Can a goalkeeper pick up a back-pass from a teammate?

The back-pass rule was introduced in 1992 after teams in the 1990 World Cup wasted time by passing back to the keeper, who would catch and hold the ball. Iconically, the 1990 group game between Egypt and the Netherlands saw the Dutch keeper hold the ball for over a minute without releasing.

Under the modern Law 12: if a teammate deliberately kicks the ball back to the keeper, the keeper must play it with their feet — they cannot pick it up. Headers, chest passes and accidental deflections are exempt — a defender heading back to the keeper is fine. The rule also applies to throw-ins: if you throw the ball back to your own keeper, they can't pick it up.

Punishment for breach: indirect free kick to the opposition at the spot the keeper handled the ball. In the penalty area, this is dangerous — the wall must be on the goal-line and any defender can block, but the attacking team gets a close-range chance. Goals from these have been scored at major tournaments.

Combined with the new 8-second rule, the back-pass rule sharply limits how teams can run down the clock. A leading team can no longer pass back, have the keeper hold, and reset — they must play forward or accept the 8-second clock starting on every keeper touch.