Futsal Glossary

A second mark 10 m from the midpoint between the goalposts, with marks 5 m to either side for player distances. A DFKSAF is taken from here. If the foul happened between the end line and an imaginary line 10 m out, the team may choose to take the kick from the place of the offence instead.

Any foul penalised with a direct free kick. Each team's tally starts from zero in each half and is written in the match report. Second-half fouls keep counting in extra time. Since 2025-26, no accumulated foul is recorded when the referees award a penalty kick instead. The JudgeMate futsal scoreboard keeps the tally per team and per half.

The part of the pitch where the ball is and play is happening. FIFA defines it next to the influence area so that referees and assessors can describe where each referee should be looking.

A way of deciding a tie when both teams scored the same number of goals: goals scored away from home count double. Law 10 still lists it as an option for competitions, next to extra time and penalties. JudgeMate two-legged ties do not use it; a level aggregate goes to a penalty shoot-out after the second leg.

Law 2 sets a circumference of 62 to 64 cm, a weight of 400 to 440 g at the start of the match, and a first bounce of 50 to 65 cm when the ball is dropped from 2 m.

The vest substitutes wear over their shirt. It must differ in colour from both teams' shirts and from the opponents' bibs. A substitution is complete when the substitute enters through their own substitution zone after handing the bib to the player coming off.

A yellow card, reported to the disciplinary authority. Two cautions in one match mean a sending-off, and the team then serves a two-minute numerical reduction. When the operator of the JudgeMate futsal scoreboard gives a second yellow card to the same player, the board turns it into a red card on its own.

Awarded when the ball goes over the end line after a defender touched it last and no goal is scored. The ball is placed in the corner area, opponents stay at least 5 m from the corner arc, and the kick must be taken within four seconds. If it is not, the opponents get a goal clearance.

Short for a direct free kick beginning with the sixth accumulated foul. The defending team may not form a wall; the goalkeeper stands at least 5 m from the ball, and the kicker must try to score directly. If the sixth foul happens inside the offender's penalty area, a penalty kick is given instead. A DFKSAF awarded as a period ends is taken before the period finishes.

A free kick from which a goal can be scored straight into the opponents' goal. In futsal every direct free kick also adds one accumulated foul to the offending team's tally for that half, and opponents must stand at least 5 m away. Up to the fifth foul a wall is allowed; from the sixth, the DFKSAF rules take over.

The restart after the referees stop play without an offence, for example for an injury or a defective ball. The ball is dropped for one player of the team that had or would have gained possession. If play stopped inside the defending team's penalty area while the attackers had the ball, it is dropped for an attacker on the penalty-area line.

Two equal periods of no more than five minutes each, played when competition rules require a winner. There is no interval between the two periods and no timeouts. Second-half accumulated fouls carry into extra time. The JudgeMate futsal scoreboard is set to 2 × 5 minutes by default.

A tie-breaker in the UEFA Futsal Champions League 2026/27: the team with the lower disciplinary total ranks higher. A red card counts 3 points, a yellow card 1, and a sending-off for two yellow cards in one match 3. It sits after head-to-head results, overall goal difference and overall goals scored in Article 15 of the regulations.

A compulsory signal from the third referee or the timekeeper when a team commits its fifth accumulated foul in a period, with a sign placed on the timekeeper's table. After the fifth foul the referees may no longer play the advantage on that team's fouls, except to avoid denying a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity. JudgeMate shows "Next foul: 10 m free kick" at that point.

A goalkeeper who temporarily plays as an outfield player, usually in the opponents' half, leaving their own goal empty. It can be the regular goalkeeper or a player brought on for this role. Competition rules may require the flying goalkeeper to wear exactly the same shirt colour as the main goalkeeper. The third or fourth referee then watches that team's goal line.

Referees count four seconds, with a visible signal, for kick-ins, corner kicks, goal clearances, free kicks (including DFKSAFs) and a goalkeeper controlling the ball in their own half. Kick-offs and penalty kicks are not counted. Missing the count hands a restart to the opponents: a kick-in for a kick-in, a goal clearance for a corner, an indirect free kick for the others.

An assistant referee who helps the third referee manage team officials and substitutes, record accumulated fouls and make decisions. If the third referee or the timekeeper cannot continue, the fourth referee takes over.

The futsal restart when the ball crosses the end line after an attacker touched it last. The goalkeeper throws or releases the ball from anywhere inside their penalty area, within four seconds, or the opponents get an indirect free kick. Domestic rules for youth, veterans, disability or grassroots futsal may forbid throwing it straight over the halfway line.

A goalkeeper may not control the ball in their own half for more than four seconds, with the hands inside the penalty area or with the feet anywhere in that half. After playing the ball, they may not touch it again in their own half if a team-mate passes it back before an opponent has played it. Both offences give the opponents an indirect free kick.

Describes a goalkeeper who is in their own penalty area and inside an imaginary triangle formed by the two goalposts and the ball. Referees use it when they decide whether a foul denied a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity. With a flying goalkeeper upfield, the goal is usually not guarded.

A free kick that becomes a goal only if another player touches the ball after it is kicked. In futsal it is the usual sanction for restart delays: a free kick, DFKSAF or goal clearance not taken within four seconds. Inside the penalty area it is taken from the penalty-area line, at the point nearest to the offence.

A part of the pitch away from the ball where players may still clash. The referee who is not watching the action area keeps an eye on it.

The break between the two halves, at most 15 minutes. There is no interval between the two periods of extra time; the teams only change ends and benches, with a drinks break of up to one minute allowed.

The futsal restart when the whole ball crosses a touchline, or when it hits the ceiling. It is kicked, not thrown, from the touchline within four seconds, with opponents at least 5 m away. A goal cannot be scored directly from a kick-in. If the four seconds run out, the kick-in goes to the opponents.

Starts both halves and both periods of extra time and restarts play after each goal. The team that concedes takes it. A goal may be scored directly against the opponents from a kick-off; if the ball goes straight into the kicker's own goal, the opponents get a corner kick. Referees do not count four seconds at a kick-off.

A match may not start or resume if either team has fewer than three players on the pitch. A team is five players at most, one of them the goalkeeper. The minimum squad needed to hold a match is left to each national association.

The UEFA Futsal Champions League 2026/27 plays its qualifying rounds as groups of three or four teams at one host venue, with 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a defeat. A tied ranking is decided first by the matches between the teams involved.

The method of deciding a match when competition rules need a winner after a draw or after extra time. Both teams take five kicks, then continue one each until one team has scored more. Every player and substitute may kick, except those injured or sent off at the end of play. The JudgeMate futsal scoreboard records five kicks and then sudden death.

The area in front of each goal, drawn as two quarter circles of 6 m radius around the outside of the goalposts, joined by a 3.16 m line parallel to the goal line. The goalkeeper may handle the ball only here, and a foul inside it from the sixth accumulated foul onward becomes a penalty kick.

A kick from the penalty mark, 6 m from the midpoint between the goalposts. The goalkeeper stays on the goal line, and other players stay at least 5 m behind the penalty mark and outside the penalty area. A penalty kick awarded as a period ends is still taken. Since 2025-26 it does not add an accumulated foul.

For international matches 38 to 42 m long and 20 to 25 m wide; for other matches 25 to 42 m by 16 to 25 m. The goals are 3 m wide and 2 m high. Since 2025-26, artificial turf is allowed only as an exception and only in national competitions.

The distance at which a player can touch the ball by stretching a foot or leg or by jumping; for goalkeepers, by jumping with arms extended. It depends on the player's size and matters when referees judge whether an opponent was close enough to challenge.

The time the ball is in play, measured on the chronometer. The timekeeper stops the clock whenever the ball goes out of play or play stops for any other reason. Two halves of 20 minutes of playing time therefore take far longer on the wall clock, so a tournament schedule needs longer slots than 40 minutes.

A free kick taken very quickly after play stops, with either referee's permission. If an opponent closer than 5 m intercepts it, play continues. An opponent who deliberately stops a quick free kick from being taken is cautioned for delaying the restart.

The main match official on the pitch and the final decision-maker. In futsal the referee works with a second referee on the opposite touchline and, at higher levels, with a third referee and a timekeeper at the table. The referee has the last word when the two on-pitch referees disagree.

The second match official on the pitch, under the referee's supervision. The two referees work on opposite touchlines; at a kick-off, one stands on the side of the substitution zones and the other on the far touchline in line with the second-last defender.

A red card: the player leaves the pitch for the rest of the match and may not take part in a penalty shoot-out. The team plays with one player fewer for two minutes of playing time, unless the opponents score first. A team official may also be sent off.

Up to nine substitutes may be used in a match in an official competition, and the number of substitutions is unlimited. A player who goes off can come back on. Substitutions are allowed while the ball is in play, but not during a timeout. JudgeMate futsal squads hold 14 players, five on the pitch and nine on the bench.

A 5 m stretch of touchline in front of each team's technical area, starting 5 m from the halfway line. Each team uses the zone in the half it defends, so the zones swap at half-time. Leaving or entering anywhere else during a substitution earns a caution.

Competition rules, not the Laws, decide when cautions add up to a ban. In the UEFA Futsal Champions League 2026/27 a player misses the next match after two yellow cards in two different matches, and again after the fourth and every later yellow card. In a JudgeMate league the organiser can switch on automatic suspensions after two to five yellow cards.

An assistant referee at the timekeeper's table. The third referee records the players taking part, scorers, cards, timeouts and accumulated fouls per team and per period, checks substitutes' equipment and signals the fifth accumulated foul and each timeout. A substitute hands the bib to the third referee when the player coming off had to leave elsewhere.

The match official whose main duty is playing time: starting and stopping the chronometer, timing the one-minute timeout and the two-minute numerical reduction, and showing goals, accumulated fouls and periods on the public scoreboard. On the JudgeMate futsal scoreboard the clock counts down from 20:00.

Each team may take one one-minute timeout in each half; an unused first-half timeout does not carry over, and there are none in extra time. A team official requests it from the third referee, and the timekeeper grants it when the ball is out of play and the requesting team has the restart. The JudgeMate futsal scoreboard allows one per half and none in extra time.

After a sending-off, the team plays one player short for two minutes of playing time. A substitute may come on earlier if the team with more players scores, though when both teams are short-handed neither is restored until its own two minutes are up. The JudgeMate scoreboard runs the two minutes and ends them early when the short-handed team concedes.

FIFA's futsal replay system, allowed only with written FIFA permission. The head coach may challenge decisions on goals, penalties, direct red cards and mistaken identity. Each team has one unsuccessful challenge per half, plus one in extra time and one in the shoot-out; successful challenges are not limited.

A match awarded to one team because the other failed to play it. The Laws give no score for this. UEFA's disciplinary bodies declare the match forfeited, and each competition sets the score that goes into its table. In JudgeMate the futsal walkover default is 5-0, and the organiser can change it in the bracket or league settings.