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Two referee arm signals given within seconds of an offence, meaning opposite things.
Both arms sweeping forward means play continues and no kick is coming. One arm straight up means a kick is coming and cannot score directly. Confusing them changes whether players expect a stoppage.
Two arms forward means play continues; one arm up means a kick is coming and cannot score directly.
Drawn from the visual attributes recorded for each symbol. Only traits the two records disagree about are listed.
| Trait | Advantage signal | Indirect free kick signal |
|---|---|---|
| Built from | people and arrows | people, lines and dots |
| Symmetry | vertical | none |
| Advantage signal | Indirect free kick signal | |
|---|---|---|
| Arm position | Both arms forward from the shoulders | One arm vertical above the head |
| Has play stopped? | No | Yes |
| What happens next | Play runs on | An indirect free kick is taken |
| How long is it held? | A moment | Until the ball touches another player or the kick ends |
| Can the referee change their mind? | Yes — the original offence may still be given | No |
| Relationship (from Symbolwise's records) | Commonly confused with Indirect free kick signal — Two arms forward means play continues; one arm up means a kick is coming and cannot score directly. | Commonly confused with Advantage signal — Both are arm signals given immediately after an offence. The raised arm sets a condition on a kick about to be taken; the two arms forward mean play is continuing and no kick will be taken at all. |
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) · retrieved 2026-08-02
The Laws that govern association football worldwide, revised annually. Authoritative for what a referee's signal means and when it must be given. Signals used in other codes of football are governed elsewhere and are not covered by it.
Free kick (association football)
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-02
Tertiary reference. Cited for how a mark is written and read in ordinary practice, and for conventions no governing body issues. Never cited for a claim that a rule says something — the rulebooks below carry those.
If the referee lowers the arm immediately, it is a direct free kick and a shot that goes straight in is a goal. If the arm stays raised, it is indirect, and the ball must be touched by a second player before it enters the goal or the goal does not stand. The arm comes down as soon as that second touch happens, so an arm still up as the ball crosses the line is the clearest sign that what looked like a goal is not one.
The plain black flag excludes the competitor: their race is over. The black flag with an orange disc reports a mechanical problem that endangers others and sends the driver to the pits to have it fixed, after which they may rejoin. Both are shown with a number board, both are black, and confusing them costs a competitor a race they could have finished.
A cross means all ten pins fell to the first ball; a forward slash means it took two. The cross carries two deliveries of bonus and the slash only one, which is why three strikes are needed for a frame to reach thirty.
The exclamation mark praises a move, the question mark criticises it. Neither is defined by FIDE: unlike the rest of chess notation these are publishing convention, and two annotators may disagree about the same move.