Added time, extra time and a penalty shoot-out are three different stages.

Scope: association football under IFAB

This page applies the International Football Association Board (The IFAB) Laws of the Game 2026/27, principally Laws 3, 7, 10 and 14. The edition took effect on 1 July 2026. A competition that began before that date could implement the changes early or defer them no later than the start of its next competition, under IFAB Circular 32.

The Laws provide the permitted framework; the appointed competition regulations choose the tie-breaking format. Youth, veterans, disability and grassroots football may also use authorised modifications, including shorter normal-time and extra-time periods. Always identify the competition before assuming that a tie leads to extra time.

Do not treat every minute after 90 as “extra time”

• Additional time: commonly called added or stoppage time, it remains part of the half in which time was lost.
• Extra time: separate periods played after a drawn match when the competition has selected that procedure.
• Penalties (penalty shoot-out): IFAB's current term for the kicks used after the match has ended to determine the winner.

A goal at 90+4 changes the match score. A successful shoot-out kick does not add a goal to the match score because the shoot-out is not part of the match.

The board shows a minimum, not a deadline

IFAB Law 7.3 requires the referee to allow for playing time lost through substitutions, injury assessment or removal, time-wasting, disciplinary sanctions, authorised medical stoppages, VAR checks and reviews, goal celebrations and other significant delays.

The fourth official displays the minimum additional time chosen by the referee at the end of the final minute. It may be increased for a further injury, substitution, celebration, review or other delay after the board is shown, but it may not be reduced. A first-half timekeeping error cannot be “repaid” by changing the second half's length.

There is no right to finish an attack

Once the referee has allowed the required time, football does not promise an attacking team one last cross, corner or free kick. The referee may end the period while the ball is in play or before an ordinary restart is taken. The number on a broadcast clock is not the referee's final calculation.

The express exception is an awarded penalty kick that must be taken or retaken: Law 7.4 extends that half until the penalty is completed. Added time applies in extra-time periods too, so “105” and “120” are not automatic whistle points.

The kick continues, but open play does not

Under IFAB Law 14.1, an extended penalty is complete when the ball stops, leaves play, is played by anyone other than the defending goalkeeper, or the referee stops play for an offence by the kicker or the kicker's team. A direct goal, or a goal while the ball continues moving after contact with the goalkeeper or goal frame, can count.

There is no ordinary follow-up phase. If the goalkeeper saves and another player touches the rebound, the period ends. If the kick must be retaken because of an offence, the extension continues for the retake.

IFAB permits it; the competition must select it

IFAB Law 10.2 says a match with equal scores is drawn. When competition rules require a winner after one match or a home-and-away tie, they may use the away-goals rule, two equal periods of extra time not exceeding 15 minutes each, penalties, or a combination of those procedures.

Therefore, “two 15-minute halves” is a common competition choice, not an automatic universal rule. A competition may go directly to penalties or allow the draw to stand. IFAB authorises the available methods; the event regulations decide which method and sequence apply.

It remains part of the match

The ordinary Laws continue to apply in extra time. Goals count in the match score, additional time is allowed for lost time in each period, and cautions and sendings-off from normal time continue to matter. There is no general IFAB “golden goal”: if two periods have been selected, a goal does not itself end extra time.

Law 7 permits a short drinks break, which should not exceed one minute, at half-time in extra time. The precise interval before extra time and operational timing arrangements belong in the competition regulations.

An extra substitute is a competition option

Under IFAB Law 3.2, unused substitutes and unused substitution opportunities carry into extra time. A team receives one additional substitute and one additional opportunity only if the competition rules permit it. Changes between normal time and extra time, and at half-time in extra time, do not consume an opportunity.

A player sent off after kick-off cannot be replaced. The team therefore remains short-handed through extra time. A caution from normal time also remains active during extra time because the match has not yet ended.

The match is already over

IFAB Law 10.3 states that penalties are taken after the match has ended. Before the kicks, the referee normally tosses a coin to determine the goal, subject to safety and ground conditions. A second toss lets the winning team choose whether to kick first or second.

Only players on the field, or temporarily off for an authorised reason such as treatment or equipment adjustment, at the end of the match are eligible. A requested substitution that was not completed before the final whistle does not make the substitute eligible, except for the special goalkeeper replacement described below.

The larger group must reduce to match

If one team has more eligible players at the end of the match, it must exclude enough players to equal the opponent's number and identify them to the referee. Equality must also be restored if the numbers change during the shoot-out. An excluded player cannot kick, subject to the goalkeeper exception.

A non-goalkeeper who becomes unable to continue during the shoot-out may not be replaced. A goalkeeper who is unable to continue may be replaced by an eligible team-mate, a player excluded to equalise numbers, or a named substitute if the team has not used its permitted substitute entitlement. A replaced goalkeeper takes no further part. Any eligible player may change places with the goalkeeper.

Five each, then equal-attempt rounds

The teams kick alternately. Each eligible player must take one kick before anyone takes a second. The initial series ends early if one team has already scored more than the other could reach with its remaining kicks.

If the scores remain level after five kicks each, the teams continue one kick each until one leads after the same number of attempts. The order of players may change in a later round; the same first-kicking team begins each round. A player who leaves and is not back when required forfeits their kick.

A rebound may cross the line, but the kicker cannot follow up

For each kick, the other eligible players remain in the centre circle. When the ball is kicked, the defending goalkeeper must have at least part of one foot touching, in line with or behind the goal line. If a goalkeeper offence causes a retake, the goalkeeper is warned for the first offence and cautioned for a later offence.

The kick is complete when the ball stops moving, leaves play or the referee stops play for an offence. It can still score after rebounding from the goalkeeper or goal frame while it remains in motion. The kicker may not deliberately play it a second time, and there is no follow-up shot by another attacker.

The 2026/27 edition adds a specific accidental-double-touch rule: if a slipping kicker's non-kicking foot or leg touches the ball immediately after the kick, a goal means a retake; if the ball does not enter, the kick is recorded as missed. A deliberate second touch is not rescued by this exception.

Yellow cards reset; red-card consequences do not

Warnings and cautions issued during the match, including extra time, are not carried forward into the shoot-out. A player cautioned in extra time and again during the shoot-out is therefore not sent off for those two separate cautions, although both are reported.

A player already sent off cannot participate. Players, substitutes, substituted players and team officials may still be cautioned or sent off during the shoot-out. A goalkeeper sent off must be replaced by an eligible player; the shoot-out is not abandoned merely because a team falls below seven players.

A 2026/27 deletion is not reflected everywhere

IFAB's official 2026/27 law-changes notice removes the sentence that automatically cautioned the kicker when the kicker and goalkeeper offended simultaneously. As checked on 26 August 2026, IFAB's live Law 10 page still displays that deleted sentence.

This page follows the explicit 2026/27 amendment when describing the current edition, but does not conceal the publication conflict. For a simultaneous-offence incident, match officials should use the edition and implementation instructions adopted by the appointed competition.

A goal at 90+6 after five were shown

Situation: the fourth official displays five minutes. A one-minute injury stoppage then occurs, and Blue scores at 90+6.

Ruling — IFAB 2026/27: the goal is not late merely because the board showed five. Law 7.3 makes that figure a minimum, and the referee may increase it for the further lost time. The decisive fact is the additional delay after the display.

A corner is awarded after the minimum expires

Situation: the ball crosses the goal line for an attacking corner after the announced additional time has been played. The referee ends the half before the corner.

Ruling — IFAB 2026/27: this can be correct. An ordinary corner does not extend a period; Law 7 expressly preserves a penalty kick that must be taken or retaken, not every awarded restart. The decisive fact is that the restart is a corner, not a penalty.

Ten players face eleven at the final whistle

Situation: Red completed extra time with ten eligible players after a sending-off. Blue has eleven eligible players.

Ruling — IFAB 2026/27: Blue must exclude one player before the shoot-out so each side begins with ten. Red's sent-off player remains ineligible. The decisive fact is the number of eligible players, not how many names remain on each substitute list.

A saved shoot-out kick spins into goal

Situation: the goalkeeper touches a shoot-out kick. The ball rises, lands with backspin and crosses the goal line before stopping; nobody plays it again.

Ruling — IFAB 2026/27: the goal counts. The kick was still in progress after the goalkeeper's touch and was not complete until the ball stopped, left play or the referee stopped play. The first save did not itself end the kick.

Resolve a timing or tie dispute in six steps

1. Name the competition and the Laws edition it has adopted.
2. Separate normal time from the referee's additional time.
3. If the score is level when the match would end, check whether the rules allow a draw.
4. If a winner is required, apply the competition's stated procedure: extra time, penalties, an away-goals rule or a permitted combination.
5. If extra time is used, confirm its period lengths and substitution rules; add time lost within each period.
6. At the final whistle, establish the eligible and equalised player lists before beginning the Law 10.3 shoot-out procedure.

Four shortcuts that produce the wrong answer

• “The board says five, so the whistle must go at 95:00”: five is the minimum; later delays can extend it.
• “A tied knockout match always gets 30 more minutes”: IFAB permits extra time of up to two 15-minute periods, but the competition must select it.
• “The referee must allow the corner”: only a penalty that must be taken or retaken expressly extends the period.
• “Every player on the team sheet can take a shoot-out kick”: eligibility normally turns on who was playing or temporarily off when the match ended.

IFAB 2026/27 source material

• The IFAB — Laws of the Game 2026/27, single-page PDF — controlling edition, especially Laws 3, 7, 10 and 14.
• The IFAB — Law 7: The Duration of the Match, 2026/27 — periods, allowance for time lost and end-of-half penalties.
• The IFAB — Law 10: Determining the Outcome of a Match, 2026/27 — permitted tie-breakers and shoot-out procedure.
• The IFAB — Law 3: The Players, 2026/27 — extra-time substitutions and eligibility boundary.
• The IFAB — Law 14: The Penalty Kick, 2026/27 — completion of an extended penalty.
• The IFAB — Law changes 2026/27, Laws 10 and 14 — accidental double touches and the simultaneous-offence deletion.
• The IFAB — Circular 32 (2026) — 1 July 2026 effective date and transition for competitions already under way.

Source note: checked against the official IFAB material on 26 August 2026. Competition regulations may choose among Law 10's permitted procedures, set shorter authorised period lengths or add substitution provisions, so they must be read alongside this baseline.