Yellow and Red Cards in Football: Every Offence Explained
Football's card system dates back to the 1970 World Cup. A yellow card is a caution. A red card is a sending-off: the player must leave the pitch and cannot be replaced. Both are covered by Law 12 of the Laws of the Game.
Offences that earn a yellow card
- Delaying the restart of play
- Dissent by word or action
- Entering or leaving the pitch without the referee's permission
- Not respecting the required distance at a free kick, corner or throw-in
- Persistent offences
- Unsporting behaviour, such as a reckless tackle, diving to deceive the referee, or stopping a promising attack with a foul
- Entering the referee review area, or making the “TV screen” signal too often
Offences that earn a red card
- Serious foul play: a tackle that endangers an opponent's safety or uses excessive force
- Violent conduct, including striking someone off the ball
- Biting or spitting at someone
- Denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO) by a foul or by deliberate handball
- Using offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures
- Receiving a second yellow card in the same match
The “triple punishment” exception
When a player denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity inside their own penalty area while genuinely trying to play the ball, the referee awards a penalty and shows a yellow card instead of a red. IFAB introduced this in 2016 so that a team is not punished three times, with a penalty, a red card and a suspension, for one attempt to win the ball.
Two yellows
A second yellow card in the same match is shown together with a red, and the player is sent off.
Suspensions
Suspensions are set by each competition, not by the Laws. A red card usually means at least a one-match ban, and longer for violent conduct. Most leagues also suspend players who collect a certain number of yellow cards, for example five yellow cards in the early part of a Premier League season.
Cards for coaches
Since 2019, referees can show yellow and red cards to coaches and other team officials, rather than simply sending them to the stands.
Red cards are one of the four decisions VAR can review: see VAR explained, and for hand-related offences, the handball rule.