Scope and version used here
This page applies the IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, principally Law 7 (duration), Law 3 (players and substitutions), Law 5 (the referee as timekeeper) and Law 10 (deciding a drawn match). The edition took effect on 1 July 2026; competitions that began before that date could introduce the changes earlier.
The scope is the IFAB form of association football. It is not a futsal or beach-soccer rules page. FIFA, a confederation, a national football association or a competition organiser may make permitted organisational choices, so the appointed competition regulations still control period lengths at modified levels, substitute numbers, extra time and concussion replacements.
The numbers are a framework
- 45 + 45 minutes: the Law 7 baseline for normal time.
- 15 minutes: the maximum half-time interval, not a required interval in every competition.
- Up to 15 + 15 minutes: the Law 10 ceiling when a competition uses extra time.
- Up to five substitutes: the IFAB ceiling for ordinary official competitions outside the youth exception; the responsible authority chooses the actual number.
- 10 seconds: the 2026/27 exit limit once a substitution is indicated, subject to injury and safety exceptions.
Normal time, half-time and the final whistle
Scheduled time, time actually played and the legal end of a period are three different questions.
Two equal 45-minute halves
Law 7.1 sets two equal halves of 45 minutes. They may be reduced only when both teams and the referee agree before the match and the reduction complies with competition rules. At youth, veterans, disability and grassroots levels, the responsible football authority may authorise different equal period lengths.
Half-time is no more than 15 minutes
Players are entitled to a half-time interval. Law 7.2 sets a maximum of 15 minutes, while the competition rules must state the actual duration. It may be altered only with the referee's permission. Half-time is not added to the 90 minutes of playing time.
The referee is the timekeeper
Law 5.3 assigns timekeeping to the referee. A stadium or television display is informative; it does not end a period. The referee signals when the period is over after making the required allowance for time lost.
Why 45:00 and 90:00 are not automatic stopping points
Under IFAB Law 7.3, the referee makes an allowance in each half for playing time lost through substitutions, injury assessment or removal, time-wasting, disciplinary sanctions, permitted medical stoppages, VAR checks and reviews, goal celebrations, and other significant delays—including a delayed restart caused by an outside agent.
The fourth official displays the minimum additional time chosen by the referee at the end of the final minute. It may be increased, but not reduced. A further injury, substitution, celebration or other significant delay during added time can therefore move the whistle beyond the displayed minimum. The referee may not repair a first-half timekeeping error by making the second half longer or shorter.
Football does not have a general “finish the attack” rule
Reaching the displayed minimum does not itself stop play, but neither does an attacking move create an automatic right to continue. Unlike sports that require play to reach the next dead ball, IFAB Law 7 contains no general requirement to wait for possession to end or for an awarded corner, throw-in or free kick to be taken. The referee ends the period when the official allowance is complete.
The express exception is Law 7.4: if a penalty kick has to be taken or retaken, the period is extended until that penalty is completed. If the extended penalty is scored, the goal is awarded and the period ends; there is no kick-off merely to use up time.
A draw does not automatically mean extra time
If the scores are level, the match is drawn unless the competition requires a winner. Law 10.2 permits competition rules to use the away-goals rule, two equal periods of extra time of no more than 15 minutes each, penalties (penalty shoot-out), or a permitted combination. The competition—not the referee on the day—selects the method.
Each extra-time period has its own allowance for time lost. Penalties begin after the match has ended and are not ordinary match goals. A competition may also allow one additional substitute and one additional substitution opportunity in extra time, but Law 3 does not grant them automatically.
Resolve a timing question in this order
- Name the competition and age/playing category. Confirm its period and half-time lengths.
- Use the referee's time. Treat a public clock and the board as information, not the final decision.
- Add significant time lost in that period. The displayed figure is a minimum and can grow.
- Check for a penalty that must be completed. An ordinary attack or restart has no equivalent guaranteed extension.
- After normal time, read the tie-breaking regulation. Extra time and a penalty shoot-out happen only when that regulation requires them.
How many substitutions are allowed?
The Laws set ceilings and procedures; the competition rules supply the match-specific allocation.
Five is a maximum, not a promise
For an official competition, FIFA, the confederation or the national association determines the number permitted, up to five, except that youth football's maximum is set by the responsible authority. Where a top-division first-team or senior “A” international competition permits five, each team has no more than three substitution opportunities, with half-time changes additional.
Only named substitutes may enter
Competition rules must state how many substitutes may be named, from three to 15. Their names must be given to the referee before the match; someone not named by then may not take part. Several replacements by one team during the same stoppage use one opportunity.
Entry changes legal status
The substitute enters only during a stoppage, at the halfway line, after the player being replaced has left and after the referee's signal. The substitution is completed on entry. At that moment the substitute becomes a player and may take any restart; the departing player becomes a substituted player.
The player leaving usually has ten seconds
Under Law 3.3 and IFAB's 2026/27 Time-limited substitution protocol, the player being replaced must normally leave at the nearest boundary point within ten seconds of the board being shown or, where there is no board, the referee's signal. If the substitute's equipment is inspected at halfway, the countdown starts after the inspection when the referee signals. For multiple changes at one stoppage, all departing players must be off within ten seconds of the final substitution being indicated.
The referee may disregard the limit when injury makes it impossible or the nearest exit is unsafe or insecure. The protocol also says a player who is very close to or crossing the line when the countdown ends should be treated in line with its purpose and the substitute allowed to enter.
The team temporarily plays with one fewer player
If the player does not leave within ten seconds and no exception applies, the player must still go off, the replacement cannot enter, and play restarts. The substitution cannot be cancelled and a different substitute cannot be chosen. The replacement may enter with the referee's permission only at the first stoppage after one minute of running time has elapsed following the restart.
Missing ten seconds is not by itself an automatic caution. The departing player is cautioned only if the further delay is excessive. If a player simply refuses to leave, Law 3.3 says play continues.
Unused allocations carry forward
Any unused ordinary substitutes and substitution opportunities remain available in extra time. If the competition expressly permits one additional substitute in extra time, the team also receives one additional opportunity. Changes made between normal time and extra time, or at extra-time half-time, do not consume an opportunity.
A requested change that is not completed before the final whistle does not make the substitute eligible for a penalty shoot-out. Under Law 10, only players on the field or temporarily off for a valid reason at the end of the match may normally take part; the special replacement rule for a goalkeeper unable to continue is separate.
Available only when the competition adopts the protocol
Law 3.2 permits, but does not require, a competition to use IFAB's additional permanent concussion substitution protocol. When adopted, each team may use one concussion substitute for actual or suspected concussion without using a normal substitute or normal opportunity; the removed player cannot return, including for the penalty shoot-out.
The other team then receives the option of one additional substitute for any reason and one corresponding opportunity. Match officials support the process but do not decide whether the injury medically qualifies. A viewer should therefore confirm that the named competition has adopted the protocol before calling a change “free” or “extra”.
Friendlies and return substitutions follow different branches
For a senior “A” international friendly under the 2026/27 Laws, up to 15 substitutes may be named and eight may be used. The teams may agree on as many as 11 used substitutes if they inform the referee beforehand; the three-opportunity restrictions and procedures still apply.
In other non-official matches, the teams may agree a greater number and tell the referee before the match; without agreement or notice, the limit is six. Return substitutions are permitted only in youth, veterans, disability and grassroots football when authorised by FIFA, the relevant confederation or national association. A removed player cannot otherwise return.
Check allocation, opportunity and completion separately
- Read the competition rules: how many may be named and used, and whether extra-time or concussion additions apply.
- Count players and opportunities separately: several changes at one stoppage can use one opportunity.
- Confirm the replacement was named: an unlisted person cannot become a player.
- Apply the exit process: nearest safe boundary point and the 2026/27 ten-second limit.
- Wait for completion: the replacement becomes a player only after lawful entry with the referee's signal.
- Ask whether return is authorised: it is an approved modified-format rule, not the senior default.
Shortcuts that change the ruling
- “The match ends at 90:00.” The referee completes the allowance for time lost and may extend for a penalty.
- “A dangerous attack must be allowed to finish.” The Laws create no general finish-the-attack entitlement.
- “Every competition allows five substitutes.” Five is the ordinary official-competition ceiling; the responsible authority decides the allocation.
- “Five substitutes means five stoppages.” In the specified elite five-sub format, the limit is three opportunities plus half-time.
- “A concussion replacement is automatic everywhere.” The competition must adopt IFAB's protocol.
- “Ten seconds late always means a yellow card.” The delayed entry applies; a caution requires excessive further delay.
Four realistic match situations
These are explanatory hypotheticals applying IFAB 2026/27, not official casebook incidents.
A delay occurs after “+6” is shown
Situation: the fourth official shows six minutes. Treatment then delays play for another two minutes. Ruling: the referee may finish after 98:00 or later. Law 7.3 makes six the minimum and requires a further allowance for significant time lost during it.
The penalty is awarded as time expires
Situation: the referee awards a penalty when the official allowance is complete. Ruling: extend the period until the kick is completed, including a required retake. If it is scored, award the goal and end the period without a kick-off. Law 7.4 is decisive.
The departing player takes 16 seconds
Situation: no injury or safety exception applies. Ruling: the player still leaves, play restarts, and the named replacement waits for the first stoppage after one running minute. There is a caution only if the player excessively delays beyond the countdown.
Two players enter at one stoppage
Situation: a team in an elite five-substitute competition replaces two players together. Ruling: two of its player allocation are used but only one substitution opportunity. The decisive fact is that both changes occur during the same stoppage.
Go deeper on how a winner is decided
This page keeps extra time to the part needed for match-length and substitution questions. For the separate clock, tie-breaking and penalty-shoot-out sequence, see extra time, stoppage time and penalties.
IFAB 2026/27 source material
- The IFAB, Laws of the Game 2026/27 (single-page PDF) — effective 1 July 2026; Laws 3, 5, 7 and 10.
- The IFAB, Law 7: The Duration of the Match, 2026/27 — periods, half-time, allowance for time lost and penalty extension.
- The IFAB, Law 5: The Referee, 2026/27 — official timekeeping responsibility.
- The IFAB, Law 3: The Players, 2026/27 — substitute allocations, opportunities, extra time and entry procedure.
- The IFAB, Time-limited substitution protocol, 2026/27 — ten-second exit, exceptions and one-minute delayed entry.
- The IFAB, Law 10: Determining the Outcome of a Match, 2026/27 — drawn matches, extra time and penalties.
- The IFAB, Additional permanent concussion substitutions protocol, 2026/27 — optional competition adoption and replacement procedure.
- The IFAB, General Modifications, 2026/27 — authorised youth, veterans, disability and grassroots variations.
- The IFAB, Changes to the Laws of the Game 2026/27 — current amendments, including senior international friendlies and time-limited substitutions.
Source note: checked against the live 2026/27 Laws and IFAB's July 2026 updated change material on 26 August 2026. The appointed competition regulations may supplement this baseline by choosing the permitted period lengths, substitute allocation, extra-time procedure and concussion protocol.