A football referee often uses his/her hands and body to signal calls such as free kick, offside and other decision, while an assistant referee uses a his/her flag to communicate with the head referee and the players.
Not only the referee are supposed to be familiar with these signals, but also players need to know about them. Here is the complete list of the refereeing signals for the head referee and their assistant referees.
Referee Signals
The complete list of the signals by the referee according to the Laws of the Game.
Advantage (Play on)
Hold a hand or both of your hands up (like in above images) so everyone can see you allowing advantage.
Direct Free Kick
Hold a hand up and point to defending goal.
Indirect Free Kick
Raise your hand up to indicate an indirect free kick.
Corner Kick
Point to the corner arc using your hand.
Goal Kick
Point your hand to the goal area of defending team.
Penalty Kick
Point your hand or your finger to the penalty mark.
Red & Yellow Card
Show the yellow or red card facing the player who is the card for.
Assistant Referee Signals
The complete list of the signals by the assistant referee using the flag according to the Laws of the Game book.
Substitution
Free Kick
Direct / Indirect free kick
Throw In
Corner Kick
Point the flag to the corner arc.
Goal Kick
Point the flag to the goal area.
Offside (Near)
Offside (Middle)
Offside (Far)
GOAL (Additional assistant referee signal)
Here is also a tutorial video for the above refereeing signals:
Play the Referee Game and become a referee to test your referee signals knowledge.
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