Under Law 12 of the IFAB Laws of the Game, most physical fouls, such as kicking, tripping, pushing, striking, charging or holding an opponent, give the other team a direct free kick, or a penalty kick if a player commits the offense inside their own penalty area. Other offenses, such as playing in a dangerous manner without contact or impeding an opponent without contact, result in an indirect free kick. Serious misconduct is punished with a yellow card, known as a caution, or a red card, known as a sending-off. Referees judge physical challenges by whether they are careless, reckless or use excessive force, and they can play advantage when stopping play would benefit the team that committed the foul.
Rulebook note: This guide summarizes the IFAB Laws of the Game used in most competitions. The Laws are updated regularly, and youth, school and local competitions may adapt them, for example by using temporary dismissals or different rules for younger players. Always check the current Laws and your league’s regulations.
Types of fouls and restarts
| Offense type | Examples | Restart |
|---|---|---|
| Direct free kick offenses | Kicking, tripping, pushing, striking, charging, holding, handball | Direct free kick or penalty kick |
| Indirect free kick offenses | Dangerous play without contact, impeding without contact, certain goalkeeper offenses | Indirect free kick |
| Cautionable offenses | Unsporting behavior, dissent, persistent offenses, delaying restarts | Yellow card plus the relevant restart |
| Sending-off offenses | Serious foul play, violent conduct, denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity | Red card plus the relevant restart |
Careless, reckless and excessive force
For physical challenges, referees consider how the challenge was made. Careless means the player showed a lack of attention or consideration or acted without precaution. It is a foul, but no disciplinary sanction is needed. Reckless means the player acted with disregard for the danger to, or consequences for, an opponent. It results in a caution. Using excessive force means the player exceeded the necessary use of force and endangered the safety of an opponent. It results in a sending-off. This framework helps explain why similar-looking fouls can lead to different punishments.
Direct free kick offenses
A direct free kick is awarded when a player commits any of the following against an opponent in a manner considered careless, reckless or using excessive force: charging, jumping at, kicking or attempting to kick, pushing, striking or attempting to strike, including a head-butt, tackling or challenging, and tripping or attempting to trip. A direct free kick is also awarded for holding an opponent, impeding an opponent with contact, biting or spitting at someone, throwing an object at the ball, an opponent or a match official, and handball offenses. If a defending player commits a direct free kick offense inside their own penalty area, the attacking team is awarded a penalty kick.
Handball
Handball is one of the most debated areas of the Laws. In general, it is an offense if a player deliberately touches the ball with their hand or arm, or touches it with a hand or arm that has made their body unnaturally bigger. The Laws also address goals scored directly from a hand or arm, even accidentally, by an attacking player. Not every contact between ball and arm is an offense, and the wording has changed several times in recent years, so it is worth checking the latest version of the Laws. Goalkeepers may handle the ball within their own penalty area, with some exceptions.
Indirect free kick offenses
An indirect free kick, which must touch another player before a goal can be scored, is awarded for offenses such as playing in a dangerous manner without making contact, for example a high kick near an opponent’s head, impeding an opponent’s progress without contact, preventing the goalkeeper from releasing the ball and certain verbal offenses such as dissent when no other offense has been committed. Goalkeepers inside their own penalty area also concede an indirect free kick if they hold the ball for more than six seconds, touch the ball again with their hands after releasing it before another player touches it, or handle the ball after a teammate deliberately kicks it to them or throws it to them directly from a throw-in. The referee signals an indirect free kick by raising an arm above the head.
Yellow cards
A player is cautioned for offenses including unsporting behavior, dissent by word or action, entering or leaving the field without the referee’s permission, delaying the restart of play, failing to respect the required distance at a restart and persistent offenses. Stopping a promising attack with a foul is also typically cautionable. Two yellow cards in the same match result in a red card.
Red cards
A player is sent off for serious foul play, violent conduct, biting or spitting, using offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures, receiving a second caution in the same match, and denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. For denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity with a foul inside the penalty area, the Laws allow the sanction to be reduced to a caution when the offender was attempting to play the ball, since a penalty is also awarded. A player who is sent off must leave the field and cannot be replaced.
The advantage rule
Referees do not have to stop play for every foul. If the team that was fouled would benefit from continuing, the referee can play advantage, usually signaled by extending both arms forward. If the expected advantage does not develop within a few seconds, the referee can return to the original offense. Even when advantage is played, the referee can still caution or send off the offending player at the next stoppage.
Video assistant referees
In many top competitions, a video assistant referee, or VAR, reviews certain decisions using replays. VAR can only intervene for clear and obvious errors or serious missed incidents involving goals, penalty decisions, direct red cards and mistaken identity. It cannot be used to review second yellow cards or most routine fouls. The on-field referee makes the final decision, sometimes after watching the footage on a pitchside monitor. Most grassroots and youth matches do not use VAR, so the referee’s on-field decision stands.
How to avoid fouls
- Stay on your feet and jockey rather than diving in.
- Keep your studs down in tackles.
- Play the ball, not the opponent.
- Keep your arms close to your body when defending shots and crosses.
- Avoid holding shirts or arms at set pieces.
- Stay calm and avoid dissent toward officials.
- Learn the current Laws so you understand how referees decide.
Common misconceptions
- That any contact is a foul. Fair challenges for the ball are allowed.
- That all handballs are fouls. Only certain hand or arm contacts are offenses.
- That the referee must stop play for every foul. Advantage can be played.
- That a red card always follows a last-man foul. Inside the box, it may be a caution if the player tried to play the ball.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a direct and indirect free kick?
A goal can be scored directly from a direct free kick; an indirect free kick must touch another player first.
When is a foul a penalty kick?
When a defender commits a direct free kick offense inside their own penalty area.
What gets a red card in soccer?
Serious foul play, violent conduct, denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and similar serious offenses.
