Last reviewed: May 2025
Charges
SoccerRule
A player cannot charge an opponent carelessly, recklessly, or with excessive force. Charging is the use of the shoulder to physically contest space or possession with an opponent. A fair charge is legal. An unfair one is a foul.
Common Misconception
Any shoulder contact is a legal charge. The conditions matter. A fair charge must be shoulder-to-shoulder, from the side, with proportionate force, and the ball must be within playing distance. When any of those conditions isn't met, the charge becomes a foul.
What the Referee Is Watching
Whether the ball is within playing distance, whether the contact was shoulder-to-shoulder from the side rather than into the arm, back, or chest, and whether the force was proportionate to the contest. A well-timed shoulder challenge for a contested ball is one of the more physical legal actions in the game. The same motion directed at an opponent who has already played the ball away, or from an angle that puts the point of contact into the upper body rather than the shoulder, is a foul. Referees also watch for charges where the elbow becomes the point of contact, which moves the action from a charge into a strike.
Realistic Example
The Call
Two players run side by side for a through ball. One uses their shoulder from the side to nudge the other off the ball with proportionate force. Legal. No foul.
The Murky Case
A defender charges an attacker who has just passed the ball. The ball is no longer within playing distance of either player. Foul, even though the technique was identical to a legal challenge a second earlier. The timing is what made it unfair.
Last reviewed: May 2025
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