Law 12: Fouls and Misconduct

Fouls and misconduct in association football are acts committed by players which are considered deemed by the referee to be unfair and are subsequently penalized. An offence may be a foul, misconduct or both depending on the nature of the offence and the circumstances in which it occurs. Fouls and misconduct are addressed in Law 12 of the Laws of the Game.
A foul is an unfair act by a player which is deemed by the referee to contravene the game's laws. Fouls are punished by the award of a free-kick (direct or indirect depending on the offence) or penalty kick to the opposing team. For an act to be a foul it must:

• be a specific offence listed in Law 12 of the Laws of the Game (other infractions, for example technical infractions at restarts, are not deemed to be fouls);
• be committed by a player (not a substitute);
• occur on the field of play;
• be committed against an opponent, when applicable (For example, a player striking the referee or a teammate, is not a foul, but is a misconduct);
• occur while the ball is in play.

Misconduct is any conduct by a player that is deemed by the referee to warrant a disciplinary sanction (caution or dismissal). Misconduct may include acts which are, additionally, fouls. Misconduct may occur at any time, including when the ball is out of play, during half-time and before and after the game, and both players and substitutes may be sanctioned for misconduct. This is unlike a foul, which is committed by a player, on the field of play, and only against an opponent when the ball is in play.
Misconduct will result in the player either receiving a caution (indicated by a yellow card) or being dismissed ("sent off") from the field (indicated by a red card). When a player is cautioned, the player's details are traditionally recorded by the referee in a small notebook; hence, a caution is also known as a booking. The referee has considerable discretion in applying the Laws; in particular, the offence of "unsporting behaviour" may be used to deal with most events that violate the spirit of the game, even if they are not listed as specific offences.
The system of cautioning and dismissal has existed for many decades, but the idea of language-neutral coloured cards originated with British referee Ken Aston, who got the idea while sitting in his car at a traffic light.The first major use of the cards was in the 1970 FIFA World Cup, but they were not made mandatory at all levels until 1982.

Categories of foul

Direct free kick offences

A direct free kick is awarded when a player commits any of the following in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force:

• Kicks or attempts to kick an opponent
• Trips or attempts to trip an opponent
• Jumps at an opponent
• Charges an opponent
• Strikes or attempts to strike an opponent
• Pushes an opponent
• Tackles an opponent

Or commits any the following offences:

• Holds an opponent
• Spits at an opponent
• Handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area).

In determining whether or not a player deliberately handled the ball, the referee has several considerations:

• Movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand)
• Distance between the opponent and the ball (unexpected ball)
• Position of the hand ('natural' position versus 'unnatural' position) does not necessarily mean that there is an infringement
• Touching the ball with an object held in the hand (clothing, shinguard, etc.) counts as an infringement (considered an extension of the hand)
• Hitting the ball with a thrown object (boot, shinguard, etc.) counts as an infringement (also considered an extension of the hand)

If a player commits a direct free kick offence within his own penalty area, a penalty kick is awarded irrespective of the position of the ball, provided the ball is in play.

Indirect free kick offences

Fouls punishable by an indirect free kick are:

• When a goalkeeper, inside his own penalty area:
  • controls the ball with his hands for more than six seconds before releasing it from his possession
  • touches the ball again with his hands after he has released it from his possession and before it has touched another player
  • touches the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a team-mate (the back-pass rule)
  • touches the ball with his hands after he has received it directly from a throw-in taken by a team-mate

• When any player in the opinion of the referee:
  • plays in a dangerous manner
  • impedes the progress of an opponent
  • prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from his hands
  • commits any other offence, not previously mentioned in Law 12, for which play is stopped to caution or send off a player

Some technical breaches of the rules, such as the offside offence, result in play being restarted with an indirect free kick, though these are not considered fouls.

Other offences

Not all infractions of the Laws are fouls. Non-foul infractions may be dealt with as technical infractions (e.g. as breaching the rules governing the restarts of play) or misconduct (these are punishable by a caution or sending-off). Note that persistent fouls or infractions may be considered by the referee to be unsporting conduct, which can warrant an official caution.

Misconduct

The referee may consider serious and/or persistent offences to be misconduct worthy of an official caution or dismissal from the game. Association football was the first sport to use coloured cards to indicate these actions.

Yellow card (caution)

A yellow card is shown by the referee to indicate that a player has been officially cautioned. The player's details are then recorded by the referee in a small notebook; hence a caution is also known as a "booking". A player who has been cautioned may continue playing in the game; however, a player who receives a second caution in a match is sent off (shown the yellow card again, and then a red card (see below)), meaning that he must leave the field immediately and take no further part in the game. The player may not be replaced by a substitute. Law 12 of the Laws of the Game (which are set by the International Football Association Board and used by FIFA) lists the types of offences and misconduct that may result in a caution. It also states that "only a player, substitute or substituted player" can be cautioned. A player is cautioned and shown a yellow card if he/she commits any of the following offences:

1. Dissent by word or action
2. Persistent infringement on the Laws of the Game
3. Delaying the restart of play (includes deliberate time-wasting tactics)
4. Failure to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick, throw-in or free kick
5. Entering or re-entering the field of play without the referee's permission
6. Deliberately leaving the field of play without the referee's permission

In addition, a player can be cautioned and shown a yellow card for "unsporting behaviour". What constitutes cautionable unsporting behaviour is generally at the referee's discretion. This may include simulation intended to deceive the referee, or delaying the restart of play by withholding the ball. Poor or deliberate fouls are commonly punished by yellow cards, although some tackles, especially those which are dangerous, two-footed, or those which prevent a clear goal-scoring opportunity for the player tackled, may be punished by a red card.
A change in 2004 to the Laws of the Game championed by FIFA President Sepp Blatter mandated automatic yellow cards for players who remove their shirts while celebrating goals. In addition, an instruction has been in the additional instructions at the end of the Laws of the Game for some time that should a player jump over or climb on to a perimeter fence to the Field of Play, they should be cautioned for unsporting behaviour. This was seen as mainly preventing incidents in professional football matches where crowds had rushed towards players and had led to injuries.
In most tournaments, the accumulation of a certain number of yellow cards over several matches results in disqualification of the offending player for a certain number of subsequent matches, the exact number of cards and matches varying by jurisdiction. In the UEFA Champions League, for instance, accumulating two yellow cards in a stage of the tournament will lead to a one-game suspension; players have often intentionally collected the second yellow card which will "strategically" reset their tally of yellow cards to zero for the next stage but this is considered unsporting conduct.

Red card (dismissal)

A red card is shown by a referee to signify that a player has been sent off. A player who has been sent off is required to leave the field of play immediately and must take no further part in the game. Only players, substitutes and substituted players may receive a red card. If a team's goalkeeper receives a red card another player will be allowed to assume goalkeeping duties (teams will usually substitute an outfield player for another goalkeeper if this option is available).
Law 12 of the Laws of the Game lists the categories of misconduct for which a player may be sent off. These are:

1. Serious foul play (a violent foul)
2. Violent conduct (any other act of violence) e.g. assaulting the referee.
3. Spitting at anyone or another player
4. A deliberate handling offense to deny an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by any player other than a goalkeeper in his own penalty area
5. Committing an offence that denies an opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (informally known as a professional foul)
6. Using offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures
7. Receiving a second caution (yellow card) in the same game

In most tournaments, a single direct red card (i.e. not one received as a result of two successive yellow ones) results in disqualification of the offending player for one or more of subsequent matches, the exact number of matches varying by the offence committed and by jurisdiction. Should a team's on-field players receive a total of five red cards, they will be unable to field the required minimum of seven players and the match will be abandoned.