Who has to avoid whom in flag football?
A · Advanced · Contact, blitzing and penalties · 1 of 2Contact with impact is a foul, so the rules say whose job it is to avoid it. A player standing still has right of place, and everyone must go round them. A player moving in a steady direction can have right of way. The runner has neither and must avoid defenders. Nobody may run into an opponent on purpose.
How it works
- Contact: "touching an opponent with impact. Touching with no impact is not a foul."
- Right of place: belongs to a stationary player in a normal posture. It ranks above right of way.
- Right of way: belongs to a player who has set a direction and keeps to it.
- Before the pass: offensive players have right of way while a forward pass is still possible. Defenders must avoid them.
- Ball in the air: every player may play the ball, but not through an opponent.
- The runner: "has no right of way and is fully charged with avoiding contact".
- Blitzers: a blitzer rushing by the rule has right of way over the offence.
- Aiming: targeting an opponent or running into them on purpose. A foul even for a player with right of way.
- The ball: a defender may not strike or strip the ball from a runner's hands. That is aiming.
- Holding: grasping an opponent or their clothing and not letting go at once.
- No blocking: an offensive player may not move into a defender's path.
- Penalty: 10 yards. Loss of down for the offence, an automatic first down against the defence.
The glossary has the right of place and right of way entry, illegal contact, aiming, holding, shielding and the penalty.
Tricky cases
A runner tries to squeeze between two defenders and bumps both. Whose foul?
The runner's. The runner must avoid contact even when that stops their progress.
A defender stands still in front of a receiver at the snap, then steps sideways into the receiver's route and they collide. Whose foul?
The defender's. Right of place is lost once the defender moves, and the receiver cannot guess which way that will be.
A defender, standing still, sticks both arms out sideways and a receiver runs into one. Whose foul?
The defender's, for aiming. Right of place does not allow a player to seek contact with an unnecessary act.
A runner and a defender both contribute equally to a collision. Who is penalised?
The offence. Where runner and defender contribute equally, the foul is by the offence.
Why the rule exists
A game cannot be non-contact by wishing it. Ten players moving at speed in a small space will collide unless each one knows who must give way. Right of place and right of way are that agreement, and they let an official decide whose foul a collision was.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Runner against defender, equal fault | Foul on the offence | IFAF Flag Rule 9-1-1 e |
| Receiver against defender on a pass, equal fault | Foul on the defence | IFAF Flag Rule 9-1-1 f |
| Stationary player | Right of place, above any right of way | IFAF Flag Rule 2-13-1 |
| Tackle football | Blocking and tackling are the basis of the game | C |
From the rule book
International Federation of American Football, International Flag Football Rules 2023 (in force from 1 May 2023), the Flag Football Code, Rule 2-11, Rule 2-13 and Rule 9-1-1, with approved rulings 9-1-1-R-I to VIII. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: IFAF International Flag Football Rules 2023 (PDF).