How long may a goalkeeper hold the ball in 2025?

Eight seconds, since 1 July 2025 (IFAB Law 12.2). The referee counts down the last five with a raised hand and the sanction is a corner kick. Before that it was six seconds and an indirect free kick.

How far is the penalty mark from the goal line?

11 m (12 yd). The penalty area extends 16.5 m (18 yd) from the goal line (IFAB Law 1).

Is denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity always a red card?

Outside the penalty area, yes. Inside it, when the foul is a genuine attempt to play the ball and a penalty is awarded, the sanction drops to a caution (IFAB Law 12).

Can a substitute goalkeeper come on for a penalty shoot-out?

Only if the team still has a substitution left (IFAB Law 10.3). The Netherlands used their last one to bring on Tim Krul against Costa Rica at the 2014 World Cup and had none left in the semi-final.

Football fact checks: rules and numbers we verified

These are the football facts Insporta checked against a primary source while writing and reviewing its tests, mostly the IFAB Laws of the Game, with coaching references for goalkeeping craft. Each fact carries its status, in force since a date, stable, contested or corrected, and the source it was checked against. Where a rule was replaced, the old rule and the new one are both given, because the old one is still what many readers remember. Last check: 6 September 2026. The tests these facts underpin are described at Football on Insporta.

Laws of the Game

Fact	Status	Source
A goalkeeper may control the ball with the hands for eight seconds. The sanction is a corner kick to the opponents, and the referee counts down the last five seconds with a raised hand.	In force since 1 July 2025. The old six-second rule, sanctioned by an indirect free kick, is gone.	IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 12.2
The penalty area extends 16.5 m (18 yd) from the goal line. A goalkeeper standing further out than that is outside it and may not handle the ball.	Stable	IFAB Law 1
The penalty mark is 11 m (12 yd) from the goal line.	Stable	IFAB Law 1
Denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity by a foul outside the penalty area is a sending-off. The reduction to a caution for a genuine attempt to play the ball applies only to offences inside the penalty area that are punished by a penalty kick.	Stable	IFAB Law 12
Outside their own penalty area a goalkeeper is treated like any other player: handling there is a direct free kick, and the denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity is sanctioned as above.	Stable	IFAB Law 12
A substitute goalkeeper may be brought on before kicks from the penalty mark only if the team has a substitution remaining.	Stable	IFAB Law 10.3
There is no “six-yard arc” on a football pitch. The markings near the goal are the goal area (the six-yard box) and the penalty arc on the edge of the penalty area.	Stable	IFAB Law 1
No Law limits how often a goalkeeper may be changed, how many touches a goalkeeper may take, or how many defenders a side may post at a corner.	Stable	IFAB Laws 3 and 12

Goalkeeping coaching

Fact	Status	Source
The block or spread save on the feet belongs to very close range, a few metres. At penalty-spot distance the instruction is to dive.	Settled in coaching literature	England Football Learning, saving actions
A goalkeeper’s recovery line after losing a race to the ball is the line from the ball to the centre of the goal. The near-post line is the recovering defender’s rule, not the goalkeeper’s; the two are often confused.	Settled	Soccer Coach Weekly, recovering
A goalkeeper claims what they can arrive at and holds position for what they cannot, the delivery beyond reach at the far post. The zone in front of the goalkeeper is a claiming zone, not a holding zone.	Settled	Top Goalkeeping, catching crosses and corners
On a wet, skidding surface the advice is to punch and parry rather than catch, not to come for fewer balls.	Settled	Saviour GK, parry or punch

History

Fact	Status	Source
Netherlands v Costa Rica, 2014 World Cup quarter-final: Louis van Gaal brought on Tim Krul for the shoot-out with his third and last substitution, so the Netherlands had none left in the semi-final against Argentina. That cost, not the signal it sent to the dressing room, is the textbook argument against the change.	Verified	FIFA, “Subbing goalkeepers at a shoot-out”

How these facts are used

Each fact above was checked because a question depended on it, either while writing the question or when a reviewer challenged it. A fact is added when a review corrects something, not when a question merely passes, so the list grows with the corrections. The process is described in How Insporta writes a test.