Back-pass rule
The back-pass rule refers to two clauses within Law 12 of the Laws of the Game of association football. These clauses prohibit the goalkeeper from handling the ball when a team-mate has deliberately "kicked" the ball to him, or handling the ball directly from a team-mate's throw-in. The goalkeeper is still permitted to use his feet and other body parts to redirect the ball.
The actual offence committed is the handling of the ball by the goalkeeper, not the ball being passed back. An indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team from the place where the offence occurred, i.e. where the goalkeeper handled the ball. In practice this offence is very rarely committed.
The offence rests on three events occurring in the following sequence:
The ball is kicked (played with the foot, not the knee, thigh, or shin) by a team-mate of the goalkeeper,
This action is deemed by the referee to be deliberate, rather than a deflection or a miss-kick which is not intended for the goalkeeper,