There are many quirky rules in the official Football Association (FA) handbook.
For instance, players are not allowed to score directly from a throw-in, as Rory Delap found out during his time at Stoke City, where his remarkable launches into the box often caused chaos.
3 and a half minutes of Rory Delap throw-ins. Football heritage. The good stuff.https://t.co/oAcFW9wz7v
— COPA90 (@Copa90) August 18, 2022
There are also other odd inclusions, such as a player not being allowed to score a rebound from their penalty, should the ball bounce back off the woodwork without touching another player.
However, there is another strange FA rule – one we have never actually seen actioned in the Premier League before – which makes little sense.
Choosing to score an own goal from a corner or freekick would not result in a goal
We have no idea why this is included in the FA handbook – as the chances of it ever happening feel extremely slim.
To put it simply, should a player opt to turn around and strike a corner towards their own goal, and it somehow ends up in the back of the net, a goal would not be awarded, but instead, a corner.
The same goes for a freekick. In the bizarre event that a player would choose to smash a freekick the wrong way and into their own goal, the referee is instructed to award a corner.
Law 13 in the IFAB (International Football Association Board) Laws of the Game states: “If a direct or indirect free kick is kicked directly into the team’s own goal, a corner kick is awarded.”
Law 17 addresses the rule regarding corners, stating: “If the ball directly enters the kicker’s goal a corner kick is awarded to the opponents.”
To our knowledge – and that of Google – this peculiar rule has never needed to be enforced in the Premier League, and we doubt it ever will.
Gary Lineker wanted rule change after Manchester United knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup
Football has come a long way since offsides were not actually a thing, and goalkeepers were also allowed to pick up as many back-passes as they wanted to.
However, there are still some rules which could be ironed out, with Gary Lineker calling for change after seeing Manchester United knock Arsenal out of the FA Cup back in January.
Arsenal thought they had the opener, but the flag is up!
Watch the FA Cup on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport App#BBCFootball #BBCFACup #FACup pic.twitter.com/STbDHJTOSB
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 12, 2025
When Gabriel Martinelli saw a goal disallowed for offside – due to the verdict that Harry Maguire, who touched the ball last before it reached the Brazilian, was not in control – the BBC Match of the Day host argued: “Now, we understand they have given that (offside) because Harry Maguire is not in control of the ball, but you could argue, of course, that he should have been.
“Here are the four things about when a player is uncontrolled. The ball travelled from a short distance or the player doesn’t have a clear view of it. Neither of those apply. The ball was moving quickly. Well, it wasn’t. The direction of the ball was unexpected. It wasn’t. And, the player had limited or no time to coordinate their body movement. You could possibly make an argument on that, but we understand why it’s not given.
“Now, why don’t they (the FA) just say all deflections in those circumstances are offside? Rather than this ambiguous nature of uncontrolled and controlled and all that.”
Lineker makes a good point – maybe one day, the FA will address this slightly ambiguous rule.
