Football Glossary

A match the referee ends before the scheduled finish, for example because of a storm or because a team has fewer than seven players left. Law 7.5 of the 2026/27 Laws says an abandoned match is replayed unless the competition rules or the organisers decide otherwise, so your tournament rules should say what happens. A suspended match is a different case: play stops for a while and is meant to restart.

Time added at the end of each half for time lost to substitutions, injuries, disciplinary action, goal celebrations and other stoppages. The fourth official shows the minimum the referee has decided; the half can run longer. On the JudgeMate football scoreboard the operator adds it in one-minute steps or with the +1, +3 and +5 shortcuts.

The referee lets play continue after an offence when stopping it would hurt the team that was fouled. If the expected advantage does not come at that moment or within a few seconds, the referee goes back and penalises the original offence. A card for that offence can still be shown at the next stoppage.

The combined score of the two matches of a two-legged tie. A team that wins the first leg 2-0 and loses the second 1-2 goes through 3-2 on aggregate. In a JudgeMate knockout bracket with two legs switched on, the tie is decided after the second leg from the aggregate, and a level aggregate goes to a penalty shoot-out.

One of the two officials with a flag, each positioned on one touchline and covering one half of the field. They help the referee mainly with offside and with goal kick, corner kick and throw-in decisions. Competitions may add assistants on the goal line (AAR) and video match officials.

A tiebreaker for two-legged ties: when the aggregate is level, goals scored away from home count double and the team with more of them goes through. UEFA abolished it in all its club competitions from the 2021/22 season. The two-leg option in JudgeMate does not apply it.

Two goals scored by the same player in one match. The word belongs to commentary and match reports; the Laws of the Game only count goals for a team. Player statistics in a JudgeMate league list scorers, so a brace shows up as two goals next to one name.

The lowest of the three levels of a foul in Law 12: a challenge made without enough attention or consideration for the opponent, or without precaution. It gives the opponents a free kick, and no card is needed. Reckless is the next level, and excessive force the highest.

The official term for a yellow card. A caution is reported to the disciplinary authority, and two cautions in the same match mean a sending-off. Whether cautions add up to a suspension over several matches is decided by the competition rules.

A competition option that gives a team an extra substitution, and an extra substitution opportunity where those are limited, when one of its players has an actual or suspected concussion. The IFAB protocol calls these substitutions permanent: the player who leaves does not come back.

A pause, usually of ninety seconds to three minutes, that competition rules may allow in high heat and humidity so players can bring their body temperature down. A drinks break is a separate option and lasts no more than one minute.

A free kick from which a goal can be scored straight into the opponents' goal. It is given for fouls that involve contact and for handball offences; if the offence happens inside the offender's own penalty area, it becomes a penalty kick. Opponents must be at least 9.15 m (10 yds) from the ball.

Public protest against a match official's decision, by words or actions. It is punished with a caution. Under the 'only the captain' guidelines, only the captain may approach the referee after a key decision; competitions can use them now, and they become compulsory for competitions starting on or after 1 July 2027.

The restart after the referee stops play without an offence, for example for an injury or a damaged ball. Inside the penalty area the ball is dropped for the defending goalkeeper; elsewhere it goes to one player of the team that would have kept or gained possession, or else of the team that last touched it. All other players stay at least 4 m (4.5 yds) away, and a goal does not count until at least two players have touched the ball.

Two equal periods of no more than 15 minutes each, played when a match that needs a winner is level at the end of normal time. ET is the usual abbreviation for extra time; results add a.e.t. (after extra time). Youth competitions often shorten or skip it: the 2026/27 rules of the Kujawsko-Pomorski FA in Poland go straight to penalties in the youngest groups. The JudgeMate scoreboard has 2 × 15 minutes preset.

A match awarded to one team without being played or completed, for example when the opponent fails to turn up. FIFA records a forfeited match as 3-0, as in a Disciplinary Committee decision of September 2025; national and regional rules may set their own score. In JudgeMate the football default is 3-0, and the organiser can change it in the bracket or league settings.

The official who assists the referee with matters on and off the field: overseeing the technical area, controlling substitutes and showing the minimum additional time. Some competitions also appoint a reserve assistant referee who can replace an assistant.

Goals scored minus goals conceded across all league or group matches, shown as GD next to the points. Some regulations rank teams level on points by goal difference first, others by head-to-head first. JudgeMate leagues offer both orders as presets: head-to-head, goal difference, goals scored (the default), or goal difference, goals scored, head-to-head.

An electronic system that tells the referee immediately when the whole ball has crossed the goal line between the posts. The confirmation reaches the match officials within one second. A competition that uses it must say so in its rules.

The first phase of a tournament, in which teams play every other team in their group and the best-placed teams go on to a knockout round. JudgeMate runs it as the groups-plus-knockout format with one to four groups, can add one or two best teams from the next place, and ranks level teams in a group with a head-to-head mini table. A tie the table cannot split is shown on screen and settled by the organiser.

Three goals scored by the same player in one match. Like a brace, it is a term from match reports and has no meaning in the Laws.

The results of the matches between the teams that are level on points, used as a tiebreaker. In a group where everyone plays once, the head-to-head record of two teams is a single match; if that ended in a draw, the next criterion decides. It is the first criterion of the default ranking in JudgeMate leagues.

The International Football Association Board, made up of the four British football associations and FIFA, which writes the Laws of the Game. Changes are normally approved at its Annual General Meeting in February or March. The 2026/27 Laws have applied since 1 July 2026.

A free kick from which a goal counts only if the ball touches another player of either team after the kick. The referee raises an arm above the head to show it. Offside and playing in a dangerous manner without contact are typical reasons for one.

Being in an offside position is not an offence. A player is offside in the opponents' half when nearer to the goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent at the moment a team-mate plays the ball, and is penalised only on becoming involved in active play. There is no offside directly from a goal kick, a throw-in or a corner kick. The restart is an indirect free kick.

The method of deciding a match that must have a winner, formerly 'kicks from the penalty mark'. Teams take five kicks each, alternately, and stop early once one side can no longer catch up; if still level, they continue in pairs of kicks until one team has scored one more. The JudgeMate scoreboard records each kick as scored or missed and shows when the series is decided; the operator then ends the match.

A kick from the penalty mark, 11 m (12 yds) from the goal line, awarded for a direct free kick offence by a defender inside their own penalty area. All players except the kicker and the defending goalkeeper stay outside the penalty area, at least 9.15 m (10 yds) from the mark. Regional youth rules move the mark closer for small goals.

The distance at which a player can touch the ball by stretching a foot or leg or by jumping; for a goalkeeper, by jumping with arms extended. It depends on the player's size, which is why the Laws give no figure in metres.

The points a league or group table gives per result: three for a win, one for a draw, none for a loss. The scale comes from competition regulations, not from the Laws of the Game. JudgeMate leagues start at 3-1-0, and the organiser can change each value.

A free kick taken very quickly after play has stopped, with the referee's permission. If an opponent standing closer than 9.15 m intercepts it, the referee lets play continue instead of ordering a retake.

A challenge made with disregard for the danger to, or consequences for, the opponent. Law 12 requires a caution for it. A challenge that goes further and uses excessive force is a sending-off.

Players who have been substituted and come back on later in the same match by replacing a team-mate. The Laws allow them only in youth, veterans, disability and grassroots football, with the approval of the national association, the confederation or FIFA. The normal substitution procedure still applies to every change.

A second yellow card for the same player in one match, which means a sending-off. Since 2026/27 the VAR may also review a clearly incorrect second caution. The JudgeMate scoreboard turns a second yellow into a red automatically, and if the operator cancels that yellow, the red goes with it.

Technology that sends information about offside positions to the video assistant referee at once and, in an advanced version, directly to the assistant referees as well. The decision itself stays with the officials.

A red card: the player leaves the field for the rest of the match and, once the match has started, cannot be replaced. Team officials can be sent off too. A match cannot continue if a team has fewer than seven players.

A tackle or challenge for the ball that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality. It is a sending-off offence. The difference from violent conduct is that the player is contesting the ball.

An action that gives a false impression that something happened, such as feigning injury or pretending to have been fouled. It counts as unsporting behaviour and is punished with a caution.

Replacing a player with a named substitute after the referee's permission. Official competitions allow up to five substitutes; in top-division and senior international matches with five allowed, each team has at most three substitution opportunities plus half-time. Since 2026/27 the player leaving must be off the field within ten seconds. The JudgeMate football scoreboard records goals and cards, not substitutions.

A ban from the next match or matches after a sending-off or after a number of cautions collected over several matches. The thresholds come from the competition, not from the Laws. In JudgeMate leagues and club brackets the organiser can switch suspensions on: a ban after 2, 3, 4 or 5 yellow cards and a 1-, 2- or 3-match ban for a red, with a red from a second yellow counted once.

The official team document that names the players, substitutes and team officials. If the competition rules require all players and substitutes to be named before kick-off and a team starts with fewer than eleven players, only those named on the list may join the match when they arrive.

The marked area beside the field for team officials and substitutes, with seating in stadiums. Its occupants are identified before kick-off, and only one person at a time may give tactical instructions from it.

A suspension from the next part of the match for some or all cautionable offences, an option in youth, veterans, disability and grassroots football. The IFAB guidelines set it at 10-15% of total playing time, for example 10 minutes in a 90-minute match, under System A (every caution) or System B (a fixed list). It is not used in a penalty shoot-out. The JudgeMate scoreboard has no sin-bin timer, so keep that time at the bench.

A match between the two losing semi-finalists to decide third place. In JudgeMate it is an option you switch on when creating a knockout bracket.

A knockout round played as two matches, usually one at each team's ground, and decided on aggregate. What happens when the aggregate is level depends on the competition rules. JudgeMate decides the tie after the second leg from the aggregate and, if that is level, from the penalty shoot-out; away goals are not used.

A current or former referee who reviews footage and advises the referee only on a clear and obvious error or a serious missed incident. The reviewable decisions are goals, penalty decisions, direct red cards (including a clearly incorrect second caution) and mistaken identity.

Using or attempting to use excessive force or brutality when not challenging for the ball, or deliberately striking someone on the head or face unless the force is negligible. It is a sending-off offence, whether the target is an opponent, a team-mate, an official or a spectator.