The short answer
A goal kick is in play when it is kicked and clearly moves, not when it leaves the penalty area. Any defending player can take it from inside the goal area. Opponents must initially stay outside the penalty area. The 2026/27 delay protocol adds a referee-triggered five-second countdown, with a corner kick if the restart is not taken in time.
On this page5
A goal kick becomes live when the ball is kicked and clearly moves. It does not have to leave the penalty area. A defender can receive a short pass beside the goalkeeper, and an opponent who enters legally can immediately challenge for it.
This guide applies the 2026/27 IFAB laws. A youth competition’s authorised playing modifications should be checked separately.
Who takes it, and from where?
Any player on the defending team can take a goal kick. The ball must be stationary somewhere within the goal area, the smaller box in front of goal.
The ordinary award follows the ball wholly crossing the goal line, outside a valid goal, after an attacker touched it last. Other laws also prescribe a goal kick for particular invalid scoring attempts. One example is an indirect free kick sent directly into the opponents’ net.
When can opponents enter the penalty area?
Opponents must stay outside until the ball is in play. After the kick clearly moves it, the penalty area is available to them; the receiving defender has no protected first touch.
| Situation at a short goal kick | Decision principle |
|---|---|
| Teammate receives inside the area | Permitted |
| Opponent enters after the ball moves and intercepts | Permitted |
| Opponent has no time to leave before a quick kick | Play can continue |
| Opponent deliberately stays inside to exploit the restart | Do not reward that illegal position; retake as specified in Law 16 |
Law 16 and its official examples distinguish an opponent caught inside by a fast restart from one deliberately remaining there. A still image of a player in the area cannot tell those situations apart.
The five-second rule starts with the referee
The 2026/27 countdown is a response to deliberate delay, not an automatic clock beginning whenever the ball goes out. The referee blows the whistle, signals for the restart and visibly counts down five seconds with a raised hand.
If the ball is not in play when that countdown ends, the opponents receive a corner on the nearer side. The countdown protocol allows the referee to start before the taker possesses the ball, including when retrieval or placement is being deliberately slowed. It also says not to penalise a player already in the process of kicking as the count finishes.
This is different from the goalkeeper’s eight seconds of hand control. A goal kick happens after play has stopped; the eight-second offence concerns possession during play.
The taker cannot play a second pass to themself
After taking the kick, the player cannot touch the ball again before another player does. An ordinary second touch produces an indirect free kick; handball has additional distinctions under Law 16.
There can also be a card when a goalkeeper’s second touch after a restart stops a promising attack or denies an obvious scoring opportunity. Law 12 separates this from an ordinary restricted-handling offence. A goalkeeper cannot assume that using a foot instead of a hand makes a second touch harmless.
Offside and direct goals are separate questions
A player cannot be penalised for receiving the ball directly from a goal kick under Law 11.3. Once a teammate plays the ball again, the normal offside tests return.
A goal kick can also score directly into the opponents’ goal. Directly into the taker’s own goal, it produces a corner instead. Those are restart rules, not a general exemption for everything a goalkeeper kicks: a clearance during open play is a different action.