<P> A game is officiated by a referee, who has "full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed" (Law 5), and whose decisions are final . The referee is assisted by two assistant referees . In many high - level games there is also a fourth official who assists the referee and may replace another official should the need arise . </P> <P> Goal line technology is used to measure if the whole ball has crossed the goal - line thereby determining if a goal has or hasn't been scored, this was brought in to prevent there being controversy . Video assistant referee (VAR) has also been increasingly introduced to assist officials through video replay to correct clear and obvious mistakes . There are four types of calls that can be reviewed: mistaken identity in awarding a red or yellow card, goals and whether there was a violation during the buildup, direct red card decisions, and penalty decisions . </P> <P> The ball is spherical with a circumference of between 68 and 70 centimetres (27 and 28 in), a weight in the range of 410 to 450 grams (14 to 16 oz), and a pressure between 0.6 and 1.1 bars (8.5 and 15.6 pounds per square inch) at sea level . In the past the ball was made up of leather panels sewn together, with a latex bladder for pressurisation but modern balls at all levels of the game are now synthetic . </P> <P> As the Laws were formulated in England, and were initially administered solely by the four British football associations within IFAB, the standard dimensions of a football pitch were originally expressed in imperial units . The Laws now express dimensions with approximate metric equivalents (followed by traditional units in brackets), though use of imperial units remains popular in English - speaking countries with a relatively recent history of metrication (or only partial metrication), such as Britain . </P>

When was the first time soccer was played