# Law 32: Fouls (FIBA Official Basketball Rules)

Basketball · Law 32: Fouls · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/basketball/laws/law-32-fouls/)

What a foul is, how each one is recorded, and which fouls still count once the ball is dead.

## 32.321 What a Foul Is

The definition and how each foul is charged.

### Test 1: The definition and the scoresheet

- A foul is an infraction of the rules on illegal personal contact with an opponent and/or unsportsmanlike behaviour. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.1)
- Travelling involves no contact and no unsportsmanlike behaviour, so it is a violation, not a foul. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 25, 32.1.1)
- Any number of fouls may be called against a team. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.2)
- Going over the limit changes the penalty, not the recording: every foul still goes down. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.2)
- Each foul is entered on the scoresheet against the offender. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.2)
- A foul covers illegal contact and/or unsportsmanlike behaviour, so behaviour alone can be a foul. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.1)
- A foul needs illegal personal contact; incidental contact with no effect is not one. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.1, 33.11)
- Charged, recorded, then penalised under the rules. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.2)
- Unsporting behaviour with no contact is still a foul, charged and recorded. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.1)
- Travelling is a violation; illegal contact, unsporting behaviour and holding are fouls. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.1)

## 32.322 Fouls After the Ball Is Dead

End signals, infractions, and the fouls that survive them.

### Test 1: Fouls after a dead ball

- A foul after the ball is dead at the end of a quarter is disregarded unless it is technical, flagrant or disqualifying. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.3)
- Technical, flagrant and disqualifying fouls count even after the ball has become dead at the signal. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.3)
- Once the travelling whistle has made the ball dead, an ordinary push no longer counts. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.3)
- Flagrant fouls are among those still charged after the ball has become dead. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.3)
- The rule covers the game clock signal for the end of each quarter or overtime. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.3)
- Only technical, flagrant and disqualifying fouls survive the ball becoming dead. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.3)
- The rule disregards fouls committed after the ball has become dead; one committed while it is live counts. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.3)
- The ball was already dead, and a personal foul is not one of the three that survive. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.3)
- After a dead ball, a technical foul is still charged. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.3)
- Personal fouls drop away once the ball is dead; the other three kinds are still charged. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 32.1.3)

Sources: FIBA Official Basketball Rules 2026 (v1.1), Article 32 (paraphrased in original wording; original questions authored from the Rules, not reproduced)

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