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I.5.1. Main rules

Pitch surface

  • The field of play must be rectangular. The touch line must be longer than the goal line.
  • Length: 35-37 m; width: 26-28 m.
  • The surface is composed of levelled sand, free of pebbles, shells and it has a depth of at least 40 cm.
  • All lines are 8 cm to 10 cm wide and are made of tape contrasting with the colour of the sand.

(http://jatekvezetok.blsz.hu/szabalyzatok/strandlabdarugas_jatekszabalyai_%202008.pdf)

The penalty area

  • The penalty area is the area between the goal line and an imaginary parallel line joining both touch lines at a distance of 9 m from the goal line and marked by two yellow flags placed next to each touch line outside the pitch.
  • The imaginary penalty mark is located in the middle of the penalty area line, in equal distance from each goal post.

Flags

  • Each corner is marked with a pole with a blunt end and a red flag.
  • A yellow flag is placed at each end of the imaginary lines marking the penalty area at a distance of between 1 and 1.5 m outside the touch lines. The flagpoles must be at least 1.5 m high

The ball

  • The ball is spherical, made of leather or another suitable material that is crush-proof and resistant to water and abrasion.
  • Has a circumference of not less than 68 cm and not more than 70 cm.

Players

  • A match is played by two teams, each consisting of no more than five players, one of whom is the goalkeeper.
  • Each team has to choose its goalkeeper. The other players have to wear numbered jerseys or shirts.
  • Teams have 7 substitutes. The number of substitutions during a match is unlimited.

Preliminaries

  • Before the match a coin is tossed to determine the choice of ends and the kick-off.  In the second period of play, the teams change ends. A kick-off is the way to start play at the start of each period.
  • A goal may not be scored directly from a kick-off.

Gameplay video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO692cCQd1k

Ball in play and out of play

  • The ball is out of play when it has wholly crossed the goal line or touch line, whether on the ground or in the air, and when the play has been stopped by the referees.
  • The ball is in play at all other times.

Scoring

  • A goal is scored when the whole of the ball passes over the imaginary goal line between the goalposts and under the crossbar.
  • The team that scores the greater number of goals during a match is the winner. If both teams score an equal number of goals or none at all, the game ends in a tie.

Playing the ball and scoring in the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t7s7EASA-c

Direct free-kick

  • There are only direct free kicks.
  • Free kick is to be taken from the place of the foul. The players of the opposing team must be at least 5 m away from the ball.

The penalty kick

  • Penalty kick is to be taken from the penalty mark, from a distance of 8 m from the centre of the goal.
  • Only the goalkeeper is allowed to stay inside the penalty area.
  • The players other than the kicker are located at 5 m away from the ball.
  • The player taking the penalty kicks the ball forward. He may not play the ball a second time until it has touched another player.

The goalkeeper

  • A goal may not be scored directly from a goal clearance.
  • The goalkeeper is allowed to touch the ball with their legs when the ball is kicked back to him by a team-mate.
  • The goalkeeper can score a goal only if the ball is already in play and he got it from a team-mate.

The corner kick

  • A corner kick is awarded when the whole of the ball, after last touching a player of the defending team, passes over the goal line, either on the ground or in the air and a goal is not scored.
  • A goal may be scored directly from a corner kick.

Personal faults

  • Players get personal fault points for every fault that is sanctioned with free kick. If a player collects 4 of these, gets excluded from the match, but he/she can be substituted with another team-mate. Personal fault points result in team fault points.
  • If a team makes 5 fault points in one period, the other team may take a penalty kick from a distance of 8 m.
  • First penalty comes after the fifth fault, and then after every single fault. The penalties have to be taken from the same distance, from 8 m.
  • Counting faults restarts at the beginning of each period.

(http://www.szabadban.hu/cikk.php?aid=ef4cdf456d1fc65aa7fbbae)

Video of an official match below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm3mrmJcPqg