Fouls

In football, an offence committed by a player against an opponent on the field of play, while the ball is in play, is called a 'foul'. Misconduct is a separate category covering cards-worthy behaviour.

'Careless' is the lowest level of foul severity — when a player shows lack of attention or consideration when challenging. No card is needed; only the free kick is awarded.

'Reckless' means the player acts with disregard to the danger or consequences for an opponent. The player must be cautioned with a yellow card.

'Using excessive force' is when a player exceeds the force needed and/or endangers an opponent's safety. The player must be sent off (red card).

A direct free kick offence is one where the resulting kick can score directly. Most contact fouls and handball are direct free kick offences.

An indirect free kick offence requires the ball to touch another player before a goal can count. The referee signals it by raising one arm above the head.

Handball is deliberate contact, OR contact when the player has made the body unnaturally bigger with the hand/arm. The arm boundary is the bottom of the armpit.

Dangerous play is an action that threatens injury, e.g. high kicking near an opponent's head, or heading at boot level. With contact it becomes a different offence; without contact it is an indirect free kick.

Impeding is blocking an opponent's movement when not within playing distance of the ball. With contact it is a direct free kick offence; without contact it is an indirect free kick offence.

A foul is an on-field offence by a player while the ball is in play. Misconduct is any offence (by players, substitutes, or team officials, on or off the field) that requires a yellow or red card.

Law 12 lists seven contact offences: charges, jumps at, kicks/attempts to kick, pushes, strikes (incl. head-butt), tackles or challenges, trips/attempts to trip. Each is a direct free kick if careless/reckless/with excessive force.

Since the 2025/26 Laws, a goalkeeper who holds the ball for more than 8 seconds gives away a corner kick, not just an indirect free kick.

At most free kicks, opposing players must stand at least 9.15 m (10 yards) from the ball until it is in play.

Once a wall has 3 or more defenders, an attacker must stay at least 1 metre away from it.

The Laws recognise three severity levels for fouls: careless (free kick only), reckless (free kick plus yellow card), and excessive force (free kick plus red card).

For handball decisions, the arm is defined to start at the bottom of the armpit. Contact above this line (e.g. on the shoulder) is not a handball offence.

Free kicks are taken from the spot of the offence. Exceptions: indirect free kicks awarded to the attacking team inside the goal area are taken from the goal-area line parallel to the goal line nearest where the offence occurred.

After releasing the ball, the goalkeeper may not touch it again with the hand/arm until another player has touched it. Doing so results in an indirect free kick to the opposing team.

Law 12 explicitly notes there is no specific number or pattern for 'persistent offences'. The referee uses judgement based on frequency and pattern.

There is no formal warning system. Either the foul deserves a caution (yellow) or it does not. The referee may give an informal verbal word, but it has no procedural status.

The referee is the sole authority for foul decisions. Assistants and VAR can advise, but the on-field call is the referee's responsibility.

VAR has authority only in the four match-changing situations: goals, penalty decisions, direct red cards (not second yellows), and mistaken identity.

An assistant referee can only signal — the on-field referee retains the final authority to award or wave off a foul.

Handball is judged by the referee, applying the Law 12 criteria: deliberate handball, or hand position making the body unnaturally bigger.

Cards are issued solely by the referee. VAR may advise on direct red cards, but the on-field decision rests with the referee.

The referee decides the exact spot of a free kick, based on where the offence occurred.

VAR advises the referee, but the on-field referee always makes the final call, whether from the review or the monitor.

Advantage is the referee's call — based on whether the non-offending team can immediately benefit (e.g., still has the ball with a goal-scoring opportunity).

Yellow and red cards can be shown to players, substitutes, substituted players, and (since 2019) team officials, both on and off the field of play.

The referee retains authority over all participants — players, substitutes, and team officials in the technical area.

A fair shoulder charge is legal when both players are within playing distance of the ball and neither uses their arms.

Slide tackles are legal if the player primarily plays the ball and the challenge is not careless, reckless, or with excessive force. Dangerous slide challenges are punished accordingly.

A goalkeeper handling a deliberate kick from a teammate is an indirect free kick offence, awarded from the spot where they handled it.

The back-pass rule applies only to balls deliberately kicked with the foot/leg. A header, chest pass, knee pass, or thigh pass back to the goalkeeper is allowed.

Accidental handball is normally not an offence. Exceptions: when the hand made the body unnaturally bigger, OR when an attacker scores immediately after accidental contact.

Impeding an opponent without contact (when not within playing distance of the ball) is an indirect free kick offence under Law 12.

Shielding the ball is legal when it is within playing distance of the player. Shielding only becomes impeding when the ball is out of playing distance.

Biting or spitting at any person is a direct free kick offence and the player must be sent off. It falls under serious foul play / violent conduct.

Kicking too high near an opponent's head can be deemed dangerous play (an indirect free kick offence), even without contact, because it threatens injury.

A goalkeeper in control of the ball with their hands cannot be legally challenged — doing so is a direct free kick offence.

A careless foul carries no disciplinary sanction — only the appropriate free kick (direct or indirect, depending on the offence type).

A reckless foul earns the offender a yellow card (caution) plus the appropriate free kick or penalty kick.

Excessive force is the most severe category of foul, always sanctioned with a red card as well as the restart.

A direct free kick offence committed inside the penalty area by the defending team is always punished with a penalty kick.

Indirect free kick offences inside the penalty area result in an indirect free kick — not a penalty. The kick is taken from where the offence occurred.

DOGSO normally requires a red card. The 2016 'triple punishment' rule mitigates this if the foul inside the penalty area was a genuine attempt to play the ball — then a yellow is given alongside the penalty.

Cynically stopping a promising attack by foul play is a cautionable offence — yellow card. This is below DOGSO, where the chance was clearer.

Under the 2025/26 IFAB Laws, holding the ball for more than 8 seconds results in a corner kick to the opposing team — a change from the previous indirect free kick.

Two yellow cards in the same match always combine into a red card and a sending-off.

Violent conduct (excessive force or brutality not in a challenge for the ball) is always a sending-off offence — direct red card, regardless of whether the ball is in play.

Cards (1970), the DOGSO red card (1990), the back-pass rule (1992) and the tackle-from-behind ban (1998) arrived in that order.

FIFA introduced the rule that tackles from behind endangering an opponent's safety are automatic red cards in 1998, ahead of the World Cup.

The 'body unnaturally bigger' criterion was added to Law 12 in 2019, alongside other handball clarifications.

In 2019, IFAB clarified that a goal scored or directly created by an attacker's accidental handball is disallowed — even if not deliberate.

Cards were introduced for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, devised by English referee Ken Aston. They standardised disciplinary signalling across languages.

Goalkeeper time-wasting limits evolved from a step count (pre-2000), to 6 seconds (2000), to 8 seconds with a corner-kick sanction (2025/26).

The 'professional foul' rule, requiring a sending off for cynically denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity, was established in 1990.

The 2016 change mitigated 'triple punishment' — a defender who genuinely attempts to play the ball now typically gets a yellow card and a penalty, not a red card as well.

The old four-steps rule for goalkeepers was abolished in 2000 and replaced with the 6-second rule (now 8 seconds).

Tackling has always been one of the contact offences, but the wording was modernised over time. The 2019 update added clarity around 'challenges' as a category alongside tackles.

Outside the penalty area, the goalkeeper has the same handball restrictions as any other player. Handling outside the area is a direct free kick (and possibly a card).

If the foul occurs before the offside player plays/challenges for the ball, the foul is punished. If the foul occurs after the offside player engages, the offside is called.

The back-pass rule explicitly requires the kick to be deliberate. Accidental deflections off a teammate's leg do not trigger the rule.

A continuous offence is judged by where it ends, not where it began — so a hold that started outside but continues inside the area gives a penalty.

A goalkeeper handling outside the area to deny a clear goal-scoring opportunity gets a direct red card under DOGSO.

A foul committed against a player who has already played the ball is still a foul. The free kick is taken from the spot of the foul.

Free kicks can only be awarded for offences when the ball is in play. Out-of-play misconduct results in cards/discipline only — play restarts as it would have done.

Referees consider proximity and time available when judging handball. A ball striking a hand from very close range, with no time to react, is generally not deemed an offence — unless the body was unnaturally bigger.

When teammates commit simultaneous offences, the referee applies the sanction for whichever offence was more serious.

A shoulder charge is only legal when both players are within playing distance of the ball — contact far from the ball is a foul.

Each severity level adds a heavier consequence: careless gets no card, reckless gets a yellow, excessive force gets a red.

Reckless earns yellow; excessive force endangers the opponent and earns red. The line between them is whether the force endangered the opponent's safety.

Direct = goal can be scored straight from the kick. Indirect = ball must touch another player before a goal counts. Indirect is signalled by the referee's raised arm.

A foul is on-field, ball-in-play. Misconduct covers cards by anyone (player, sub, coach), at any time (in or out of play, before or after the match).

With contact = direct free kick. Without contact = indirect free kick. The presence/absence of contact is a key dividing line in Law 12.

Football's Law 12 explicitly forbids holding, charging, jumping at, and pushing — all of which are part of rugby. Football tackles must aim at the ball, not the player.

The same direct free kick offence becomes a penalty kick when committed by the defending team inside their own penalty area.

Both a deliberate back-kick and a direct throw-in to the goalkeeper carry the same restriction: no handling, or it is an indirect free kick.

Only a yellow card is a formal caution. Verbal warnings are at the referee's discretion and have no recorded effect.

Both are red card offences. Serious foul play is in a challenge for the ball with excessive force. Violent conduct is excessive force or brutality NOT in a challenge.

Playing the ball first does not excuse a forceful follow-through — the referee still judges and sanctions the contact that follows.

Since 2019, an accidental handball by an attacker that leads directly to a teammate scoring is now an offence — the goal is disallowed.

An arm raised above shoulder height is generally judged to make the body unnaturally bigger. This makes accidental contact a handball offence.

A deliberate kick-back handled by the goalkeeper inside their area is an indirect free kick offence. No card unless DOGSO.

Blocking an opponent off the ball is impeding (with contact = direct free kick; without contact = indirect free kick). Possibly cautionable if cynical.

Denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity outside the area by a foul is a red card and a direct free kick from the spot.

A genuine attempt to play the ball, even if it fails and fouls the attacker, is mitigated to a yellow card rather than a red — the 'double punishment' rule.

In 2025/26, holding for more than 8 seconds = corner kick to the opposing team (no card unless persistent).

Since 2019, team officials can be cautioned or sent off. Dissent or abusive behaviour from the technical area is a card-worthy offence.

Cards are still given at the next stoppage even if advantage was played. The disciplinary action is independent of the play continuation.

Reckless fouls earn a yellow card. Excessive force endangering safety would be red.

Free kicks are taken from the spot of the foul (with specific exceptions inside the goal area).

Contact offences (the seven contact fouls + handball + holding + impeding-with-contact) are direct. No-contact offences (dangerous play, impeding without contact) are indirect.

Outside their own penalty area, a goalkeeper is treated like any outfield player — deliberate handball denying a clear goal-scoring chance is a red card.

Two cautions in the same match always combine into a red card and a sending-off, with no reset between halves.

For handball purposes, the arm starts at the bottom of the armpit; contact above this line is on the shoulder, which is allowed.

The raised-arm signal must be held from the award of the kick until the ball touches another player, leaves play, or a goal becomes impossible.

In 2025/26 the rule changed: goalkeepers may hold for up to 8 seconds; exceeding this gives the opposing team a corner kick.

Cards apply to misconduct on or off the field. Substitutes in the technical area, team officials, and even players who have left the pitch can be cautioned.

The 1992 back-pass rule was a direct response to time-wasting tactics at Euro 1992 — IFAB's intent was to keep the game flowing.