BALL OUT OF PLAY
The ball is out of play when it has completely crossed the goal line or the touch line, or when the referee has stopped play. The commission of a "supposed infringement" does not stop play; play can be stopped for any infringement only by the referee's signal.

However, while it is the signal of the referee that announces a decision, play is considered to have stopped when the decision is made, not when the decision is announced. Thus, no act can be considered a foul if it occurs after the referee has decided to stop play (or after the ball has left the field) but before the signal has actually been given. The referee is the sole judge of when he has decided to stop play.

PLAY THE REFEREE'S WHISTLE
The Laws of the Game were not written to compensate for the mistakes of players. If a spectator blows a whistle and any player, thinking it was the referee, then a player illegally handles the ball, the referee could award a direct free kick (or penalty kick) to the opposing team. The same would be true if the player reacted to a referee's whistle from an adjacent field. If these things occur, the referee should exercise common sense in dealing with the action.

PLAY THE REFEREE'S WHISTLE
The Laws of the Game were not written to compensate for the mistakes of players. If a spectator blows a whistle and any player, thinking it was the referee, then a player illegally handles the ball, the referee could award a direct free kick (or penalty kick) to the opposing team. The same would be true if the player reacted to a referee's whistle from an adjacent field. If these things occur, the referee should exercise common sense in dealing with the action.

SIMULTANEOUS TOUCHES
The referee should promptly signal his best decision on the direction for the restart when the ball appears to have gone into touch from "simultaneous" touches by members of both teams, rather than simply giving a dropped ball.The players quickly identify referee indecision, and will use it to their advantage.