Law 9 – The Ball In and Out of Play

1. Ball out of play

The ball is out of play when:

• it has wholly passed over the end line or touchline on the floor or in the air;
• play has been stopped by the referees;
• it hits the ceiling.

The ball is also out of play when it touches a match official, remains on the pitch and:

• a team starts a promising attack; or
• the ball goes directly into the goal; or
• the team in possession of the ball changes.

In these three cases involving the ball touching a match official, play is restarted with a dropped ball.

2. Ball in play

The ball is in play at all other times when it touches a match official, as well as when it rebounds off a goalpost or the crossbar and remains on the pitch.

If, without intending to interfere with play unfairly, a team official, substitute, sent-off player or player who is temporarily off the pitch (injury, adjusting equipment, etc.) touches the ball while it is still in play but when it is clearly leaving the pitch, this is penalised with an indirect free kick; there is no sanction.

3. Indoor pitch

The minimum height of ceilings should be stipulated in the competition rules.

If the ball hits the ceiling while in play, the game is restarted with a kick-in, to be taken by the opponents of the team that last touched the ball. The kick-in is taken from the point on the touchline nearest to the place on the floor above which the ball hit the ceiling.