I've seen the referee award advantage (and the announcer will indicate as much). I get the sense that advantage only lasts for the next couple of touches. I've seen possession get turned over and a free kick not awarded afterward.

So, how long does advantage last after awarded?


This is covered in Law 5 "The Referee", Section 3 "Powers and Duties":

[The referee] allows play to continue when an offence occurs and the non-offending team will benefit from the advantage, and penalises the offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue at that time or within a few seconds

i.e. either the offence has to be penalised within a few seconds, or play is allowed to continue; the referee cannot "go back" more than those few seconds.

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