Yellow and red cards
The disciplinary cards a football referee shows to caution or send off a player for misconduct.
Overview
A yellow card is a formal caution for offences such as persistent fouling, unsporting behaviour or time-wasting. A red card is a dismissal that removes the player from the match, and the team must continue with one fewer player.
Two yellow cards in the same match add up to a red card. A red card can also be shown directly for a serious offence such as violent conduct or denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.
Key points
- A yellow card is a caution and stays on the player's record for the match.
- A second yellow in the same match results in a red card.
- A straight red is shown for serious offences without a prior caution.
- A sent-off player leaves the field and is not replaced.
Where it’s used
Sports that use yellow and red cards:
Football
The world’s most popular team sport — endless running, teamwork and community in one game.
Futsal
A fast, small-sided indoor form of football played on a hard court with a low-bounce ball.
Rugby
A physical team sport of carrying, passing and kicking an oval ball toward the opposing line.
Related rules
Offside
A rule that prevents an attacker from gaining an advantage by being positioned too close to the opponents' goal ahead of the ball and the last defenders.
Handball offence
A foul in football committed when an outfield player deliberately handles or controls the ball with the hand or arm.
Direct and indirect free kicks
The two types of free kick awarded in football to restart play after a foul or other stoppage.
How it connects
The meaning-bearing relationships that place Yellow and red cards in the wider knowledge graph — each one with the reason it exists.
Frequently learned together
Taught side by side in the same stage of a learning path.
- OffsideBoth are taught in the “Get to know the game” stage of the Football learning path.
- Handball offenceBoth are taught in the “Get to know the game” stage of the Football learning path.
- Direct and indirect free kicksBoth are taught in the “Get to know the game” stage of the Football learning path.
- Penalty kick awardBoth are taught in the “Get to know the game” stage of the Football learning path.
- Throw-inBoth are taught in the “Get to know the game” stage of the Football learning path.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect Yellow and red cards to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Officiating
- RefereeThe primary on-field official who enforces the rules, controls play, penalises fouls, awards restarts, and blows the whistle to start and stop a match.
- ScorekeeperThe official who keeps the authoritative record of a contest — score, fouls, and statistics — usually seated at a scorer's table beside the timekeeper.
- Video ReviewVideo review lets officials re-examine footage of a contested moment to confirm or overturn a close call — a goal, a line, a foul — an aid used across many sports.
- Foul callA foul call is an official's ruling that a player broke a rule of contact or conduct, triggering a penalty such as a free kick, free throw or penalty.
- Penalty SignalA standardized hand or flag signal an official uses to announce a foul, penalty, or restart so players, teammates, and spectators can read the call.
Learning paths
- Learn FootballA structured, educational learning path for football — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn RugbyA structured, educational learning path for rugby — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn FutsalA structured, educational learning path for futsal — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn American FootballA structured, educational learning path for american football — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
- Learn TennisA structured, educational learning path for tennis — from the rules to skills, techniques, tactics and training.
Knowledge Atlas
Decision making
- When to attackRecognising the moment to commit to an attacking action — spotting an opening and judging whether it is the right time to take it.
- When to defendJudging the moment to switch from attacking intent to protecting your goal, court or position — recognising when the situation calls for security over ambition.
- When to keep possessionJudging when to hold and recycle the ball rather than force a forward option — choosing patience and control over immediate progress.
- Positioning choicesDeciding where to place yourself — often before the ball arrives — to cover space, stay ready to act and shape what an opponent can do.
- Reading spaceSeeing where space is — and is not — on the field or court, and using it to decide where to move, pass or play.
Go deeper with Yellow and red cards
Everywhere else on the platform that covers Yellow and red cards — assembled from what actually references it, so nothing here is a dead end.
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Structured courses and paths on the platform that cover this directly.
Take it away
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How this page is maintained
- Content type
- Rule
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
- 0
- Content updated
- 2026-07-09
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