1. Ball out of play
The ball is out of play when:
- it has wholly passed over the goal line or touchline on the ground or in the air
- play has been stopped by the referee
- it touches a match official, remains on the field of play and: a team starts a promising attack or the ball goes directly into the goal, or the team in possession of the ball changes
In all these cases, play is restarted with a dropped ball.
2. Ball in play
The ball is in play at all other times when it touches a match official and when it rebounds off a goalpost, crossbar, or corner flagpost and remains on the field of play.
By: IFAB Laws of the Game 2023-24