Rule Book

A soccer (association football) match is played by two teams of eleven players, including one goalkeeper, over two 45-minute halves. A team scores by putting the whole of the ball over the goal line between the posts and under the bar — each goal is worth one point. The team with more goals at the end wins; if the goals are level the match is a draw, which in league play is a perfectly normal result. Only the goalkeeper may handle the ball, and only inside their own penalty area; everyone else uses their feet, head, or body.

The clock runs continuously and does not stop for the ball going out, fouls, or substitutions. Instead, the referee adds stoppage time (added time) to the end of each half to compensate for time lost to injuries, goal celebrations, and substitutions — often several minutes, displayed by the fourth official. There is a half-time interval of about fifteen minutes. The referee is the sole timekeeper and decides exactly when each half ends.

Fouls such as tripping, pushing, or dangerous tackles are punished with a free kick to the other team — direct (you may shoot at goal) or indirect (a teammate must touch it first). A foul inside the defending team's penalty area gives the attackers a penalty kick from twelve yards, one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The referee shows a yellow card to caution a player and a red card to send one off; two yellows in a match equal a red. A sent-off player cannot be replaced, so their team plays a player short. Handball — deliberately playing the ball with the hand or arm — is also an offence.

A player is offside if, when a teammate plays the ball to them, they are closer to the opponent's goal line than both the ball and the second-to-last defender (usually the last outfield defender, with the goalkeeper being the last). Being in an offside position is only penalised if the player becomes involved in active play. Set pieces are restarts of play: throw-ins return the ball after it crosses a sideline; goal kicks and corner kicks restart it after it crosses a goal line; and free kicks and penalties follow fouls. Rehearsed set pieces are a major source of goals.

Soccer leagues use a points system rather than win percentage: a win is worth 3 points, a draw 1 point, and a loss 0 points. The table is ordered by total points; teams level on points are separated by goal difference (goals scored minus goals conceded), then goals scored, and league-specific further tiebreakers. Major League Soccer splits into Eastern and Western Conferences, awards the Supporters' Shield to the best regular-season record, and then crowns its champion through the MLS Cup playoffs — a separate knockout bracket from the regular-season table.