An
indirect free kick is a method of restarting play in a game of
association football. Unlike a
direct free kick, a goal may not be scored directly from the kick. The law was derived from the
Sheffield Rules that stated that no goal could be scored from a free kick. This law was absorbed into the
Laws of the Game in 1877 and later adapted to allow indirect free kicks as a result of dangerous play. An indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team when a player commits a foul other than a penalty foul (e.g. dangerous play) or infringes certain technical requirements of the laws (e.g. touching the ball a second time following a restart, or the keeper touching the ball with his hands when a teammate has used his foot to
pass it back to the keeper). An indirect free kick is also awarded to the opposing team when play is stopped to
caution or
send-off a player when no specific foul has occurred (e.g. when play is stopped to caution a player for dissenting the decision of the referee). The most common cause is the
offside offence.