Can You Score an Own Goal from a Free Kick? Rules Explained

A free kick goes horribly wrong, the ball flies back towards your keeper, and it ends up in the back of your own net. Can that count as an own goal? Surprisingly, the answer is no. Here is exactly what the rules say.

TL;DR: You cannot score a direct own goal from a free kick. If the ball goes straight into the kicker's own goal, play restarts with a corner kick for the opposition.

The Free Kick Rule (Law 13)

The FIFA Laws of the Game (Law 13 – Free Kicks) state that a free kick can only score a goal against the opposing team — never against the kicker's own side.

What actually happens

• If the ball goes directly into the kicker's own goal from a free kick, no goal is awarded.
• Play restarts with a corner kick for the opposing team.
• This applies to both direct and indirect free kicks.

From an indirect free kick, the same logic runs both ways: straight into the opponents' goal is a goal kick, while straight into your own goal is a corner.

It's Not Just Free Kicks

This "no direct own goal" principle runs through several Laws of the Game:

• Throw-in (Law 15): a goal scored directly against the opponents is disallowed with a goal kick.
• Goal kick (Law 16): you cannot score into your own net directly.
• Corner kick (Law 17): likewise, an own goal direct is not allowed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a defender score an own goal from a free kick directly?

No. If the ball goes directly into their own goal from the free kick, it does not count and a corner kick is awarded to the opposition.

What if the ball hits a teammate and goes in?

If the ball deflects off a teammate into the own goal, the own goal can count, because it was no longer a direct kick.

Does the same rule apply to indirect free kicks?