Soccer Terms & Soccer Rule Definitions

Injury time: See time lost. (Law 7)
Inside: 1. Refers to the part of the field closer to the 
mid-line, as opposed to the touchline. 2. Inside of the 
foot: the big toe side of the foot near the arch. 
Instep: The top part of the foot corresponding to the lower 
part of the laces portion of the boot. 
Into touch: When the ball goes into the area outside of the 
field of play, beyond the touch lines. 
Jersey: The team uniform that distinguishes the teams as 
different. Also, the goal keeper must have a shirt that 
distinguishes himself different than his team and the 
opponent. (Law 4) 
Jockey: 1. To delay the forward progress of an opponent with 
the ball by holding a position close to and goal side of the 
opponent so that he or she can be tackled once support 
arrives. 2. An instruction to a player to tell him or her 
not to tackle but to jockey an opponent. 
Juggling: A training exercise in which the ball is kept in 
the air, using any legal part of the body, by one player. 
Jumping: Intentionally jumping at an opponent. (Law 12)
Keepaway: A small-sided game in which the object is for one 
side to retain possession rather than to score goals. 
Keeper: See goal keeper.
Kicking: Intentionally kicking or trying to kick an 
opponent. (Law 12) 
Kick-off: A method of starting and restarting play. A game 
is started with a kick-off and a kick-off is performed 
following a goal that has been scored. The restart kick-off 
is performed by the team that did not score. (Law 8) 
Lay off: To play the ball to one side for a teammate, 
normally when one has one's back to the opponents' goal. 
Libero: Position name given to a player playing in one of 
the positions normally associated with a stopper, a 
defensive screen or sweeper. Unlike these players, however, 
the libero frequently comes forward to join the attack. . 
Linesman: See assistant referee. (Law 6)
Man on: A term used for communicating that the ball carrier 
or the player about to receive the ball is going to be under 
pressure from a defender. 
Man-to-man defense: A defensive system in which a player 
(usually a marking back) will be assigned responsibility to 
mark a specific individual opponent. Often used to 
neutralize a particularly dangerous and mobile attacking 
player; if the strategy is effective, the neutralized player 
is said to have been "marked out of the game". See zone 
defense. 
Mark: 1. A defender who is guarding an opponent is said to