Free kick (Australian rules football)

A free kick in Australian rules football is a penalty awarded by a field umpire to a player who has been infringed by an opponent or is the nearest player to a player from the opposite team who has broken a rule.

When a free kick is paid, the player's opponent stands the mark, by standing on the spot where the umpire indicates that the free kick was paid or mark was taken. The player with the ball then retreats backwards so that the ball can be kicked over the player standing the mark; the player must retreat on the angle such that he, the man on the mark and the centre of the attacking goal are in the same straight line.

A player receiving a free kick is not restricted to kicking the ball; he can play on by handballing to another player, or run around the mark where the free kick has been paid.

Free kicks are paid for:

A player taking a free kick is allowed to take his kick or handpass unimpeded unless the umpire calls play on. Play on will be called if:

The umpire has sole discretion over whether he believes the player has played on. Once a player plays on, he can be pursued by any opposition players. While the man on the mark can advance to hurry his disposal, he is most vulnerable to being tackled from a player pursuing from behind.

Players may ignore the whistle that indicates a free kick has been awarded and play on, if play is continuous. If stopping play is disadvantageous to the team receiving the free kick, then advantage is paid to that team, if that team elects to take the advantage. The umpire does not decide on advantage, unless play is not continuous. An example of this is when a player tackles his opponent, the ball spills free and is collected by a player on the tackler's team and the ball is moved downfield. In this case, stopping the game for the free kick would penalise the team that earns the free kick, hence advantage is paid. A player cannot change his mind once he has elected to take the advantage. Advantage cannot be paid from a mark.

Free kicks are generally paid at the spot of the foul or mark, but the spot of the free kick can be shifted under the following four circumstances.

Because players are lined up on an angle with the centre of the goals, free kicks taken close to goal were often forced around to very wide angles. Starting in 2006, the spot of any free kick paid in the goal square was moved so that the kick was taken from directly in front.

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