Gaelic Football (GAA) — Official Rules

Gaelic football is contested by two teams of 15 players each on a large grass pitch, using a round ball. The aim of each team is to score more than the opponent by playing the ball over the crossbar (a point) or into the net (a goal). The ball may be kicked, hand-passed (struck with a clenched or open fist - it may not be thrown), caught, soloed (toe-tapped from foot to hand while running) or bounced. A player may not bounce the ball twice in succession and may carry it no more than four consecutive steps without playing it.

Three scoring values apply: a goal, scored by putting the ball into the net, is worth 3 points; a point, scored by putting the ball over the crossbar and between the posts, is worth 1 point; and a two-point score, scored over the bar from a kick taken with at least one foot on or outside the 40m arc, is worth 2 points. A team's total is written as goals-points (e.g. 1-12 = 1 goal and 12 points = 15 in total). Two-point scores are counted within the points tally. The team with the higher total at the end is the winner.

A score over the crossbar is worth 2 points when the player kicking it has at least one foot on or outside the 40m arc at the moment of the kick. This applies both to scores from play and to free kicks, but not to a 45m free (a '45'). If an opposition player touches the ball after the kick and before it crosses the bar, the two-point score still stands; if an attacking player touches it, the score is reduced to 1 point. The umpire signals a two-point score by waving an orange flag.

The field of play is rectangular: 130 to 145 metres long and 80 to 90 metres wide. Lines are marked parallel to each end line at 13m, 20m, 45m and 65m from goal. A new 40m arc is marked across the pitch in front of each goal, curving from the two 40m points - it defines the two-point scoring zone. A solid line runs across the centre (the halfway line). Sidelines and end lines bound the pitch.

The H-shaped goalposts stand on each end line, 6.5 metres apart, connected by a crossbar 2.5 metres above the ground; the posts rise typically 6-7 metres above the bar. In front of each goal are two rectangles: the small rectangle ('the square') 14m wide x 4.5m deep, and the large rectangle 19m wide x 13m deep. The penalty kick is taken from the centre of the 13m line. A net is attached to the goalposts and crossbar.

Each team fields 15 players: a goalkeeper, six backs (two corner-backs, full-back, two wing-backs, centre-back), two midfielders, and six forwards (two wing-forwards, centre-forward, two corner-forwards, full-forward). A match starts with no more than 15 players per side; a team may not start with fewer than 13. Up to 15 named substitutes may be listed.

Senior inter-county matches last 70 minutes - two halves of 35 minutes. Most other adult, minor (U17) and under-age matches last 60 minutes - two halves of 30 minutes. Teams change ends at half-time. If a knockout match is level after normal time, extra time of two halves of 10 minutes is played as directed by the competition. Time lost to stoppages is added on, controlled by the referee and the match clock/hooter where used.

A team may make up to five substitutions in normal time (with a further substitutions permitted in extra time per competition regulations). Temporary substitutions are allowed for a blood injury or a Head Injury Assessment, and do not count against the five; the player must return once cleared or be permanently replaced. A player who has been replaced may not return except as a permitted temporary or blood substitution. A player serving a sin-bin (black card) may not be replaced while off the field.

Each half begins with a throw-in: the referee throws the ball up between one player from each team only (1v1), contested at the centre. All other players, including the second midfielder, must remain outside the centre and behind their own 45m line (or the relevant restraining position) until the ball is thrown. Early movement into the contest before the throw is penalised by a free kick to the opposing team from the centre.

After a wide or a score, play restarts with a kick-out from the centre of the 20m line, taken by the goalkeeper (or a defender). Under the 2026 rules the kick-out must travel beyond both the 20m line and the 40m arc before being played. All opponents must be at least 13 metres from the ball and outside the 20m line until the kick is taken. A kick-out that does not reach these requirements is penalised by a free to the opposing team.

When the ball crosses a sideline, play restarts with a sideline kick from the ground, taken by the team that did not touch it last; it must be taken within the field at the point of exit and may not be scored directly. When the ball crosses an end line off a defender (other than via a score), an attacking 45m free is awarded from the 45m line opposite where it crossed; off an attacker, the defence restarts with a kick-out.

A player who catches a kick-out cleanly on or past his own 45m line, having travelled the required distance, may claim a kick-out mark by raising an arm. He may then take a free kick from where he caught it, unchallenged, or play on immediately and waive the mark. If he indicates a mark but then unduly delays, the opposition is awarded a free.

An advanced mark is awarded when a player catches the ball cleanly on or inside the opposition 20m line from a kick delivered from outside the 45m line (without the ball touching the ground or another player). The catcher may take a free kick or play on. Unduly delaying after claiming the mark concedes a 50m advance of the resulting free.

At all times each team must keep at least three outfield players inside the opposition half, and correspondingly at least four players (including the goalkeeper) inside its own half. A breach of this positional requirement is penalised by a free kick to the opposition from the centre of the 20m or halfway line in the offending team's half. The rule is enforced primarily at kick-outs and is designed to prevent mass-defence congestion.

The designated goalkeeper may receive a pass from a team-mate in open play only when both players are inside the large rectangle, or when the play is in the opposition half. Receiving a pass-back elsewhere (i.e. recycling the ball back to the keeper outside these zones) is an infringement, penalised by a free to the opposition. This rule curbs excessive backward recycling during defensive build-up.

A free kick is awarded for a foul or technical infringement, taken from the spot of the foul (or where the ball was when play was stopped, whichever is more advantageous to the non-offending team). Opponents must retreat at least 13 metres and may not charge the kick. A free may be kicked from the hands or off the ground; a score may be taken directly from a free, including a two-point score if the kicker has a foot on or outside the 40m arc.

When a free is awarded, the taker may use the Solo and Go: instead of stopping for a set free, he plays on immediately by tapping the ball to himself (a solo or toe-tap) and continuing. It must be taken within 4 metres of the spot of the foul, may not travel backwards and may not be taken inside the opponents' 20m line. An opponent who challenges within 4 metres, or otherwise interferes, concedes a 50m advance of the free.

A free may be advanced 50 metres towards the offending team's goal for cynical or persistent offences after the award - for example, not returning the ball, kicking or throwing it away, failing to retreat for a quick free, interfering with the free-taker, or dissent. After an advance the attacking team may take the free from the advanced position, take it from the original position, or play Solo and Go from the original position.

Aggressive fouls against an opponent - to charge illegally (more than a fair shoulder-to-shoulder), hold, push, trip, jersey-pull, strike, or use the boot dangerously - are penalised by a free kick to the fouled team and, depending on severity, a caution (yellow), a black card, or a sending-off (red). A foul that denies a clear goal-scoring opportunity carries enhanced sanctions (see Chapter 9).

Technical fouls against the rules of fair play are penalised by a free kick to the opposing team. They include: overcarrying (more than four steps without playing the ball), a double bounce or bouncing twice, throwing the ball (it must be hand-passed, not thrown), picking the ball directly off the ground with the hands, square ball (an attacker in the small rectangle before the ball), and entering the rectangles illegally.

A yellow card (caution) is shown for a cautionable offence; a second yellow results in a sending-off. A straight red card is shown for serious foul play, striking, or other dismissible offences, and the player is sent off and not replaced, leaving his team a player short for the rest of the match. Cards are recorded by the referee and reported for any further disciplinary process.

A black card is shown for cynical fouls - deliberately pulling down, tripping or body-collision to stop a promising attack, remonstrating aggressively, or jersey-pulling. The offending player is sin-binned for 10 minutes and may not be replaced during that time; the stop-clock is used so the full 10 minutes is served. A second black card, or a black following a yellow, results in dismissal. Under the 2026 rules, being the third or later player to join a melee is also a black-card offence, unless that player is clearly trying to pull a team-mate out of it.

Under the 2026 rules, a player who deliberately denies a goal-scoring opportunity by a cynical foul or by jersey-pulling inside the scoring zone receives a black card (10-minute sin-bin) and the attacking team is awarded a penalty kick. This sanction, previously applied only at inter-county senior level, now applies across all grades including club competitions.

The referee controls the match, is the sole timekeeper (where a stadium clock/hooter is used he coordinates with it), applies the rules, awards scores, frees and cards, and his decisions on points of fact are final. He is assisted by two linesmen (sideline kicks, who last touched the ball) and four umpires (two at each goal, signalling scores with flags - green for a goal, white for a point, orange for a two-point score). Sideline officials may report foul play to the referee.

Time is formally managed: the referee starts and stops the clock for stoppages (injuries, substitutions, cards), and each half ends when the hooter sounds. A score or a free/penalty in flight or awarded before the hooter may be completed under strict conditions; a move in progress continues until the ball next goes dead. The referee may play advantage, allowing play to continue rather than stopping for a free where it benefits the non-offending team, and may call it back if no advantage accrues.