A goal counts only when the whole ball crosses the whole line legally.

The ruleset and date used here

This page applies The IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, principally Law 9, “The Ball in and out of Play,” and Law 10.1, “Goal scored.” The edition took effect on 1 July 2026 under IFAB's normal implementation process.

A competition already in progress on 1 July may delay new-law implementation until that competition ends. Technology, video review and permitted competition modifications also depend on the appointed competition rules. This page therefore states the international association-football baseline, not a promise that every youth, grassroots or domestic match uses the same support systems.

“Whole ball over the whole line” is literal

Law 10.1 requires the whole ball to pass over the goal line, between the goalposts and under the crossbar. The goal line belongs to the field boundary, so a ball touching or vertically overhanging any part of it has not yet scored. The test is the same on the ground and in the air.

The net is not part of the decision. A ball may cross the line and rebound out without settling in the net; equally, rippling side-netting proves nothing. What matters is the ball's position relative to the line, posts and crossbar.

How to decide a goal/no-goal incident

1. Was the ball still in play? Check that it had not already left the field and that the referee had not stopped play.
2. Did it cross in the goal? The entire ball must clear the entire goal line between the posts and below the crossbar.
3. Was the scoring sequence legal? Check any attacking foul, offside offence, handball offence or infringement at the restart.
4. Can a goal be scored directly that way? Throw-ins, indirect free kicks, dropped balls and a goalkeeper's throw have special limits.
5. Was there relevant outside interference? Apply Law 3 if an extra person affected play.
6. Can the decision still be corrected? A correction or VAR review must occur before play restarts, subject to the narrow exceptions in the VAR protocol.

Posts, crossbar and most official touches do not stop play

Under Law 9.2, a ball that rebounds from a post or crossbar and remains on the field stays in play. A save in which the goalkeeper holds the ball against or above the line is also live unless the whole ball has crossed.

A match-official touch has a specific exception. If the ball touches an official, stays on the field and then goes directly into a goal, starts a promising attack or changes the team in possession, Law 9.1 stops play and requires a dropped ball. A ball cannot score by going directly from the referee into the goal.

Crossing the line does not erase an earlier offence

Law 10.1 makes a goal conditional on the scoring team not committing an offence. An offside position alone does not cancel a goal; there must be an offside offence under Law 11. An attacking foul, an illegal second touch or another infringement before the ball crosses instead produces the restart required by that offence.

Law 12 has a narrow automatic scoring restriction for handball: a player may not score directly with the hand or arm, or score immediately after the ball touches that player's hand or arm, even if the contact is accidental. An earlier accidental hand/arm touch by a different attacker is not automatically an offence; it is judged under the normal deliberate-contact and unnaturally-bigger tests.

A defender's foul and later misconduct are different questions

If a defender fouls an attacker but the non-offending team immediately scores, the referee may apply advantage and award the goal. Any disciplinary sanction that remains necessary can be dealt with before the kick-off.

The decisive timing is when the ball wholly crosses. Misconduct after that moment cannot turn a valid goal into “no goal,” because the ball is already out of play, although the referee can still caution or send off the offender. By contrast, an attacking offence before the crossing prevents the goal even if the shot itself was legal.

Some restarts can score without another touch

The 2026/27 Laws permit a goal directly against the opponents from a kick-off, direct free kick, penalty kick, goal kick or corner kick, provided that restart was taken legally. “Directly” means no other player has touched the ball after the restart.

A direct or indirect free kick kicked straight into the taker's own goal produces a corner kick, not an own goal. Laws 8 and 15–17 give the same corner-kick outcome when a kick-off, throw-in, goal kick or corner kick goes directly into the taker's own goal.

Four routes need a different outcome

• Indirect free kick into the opponents' goal: goal kick. If the referee failed to give the required raised-arm signal and the ball went directly in, Law 13 requires the indirect free kick to be retaken.
• Throw-in into the opponents' goal: goal kick; directly into the thrower's own goal: corner kick.
• Dropped ball: at least two players must touch the ball before a goal can count. With fewer than two touches, award a goal kick at the opponents' end or a corner kick at the player's own end.
• Goalkeeper throw into the opponents' goal: Law 10.1 requires a goal kick. This does not prohibit a goalkeeper from scoring with a kick in open play.

One lawful touch by another player can change the result for an indirect free kick or throw-in. For example, a goalkeeper's attempted save is a touch; if the ball then crosses legally, the goal can count.

The ball must cross before the referee stops play

If the referee whistles to stop play before the whole ball crosses, the later entry cannot count, even if the shot was already travelling toward goal. The restart follows the reason for the stoppage. If the referee incorrectly signals a goal before the ball has wholly crossed, Law 10.1 expressly requires a dropped ball.

Under Law 5.2, the referee may correct a decision before the restart. Once play has restarted, the referee cannot change that restart decision merely after realising it was wrong, and the VAR protocol likewise bars a goal review after the restart except for its limited post-restart disciplinary categories.

A penalty can continue after time expires

Normally, no goal can be scored after the referee has ended the half. Law 7.4 creates the important exception: if a penalty kick must be taken or retaken, the half is extended until that penalty is completed.

Under Law 14.1, the extended penalty is not necessarily over at the goalkeeper's first save or a rebound from the frame. The ball may still enter and produce a goal. The extended kick ends when the ball stops, goes out, is played by anyone other than the defending goalkeeper, or the referee stops play for an attacking offence.

Interference matters, and the kick-off is the deadline

If the referee notices before the restart that an extra player, substitute, substituted or sent-off player, or team official of the scoring team interfered, Law 3.9 disallows the goal and restarts with a direct free kick from that person's position. Interference by an outside agent usually means no goal and a dropped ball, subject to Law 3.7's special case for a ball already going into goal.

A person connected to the conceding team who interferes does not rescue that team from conceding. A non-interfering outside agent—or a non-interfering substitute who merely stepped slightly onto the field—does not invalidate the goal. If the referee discovers the extra person only after the kick-off, the goal cannot be disallowed; the person is removed and the incident reported.

GLT reports crossing, not the legality of the attack

Law 1.11 permits goal-line technology only when the competition rules stipulate its use. GLT applies solely to the goal line and automatically confirms its indication to the match officials within one second. The referee must test it before the match and must not use a system that fails the required test.

GLT does not decide offside, handball, fouls, extra-person interference or whether a direct goal was permitted from the restart. Those remain separate decisions even if the watch indicates that the ball crossed.

A goal check reaches beyond the painted line

Where the competition is authorised to use VAR, goal/no-goal is a reviewable category. The check may include whether the ball crossed, whether it was out of play earlier, a reviewable attacking offence in the build-up, and how the attacking team gained possession in the attacking phase that led directly to the goal.

The original decision changes only for a clear and obvious error or serious missed incident; the referee makes the final decision. VAR is not the same system as GLT, and neither system is assumed to exist merely because a match is professional.

The pre-restart VAR extension is an authorised trial

IFAB first approved this extension for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and now lists it as an ongoing trial. It covers an attacking-team offence at an attacking corner or free kick which occurs after the referee's signal but before the ball is in play and has a direct and immediate impact on a goal, penalty decision or specified disciplinary outcome.

If an on-field review confirms that the offence occurred before the ball was kicked, the restart is retaken and appropriate disciplinary action is taken or cancelled. If the offence continued when or after the ball was kicked, the defending team receives a free kick instead. Other competitions must apply through their national association or confederation, obtain IFAB permission and use the trial protocol in full; this is not part of the universal VAR baseline.

The goalkeeper catches the ball above the line

Situation: the goalkeeper's feet and hands are behind the line, but part of the ball still overhangs it.

IFAB 2026/27 ruling: no goal; play continues. The player's body position does not decide it, and the trailing edge of the ball has not cleared the whole goal line.

An indirect free kick glances off the goalkeeper

Situation: an indirect free kick is shot at goal. The goalkeeper touches it but cannot stop it crossing the line.

IFAB 2026/27 ruling: goal, assuming no other offence. Law 13 forbids a goal only when the indirect free kick enters directly; the goalkeeper supplied the required other-player touch.

The referee deflects the ball straight into goal

Situation: a pass strikes the referee, remains on the field and goes directly between the posts.

IFAB 2026/27 ruling: no goal; dropped ball. Law 9.1 makes the ball out of play when an official's touch is followed directly by the ball entering a goal.

The goalkeeper's throw reaches the other net

Situation: the goalkeeper catches the ball in open play and throws it the length of the field directly into the opponents' goal.

IFAB 2026/27 ruling: no goal; goal kick to the opponents. A punt or kick in open play is different because Law 10.1 singles out the goalkeeper's direct throw.

An extended penalty rebounds in

Situation: time has expired, the referee extends the half for a penalty, and the shot rebounds from the goalkeeper onto the post before spinning over the line without another player touching it.

IFAB 2026/27 ruling: goal. The goalkeeper's play and contact with the goal frame do not by themselves complete the extended penalty; the ball crossed before the kick was completed under Law 14.1.

Claims the Laws do not support

• “Most of the ball was over.” The entire ball must clear the entire line.
• “The goalkeeper was standing inside the goal.” Only the ball's position decides the crossing test.
• “Any accidental attacking handball in the move cancels the goal.” The automatic rule concerns the scorer's direct or immediately preceding contact; other contact uses the ordinary handball tests.
• “Every restart can score directly.” Indirect free kicks, throw-ins and dropped balls have explicit touch requirements, and a goalkeeper cannot throw directly into the opponents' goal.
• “VAR can go back after the kick-off.” A goal decision cannot be reopened after play restarts under the ordinary protocol.
• “A converted shoot-out kick is another match goal.” Penalties in a shoot-out take place after the match has ended and decide the tie separately from the match score.

Governing-body sources and effective version

• The IFAB — Laws of the Game 2026/27, Laws 1, 3, 5, 7–10 and 12–17
• The IFAB — Law 10.1, Goal scored (2026/27)
• The IFAB — Law 9, The Ball in and out of Play (2026/27)
• The IFAB — Laws 3.7–3.9, Extra persons and goals (2026/27)
• The IFAB — Law 1.11, Goal Line Technology (2026/27)
• The IFAB — Law 13.1, Direct and indirect goals (2026/27)
• The IFAB — Video Assistant Referee protocol, goal/no-goal reviews (2026/27)
• The IFAB — Ongoing VAR trial: attacking-team offence before the ball is in play (approved April 2026)
• The IFAB — 2026 FIFA World Cup pre-restart attacking-offence VAR clarification, 31 May 2026

Checked against The IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27 and live law and trial pages current on 26 August 2026. The baseline edition is effective from 1 July 2026; a competition that was already underway could retain the previous edition until it ended. GLT and VAR apply only where competition rules authorise them, and the pre-restart attacking-offence extension requires separate trial permission.