Corner Kick in football: rules, explanation and goals

One of the most important actions during a football match is the corner kick. In this article we offer a guide about the corner kick in football with rules, stats, goal. How to take a corner in football? When corner kick is given in football? We explain all that you need to know. Here you can find all corner rules in football. This page dedicated to the famous ‘Corner’ collects everything there is to know about corner football: from the rules to history, from the most used schemes in football to history and evolution. There are many curiosities about the corner kick: from the meaning to the term in English, from the regulation to the goals directly from the flag. On our site you will also find the page on ‘How Euro2020 works‘.

How the corner kick works

When the defending team touches the ball last before it goes over the end line, on the ground or in the air, the game is resumed with a corner kick for the attacking team. The rules of corner kick are few and quite simple. 

How do you take a corner kick?

• The ball must be stationary before it is kicked
• The ball is kicked by a player from the attacking team
• The ball is in play when it is kicked and it moves clearly
• The defenders must be at least 10 meters away in all directions from the corner arc
• As soon as the ball is kicked, the defenders can move to the previously restricted area
• The footballer cannot touch the ball a second time until it is touched by another player (teammate or opponent)
• The ball must touch the white line of the corner.

When it’s a corner kick

A corner kick is awarded to the attacking team when a player from the defending formation (including the goalkeeper) last touches the ball before leaving the endline.

Explanation Corner kick, is there offside from a corner?

Is there offside from a corner kick? No, the offside rule does not apply in the event of a corner kick, flick in or goal kick.

Corner Football Rules

Any penalties If, after the ball has been put in play, the player touches the ball again before it has been touched by any other player, an indirect free kick is awarded to the defending team. The punishment must then be served from where the second touch occurred. If the ball goes directly off the end line after the corner kick is taken, the game is resumed with a goal kick for the defending team. Same rule applies to lineouts. Even if the ball, after being kicked, goes out of the end line and re-enters the field, the goalkeeper of the defending team restarts with a return from the back. For any other violation, such as the ball not completely stationary or outside the corner of the flag, the corner kick must be resumed.

Can be offside from a Corner?

No. There is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from: a goal kick, a throw-in, a corner kick. In our website you can find an article about how works Offside. 

History of corner football: birth and evolution

The corner kick rule was born in 1873. Since its creation, the evolution of the ‘corner’ has not seen many changes. One of the main changes is that of 1924, when the goal scored directly from a corner kick is validated. In 2006, however, the minimum distance from the arch of the flag was established: the players of the defending team must remain at least 9.15 meters from the corner line.

‘Olympic’ goal: the goal from a direct corner

What does Olympic goal mean? It is the football definition for the goal scored directly from a corner kick. When the player who takes the corner puts the ball directly into the goal and scores. IFAB introduced the possibility of scoring a corner in 1924.

Corner kick: flag and ball boy

The corner flags are four and positioned at the ends of the pitch to signal the corner area. placed in each vertex of the field and bounded by an arc and by the two limits of the field. At the very top of the corner, a flag with a pole is mandatory. The minimum height is one and a half meters. If a player damages or removes the corner kick flag, he can be sanctioned by the referee with a yellow card. It happens often, even during the celebration for a goal. Another important rule is that relating to the behavior of the ball boys on corner kicks. In fact, since the twenty-first century, the regulation has begun to prevent ball boys from placing the ball in corners, in order to avoid taking advantage in an unsportsmanlike manner.