Precise Guide on Futsal Rules: Everything You Need to Know

Although futsal has much in common with traditional soccer, it still has some peculiarities that make it a quite exciting and specific kind of sport. Its name comes from Spanish futbol sala roughly meaning ‘indoor football’. Thus, we are going to discuss the rules of the given kind of sport and to find out all its peculiarities.

Field and Ball

Futsal matches are played on a rectangular field with the following dimensions: 25-42 meters long and 15-25 meters wide. The court is limited by lines that are included in the field they mark. Two longer lines are called sidelines, and two shorter ones are goal lines. All the lines should be of eight centimeters wide. The field is divided into two equal halves with a center line with a center spot in its medium to denote the spot to start a play from. This spot is circled by a ring of three meters in diameter.

The penalty areas are located on both ends of the field. They represent semi-circles with a radius of six meters starting from each goal line. A penalty spot is also located six meters from the goal line perfectly centered between the bars. There is also a 10-meter spot that is understandably placed ten meters from the goal line. Each corner of the field has a corner sector represented by a quarter circle with a radius of 25 cm.

Substitution areas are located on the same side of the field where substitutes stay. These zones are necessary to make substitute players during a game. These 5-meter long areas are limited by two 80-centimeter lines: 40 cm are within the field and 40 cm are out. Players are allowed to enter or leave a field only through this space.

Goals should be perfectly centered on the goal lines. They consist of two vertical bars that are united by a horizontal cross-bar. The distance between the bars should be three meters, and the height of the goals should be two meters.

The field surface should be smooth and straight; it must not be abrasive. It is recommended to use either wooden or artificial surface. Using concrete or asphalt surface is strictly prohibited.

The spherical ball should be made of leather or any other appropriate material. Its perimeter of the circle should be 62-64 centimeters; weight – 400-440 g.

If a ball loses its shape or happens to be unfit for further use during a match:

• a match should be stopped;
• the ball should be replaced;
• a match continues with a referee’s ball in the place where the match was stopped.

It is prohibited to replace a ball during a match without a referee’s permission.

Players

A game is played between two teams with five players (one goalkeeper and four field players) in each.

Substitutions may be made in any official match if it is organized under the auspices of official governing bodies. Every team is allowed to have up to seven substitutes. With this, a number of allowed substitutions is not limited. Any player that left a field can then enter it again substituting his partner.

Nevertheless, there are still some rules that are used to govern a substitution procedure:

• a player who intends to leave the field should do it through his team’s substitution area;
• a player who intends to enter the field should do it through his team’s substitution area and only after his partner has left the field;
• a substitution is said to be completed when a player has entered the field; from then onward, he is said to be a first-string player, while his substituted partner loses this status.

If one of the rules above is violated, a corresponding player will be punished. For instance, if a player enters the field before his partner has left it, the following scenario will arise:

1. A game is stopped.
2. The guilty player is shown a yellow card and must leave the field.
3. A game should continue with a free-kick performed by an opposing team from a place where the ball was at the moment of the wrong substitution. If the ball was within the penalty area, a free-kick should be performed from a penalty area line and from the spot that is the nearest to the spot where the ball was at the moment of the wrong substitution.

On the other hand, if a player fails to leave the field through his team’s substitution area, the following sanctions will be imposed:

1. A game is stopped.
2. The player is shown a yellow card.
3. A game should continue with a free-kick performed by an opposing team from a place where the ball was at the moment of the wrong substitution. If the ball was within the penalty area, a free-kick should be performed from a penalty area line and from the spot that is the nearest to the spot where the ball was at the moment of the wrong substitution.

Players’ Equipment

Players should not have any equipment or clothes that can be dangerous both for them and for the others. It equally refers to jewelry pieces. An obligatory set of equipment includes the following:

1. T-shirt (its back should have a number from 1 to 15; its color should be contrasted to that of the T-shirt);
2. Trousers;
3. Stockings;
4. Shin guards (they should be completely covered by stockings; made of appropriate materials including rubber and plastic to offer a decent level of protection);
5. Footwear (it is allowed to use shoes with rubber or similar shoes without any studs.

Goalkeepers should have the equipment, the color of which is easily distinguished from the equipment of all the other players including opponents’ goalkeepers and referees.

Referees

Every match is served by the first referee who has the power to watch the abidance by the rules that relate to a match. A referee has the following rights and obligations:

• not to stop a game if a team, against which a rule was violated, is going to obtain a hypothetic advantage of a certain kind; if that advantage fails to be obtained, a referee should punish a team that violated the rules;
• to document all the sanctions including the information about any disciplinary violations made by players and/or officials as well as about any incidents that happened before, during or after a match;
• to watch time if a time-keeper is absent;
• to stop, break or finish a match if corresponding rules are violated;
• to impose disciplinary sanctions to players who deserve them;
• to prevent unnecessary people from entering the court with referee’s permission;
• to stop a match if a player gets seriously injured;
• to let a match continue if he believes an injury is not serious.

There is also the second referee who should stay on the end of the field that is opposite to the first referee’s end. He is also allowed to use a whistle. In addition, the second referee also has the right to break a match if rules were violated and monitors the substitution procedure to be correct.

Duration of Matches

A regular match consists of two equal 20-minute periods. The duration is watched either by a time-keeper or by the first referee. A duration of each period can be continued for teams to shoot penalties. There is a 15-minute interval between the periods.

Each team is allowed to take one 1-minute time-out per period in any time if the following conditions are met:

• managers only have the right to initiate a 1-minute time-out;
• it is allowed to initiate the time-out at any time, but it will be given to a team only when the team gets the ball possession;
• the time-out is given only when the ball is out of play and it should be accompanied by a sound signal that is different from whistles used by referees;
• during the time-out, players are not allowed to leave the field; if they want to consult managers or any other officials, they should do it near sidelines; managers and any officials are not allowed to enter the field;
• if a team does not take the time-out in the first period, it cannot initiate two time-outs in the second one.

Starting a Match

A coin toss should be organized for teams to choose field ends. A team that manages to win in a coin toss decides which goals it will attack in the first period. The other team gets the right to perform a kick-off. In this case, the kick-off in the second period will be performed by the team that won in the coin toss, while the teams should change the field ends.

The kick-off is a way to start or continue a match:

• in the beginning of a match;
• after each goal is scored;
• in the beginning of the second period;
• in the beginning of every additional period, if any.

A kick-off procedure is governed by the following regulations:

1. All the players should be on their ends;
2. Opponents should stay at least three meters from the ball until the kick-off is performed;
3. The ball should stay still on the center spot;
4. The first referee blows a whistle;
5. The ball is said to be in play when it enters the opponents’ end of the field;
6. A player that sent the ball from the center spot may not touch it again unless any other player touches it.

Goal Procedure

A goal is said to be scored only if it completely crosses a goal line between the bars and under the cross-bar. Exceptions arise when any attacking player including a goalkeeper uses his hands to throw or deliver the ball to score a goal.

A team that managed to score more goals than their opponents did is said to be a winner. If both teams scored the same number of goals or goals were not scored at all, a match is said to end in a draw.

Depending on a competition, drawn matches can also have either extra periods or penalty shoot-outs.

Types of Free Kicks

Free kicks can either direct or indirect. In any case, the ball should stay immobile on the field; a player who performs a free kick may not touch the ball repeatedly until another player touches it. All the opponents should stay minimum five meters from the ball before a free kick is performed.

There is a significant difference between direct and indirect free kicks, which is represented by the fact that it is allowed to score a goal directly from a direct free kick, while a goal is not considered to be scored if it completely crosses the goal line between the bars and under the cross bar and no player touches the ball before it.

Dead Balls

If players of a defensive team violate the rules within their own penalty area, a penalty kick should be awarded if this violation should result in a direct free kick. A goal is scored when the ball crosses the goal line directly from a penalty kick.

It is clear that the penalty kicks impose certain regulation:

• the ball should be placed on the penalty mark;
• all the players should perfectly know who is going to take a penalty kick;
• a goalkeeper should stay on the goal line until the ball leaves the penalty spot;
• all the other players should stay within the field, outside the penalty area, and at least three meters from the ball.

In futsal, there is also a rule of accumulated fouls. The first five fouls in a single period are performed as usual by a team, against which a foul was committed. The sixth and every following foul results in the kick from the second penalty mark. It unites features of both penalty and direct free kicks.

Thus, it does not matter where the sixth foul is committed, the given penalty should be performed from a stipulated mark that is 10 meters from the goal line. Here, players of a defensive team cannot stay between that mark and their goalkeeper. A goalkeeper is not obliged to stay on the goal line, but he must stay within the penalty area and at least five meters from the ball.

The number of fouls accumulated in the first period expires as soon as it is over. In other words, fouls are counted separately in the second period.

Kick-in is a way to continue a match after the ball completely crosses one of the sidelines to touches the ceiling. The ball should be placed on a sideline in the point where it crossed in, and a player can kick it with his foot in any direction. Opponents should be at least five meters from the ball.

Goal clearance is performed by goalkeepers when the ball crosses a corresponding goal line from their opponents. In this case, a goalkeeper must throw the ball with his hands for the ball to leave the penalty area. There are only four seconds for the goal clearance to be performed. Otherwise, an indirect free kick will be awarded against the given team.

Corner kicks are performed when the ball crosses a goal line from players of a defensive team. The ball should be placed on the spot where the sideline and the goal line meet. The following procedure is the same as that with a kick-in.