Indirect Free Kicks Inside the Penalty Box: Everything You Need to Know!

Indirect free kicks inside the penalty box of an opposing team are a rare occurrence in football. Unlike penalties, which are straightforward and are awarded when a clear foul occurs inside the box, or a player touches the ball with his hand, indirect free kicks are a bit more confusing. After all, there were few games lately when we see a situation like this. So how are these free kicks awarded?

What is an Indirect Free Kick?

There are two types of free kicks, direct and indirect. And the difference between them is simple. In direct free kicks, you can shoot and score directly from that free kick. Hence the name. For indirect free kicks, the opposite is true. You cannot shoot on goal, and instead you must pass, or cross. In case a player scores from an indirect free kick, with no one else touching the ball, then the goal is not valid.

As an example, Corinthians’ goalkeeper, Cássio Ramos, went viral after letting a free kick slide directly into his own goal. Why did he do that? Because the awarded free kick was an indirect one, and, as nobody else touched the ball, the goal was not valid.

A key aspect to watch for and see whether a free kick is direct or indirect is how the referee awards it. If the referee’s arm is pointed straight up after he blows the whistle, then the awarded free kick is indirect. If the arm is pointing towards the goal, then the free kick is direct and can result in a goal without the ball needing to touch another player.

Indirect Free Kicks Inside the Box

Indirect free kicks are a means of punishing infractions that are not severe. Those can happen inside the box, but do not warrant a penalty. Here are a few reasons indirect free kicks inside the penalty area may occur.

Back Pass Rule

When a goalkeeper handles the ball after it is deliberately passed to them by a teammate using their foot. Basically, if someone passes to the goalkeeper, then he may not pick up the ball. This happened in Chelsea’s game against Villa. The goalkeeper deflected a shot by Chelsea. The defender touched it with his foot and the keeper picked up the ball. This resulted in an indirect free kick inside the penalty box.

Double Touch on Goal Kicks

When taking a goal kick, a player, or the keeper, cannot touch the ball twice without it being touched by another player. This means that when taking a goal kick, you must pass the ball, not drive with it. This recently happened in a Nations League game between Hungary and the Netherlands, where Dominik Szoboszlai forgot about this rule. He placed the ball to take the goal kick, then pushed the ball forward and then took the pass. The result was an indirect free kick inside Hungary’s own penalty area.

Dangerous Play Without Contact

Dangerous play is when you attempt to play the ball in a manner deemed dangerous, such as a high foot near another player’s head or playing while lying on the ground. This rule is in place to punish plays that may seriously harm others. But since there was no contact, there can be no penalty. Yet, you cannot let dangerous play go unpunished, so you award an indirect free kick inside the box.

Holding the Ball Too Long

Officially, the rules state a goalkeeper may hold the ball for a maximum of 6 seconds. In case that time is exceeded, an indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team. Since the goalkeeper can hold the ball only inside the box, then the indirect free kick is awarded inside the box.

However, this rule in not enforced by the letter of the law. We often see goalkeepers keeping the ball for over 6 seconds and there is no free kick awarded. Yet the rule remains in place and can be used when the referee feels a goalkeeper is taking way too much time holding the ball.

Obstruction and Interference

There are other rules for awarding indirect free kicks inside the penalty area, but are rarely enforced or happening. For example, when a defender blocks an attacking player from reaching the ball in the penalty area without attempting to play the ball themselves. This is classified as obstruction and can result in an indirect free kick.

Another rule that can award an indirect free kick inside the box is when a defender deliberately distracts an opponent or goalkeeper through verbal or unsporting actions within the penalty box. However, these cases are rarely punished.

Challenges of Indirect Free Kicks Inside the Penalty Box

One might consider an indirect free kick inside the penalty area an easy goal. But there are a few things to keep in mind, which make scoring from this situation difficult.

First, the wall. Usually, when taking free kicks, opponents have to be at least 10 yards (9 meters) away from the ball. But, when taking an indirect free kick from inside the box, then the opponents form the wall on the goal line. The reason being that, even if they don’t hold the 10-yard rule, there is no way to go further behind. Most of the opposing players will form the wall, covering the entire goal, which leaves little space to score.

Then, another difficulty is that you cannot shoot directly, and another player has to touch the ball first. This means that you give time for the opponents to rush at you and block your shot. Couple this with the necessity to shoot quickly, which does not give you room to run and set your shot. Those aspects make it extremely difficult to score from this situation.