Corner kick

A corner kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football. It was devised in Sheffield under the 1867 Sheffield Rules. It was adopted by the Football Association on 17 February 1872.

A corner kick is awarded to the attacking team when the ball leaves the field of play by crossing the goal line (either on the ground or in the air) without a goal having been scored, having been last touched by a defending player. The kick is taken from the corners of the field of play nearest to where the ball crossed the goal line. Corners are considered to be a reasonable goalscoring opportunity for the attacking side, though not as much as a penalty kick or a direct free kick near the edge of the penalty area.

The assistant referee will signal that a corner should be awarded by first raising his flag, then using it to point at the corner arc on their side of the pitch; however, this is not an indication of which side the kick should be taken from. The referee then awards the corner by pointing to the relevant arc.