A goal kick restarts play after an attacking team sends the ball over the opponents’ goal line without scoring. The restart also has important positioning and timing rules. This guide follows IFAB’s 2026/27 Laws, checked on 7 October 2026.
First establish that the ball is out
The whole ball must cross the line, whether on the ground or in the air. A ball partly overlapping the goal line remains in play. Players should therefore keep playing while waiting for the officials’ decision rather than assuming that a close ball has gone out.
The same whole-ball principle applies at the touchline. It is stated in Law 9; the last touch and where the ball left determine the appropriate boundary restart. For a fuller boundary-line comparison, see when the ball is out of play.
Where and when the kick is taken
Any defending player can take the kick, using a stationary ball anywhere in the goal area. The ball becomes live once kicked and clearly moving. A short pass to a teammate inside the penalty area is therefore legal. See Law 16.
Where opponents must stand
Opponents must be outside the penalty area until the ball is live. A quick kick may proceed with an opponent inside who genuinely lacked time to leave; that player may intercept the live ball.
Deliberately remaining inside to gain an unfair advantage causes a retake. So does an opponent inside or entering early who touches or challenges for the ball before it is live. See Law 16.
The 2026/27 five-second countdown
When the referee judges that the taking team is deliberately delaying the goal kick, the referee whistles, signals for the restart and visibly counts down five seconds with a raised hand. A preliminary hurry-up warning is optional.
This is not an automatic five-second allowance starting whenever the ball crosses the line. The referee initiates the countdown after identifying delay and need not wait until a player holds the ball. Slowly retrieving it or deliberately putting it in the wrong place can trigger the procedure.
If time expires, the opponents receive a corner on the side closest to the intended goal-kick position. The player should not be penalised if already in the process of kicking as the count finishes. A caution applies only if a player or teammate then excessively delays the opponents’ restart. These details come from IFAB’s countdown protocol.
What the resulting corner means
The attacking team places a stationary ball in the corner area for the new restart. Defenders must stay at least 9.15 metres from the corner arc until it is kicked and clearly moves. The ball need not leave that corner area to become live.
This helps explain why a delay can change the match situation: the opposition gets an attacking restart rather than waiting for the defending team’s possession to resume. See Law 17.
Can the receiver be offside?
A player cannot commit an offside offence by receiving the ball directly from a goal kick. For example, a forward may receive that kick beyond the second-last opponent. The exemption concerns the direct reception: when a teammate subsequently plays or touches the ball, the normal offside assessment applies again. See Law 11.
For the touchline version of the delay protocol, compare football throw-ins and the five-second countdown: the opposing team receives a throw-in instead of the corner awarded after a delayed goal kick.