s whistle - but did you know that you are not allowed to score directly from a rebound off the post or crossbar? In this situation no one else will have touched the ball, therefore you cannot score as you are prohibited from touching the ball before anyone else has. 

8 - Two concurrent fouls

In the event of a player concurrently committing two fouls, only the most serious one should be sanctioned by the referee. Therefore, in a situation where a player dissents while kicking the ball away the referee will punish dissent, thus awarding a yellow card - kicking the ball away, not so much. 

9 - Pitch Invaders

Whose jurisdiction does a pitch invader fall under? In the event of an invader, it is officially a requirement of the referee to prevent an intrusion onto the field. Therefore, it is the requirement of the referee to get this invader off the pitch - although more often than not, you’ll see the security staff, not the referee, chasing after them.