Corner kick

A corner kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football. It was devised in Sheffield under the 1867 Sheffield Rules. It was adopted by the Football Association on 17 February 1872.

A corner kick is awarded to the attacking team when the ball leaves the field of play by crossing the goal line (either on the ground or in the air) without a goal having been scored, having been last touched by a defending player. The kick is taken from the corners of the field of play nearest to where the ball crossed the goal line. Corners are considered to be a reasonable goalscoring opportunity for the attacking side, though not as much as a penalty kick or a direct free kick near the edge of the penalty area.

The assistant referee will signal that a corner should be awarded by first raising his flag, then using it to point at the corner arc on their side of the pitch; however, this is not an indication of which side the kick should be taken from. The referee then awards the corner by pointing to the relevant arc.

When taking a corner kick, the ball is initially placed so that at least some part of the ball is within the corner arc closest to where the ball went out of play. The corner arc is located at the intersection of the goalline and touchline and has a radius of one yard. All defending players must be at least ten yards (9.15 metres) from the corner arc until the corner kick is taken. A corner kick is taken as soon as the ball is kicked and moves.

The attacking side may score directly from a corner kick, though this is uncommon.

An attacking player who directly receives the ball from a corner kick cannot be penalised for offside.

Opposing players must retire the required distance as stated above. Failure to do so promptly may constitute misconduct and be punished by a yellow card.

...
Wikipedia