A yellow card is a caution; a red card means a sending-off. Two cautions in the same match lead to dismissal. A player sent off after kick-off cannot be replaced. Suspension lengths and fines depend on competition rules and disciplinary decisions.
What do yellow and red cards mean?
Yellow card (caution)
A yellow card communicates a caution to a player, substitute, substituted player or team official. Not every contact foul automatically requires a yellow card. Common cautionable groups include delaying a restart, dissent by word or action, entering, re-entering or deliberately leaving the field without permission, failing to respect the required distance at a restart, persistent offences and unsporting behaviour. These are typical Law 12 groups, not an automatic answer for every incident.
Red card (sending-off)
A red card communicates a sending-off. Once a match has started, a sent-off player cannot be replaced by another player. A substitute or substituted player can also be sent off and must leave the vicinity of the field of play and the technical area. A team official can be shown a red card and must leave the areas that apply to that role.
Second caution
A second caution means that a player or team official who has already been cautioned commits another cautionable offence in the same match. The two cautions lead to a sending-off. This should not be rewritten as “two yellow cards across a season automatically produce a red card”; accumulation and later sanctions are competition-discipline questions, not the on-field second-caution procedure.
Quick comparison
| Situation | Match meaning | Limitation to remember |
|---|---|---|
Careless | Usually no disciplinary sanction | It can still be a foul with a restart; no card does not mean no offence |
Reckless | Must be cautioned, normally a yellow card | The referee assesses disregard for danger or consequences to the opponent |
| Excessive force or endangering safety | Sending-off with a red card | It can be serious foul play or violent conduct |
| Second caution | Sending-off in that match | It must be the second caution in the same match, not two accumulated across a season |
| DOGSO | It can be a red card, with penalty-area exceptions | The type of offence, location, handball and the opportunity factors matter |
| Technical-area conduct | A warning, caution or sending-off may apply | The behaviour, severity and repetition matter |
When can a player receive a yellow card?
From careless to excessive force
Law 12 separates the severity of a challenge. Careless means a lack of attention or precaution and needs no disciplinary sanction. Reckless means acting with disregard for danger or consequences to the opponent and must be cautioned. Using excessive force means exceeding what is necessary or endangering the opponent’s safety and requires a sending-off. A visible collision alone therefore does not determine the card colour.
Common cautionable behaviours
Typical examples for a player include:
- deliberately delaying a restart;
- dissent by word or action;
- entering, re-entering or deliberately leaving the field without permission;
- failing to respect the required distance for a dropped ball, corner kick, free kick or throw-in;
- persistent offences;
- unsporting behaviour, such as attempting to deceive the referee, stopping a promising attack in a cautionable way or celebrating provocatively;
- entering the referee review area or excessively using the review signal in a match with VAR.
These are grouped examples from the law. The incident, timing and the referee’s judgment still matter.
Two separate offences can produce two cautions
When a player commits two separate cautionable offences, even close together, each offence can receive a caution. For example, a player may enter the field without permission and then make a reckless tackle. If those are separate offences, the result can be a first yellow card, a second yellow card and a sending-off in the same match.
When is a player sent off?
Law 12 lists sending-off offences for a player, substitute or substituted player. The main groups include:
- deliberately handling the ball to deny a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, except for a goalkeeper inside their own penalty area;
- non-deliberately handling the ball to deny a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity outside the offender’s own penalty area;
- denying a goal or DOGSO by an offence punishable by a free kick, unless a listed reduction applies;
- serious foul play in a challenge;
- violent conduct, including using or attempting to use excessive force when not challenging for the ball;
- biting or spitting at someone;
- using offensive, insulting or abusive language or actions;
- receiving a second caution in the same match or entering the video operation room (VOR).
Some Law 12 items are marked as competition options, including certain protest or provocative-communication offences. It is unsafe to say that every competition applies those options in exactly the same way.
DOGSO is more than “the last defender”
DOGSO means denying a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. The referee considers the distance between the offence and the goal, the general direction of play, the likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball, and the location and number of defenders and attackers. “Last defender” is therefore not a complete card test.
If a DOGSO offence occurs inside the defending team’s penalty area and the referee awards a penalty kick, the offender is cautioned when the offence was an attempt to play or challenge for the ball; the offender is sent off for holding, pulling or pushing, or if the defender had no possibility of playing the ball. Handball has its own split: deliberate handball causing DOGSO is a red card wherever it occurs, except for a goalkeeper inside the goalkeeper’s own penalty area; non-deliberate handball causing DOGSO outside the offender’s own penalty area is a red card; if non-deliberate handball causes DOGSO and a penalty is awarded, the offender is cautioned. This is why neither “DOGSO is always red” nor “handball is always red” is accurate.
If the referee plays advantage after a DOGSO offence and the non-offending team scores because of that advantage, the IFAB 2026/27 wording provides no disciplinary sanction for that DOGSO offence. For a specific match, check which edition of the Laws and which competition regulations apply.
Serious foul play and violent conduct
Serious foul play is a tackle or challenge that endangers an opponent’s safety or uses excessive force or brutality. Violent conduct is using or attempting to use excessive force or brutality when not challenging for the ball, or against a team-mate, team official, match official, spectator or another person; contact is not required. Both are sending-off offences, but whether the player was challenging for the ball is a key distinction.
Can people in the technical area receive cards?
The technical area is for the team’s listed personnel. Law 1 describes a marked area that normally extends 1 m on either side of the designated seating and up to 1 m towards the touchline; the markings, permitted number and layout are set by the competition regulations. Occupants must behave responsibly and remain within the area except for permitted medical reasons. Only one person may stand and give tactical instructions at a time.
Team officials are non-players listed on the team list, such as coaches and medical or technical staff. They can be cautioned or sent off for conduct on or off the field according to their role.
Three common levels of technical-area discipline
- Verbal warning: entering the field respectfully, a minor disagreement, or occasionally leaving the technical area without another offence may first produce a warning.
- Yellow card: clearly or persistently failing to respect the area, delaying the team’s restart, deliberately entering the opposing technical area without confrontation, dissent, provocative conduct or persistent unacceptable behaviour can be cautionable.
- Red card: deliberately leaving to dissent or provoke, entering the opposing area aggressively, throwing or kicking an object onto the field, entering the field to confront or interfere, physical or aggressive behaviour, offensive language or a second caution can be sending-off offences.
These are Law 12 examples, not a rule that one step outside the area automatically means a red card. If an offence from the technical area cannot be attributed to a specific person, the senior team coach present receives the sanction; the condition that the offender cannot be identified must remain in the explanation.
Does a red card automatically mean a suspension?
The immediate match consequence
A red card is the match discipline decision: the sent-off player cannot continue, and once the match has started another player cannot replace that player. The referee has disciplinary authority from the pre-match inspection until leaving the field after the match, including half-time, extra time and a penalty shoot-out. A team official can therefore be disciplined at a time when the ball is not in play.
Who decides a post-match suspension?
The IFAB Laws set the on-field signal and immediate consequence, but they do not set one universal number of suspension matches for every red card. The number of matches, fines, carry-over, accumulation and appeal status must be checked in the competition rules, association regulations and the relevant disciplinary decision. Official FIFA disciplinary notices show that a particular case can bring multi-match suspensions and fines; that is an example of additional discipline, not a global fixed tariff.
How should a match report separate the facts?
Write “the player was sent off in the 78th minute” separately from “the disciplinary body later imposed a suspension”. Each statement needs its own source, decision-maker and appeal status. If no post-match decision is available, record the sending-off and do not guess the number of matches missed.
Read next
- For a plain-language explanation of the position and offence, see a plain-language offside explainer.
- To separate the end of the scheduled match from later play, see added time and extra time.
- For the in-match kick and the post-match shoot-out, see penalty kick and penalty shoot-out.
- The overview is football laws for beginners.
- Video assistance is explained in VAR in football.
- Continue with football knowledge.
Frequently asked questions
Does every foul bring a yellow card?
No. A careless foul normally needs no disciplinary sanction; a reckless foul must be cautioned, while excessive force can require a sending-off. The decision also depends on the type of conduct, its danger and the referee’s judgment.
Do two yellow cards become a red card?
Yes, when they are two cautions in the same match. The rule does not mean that two yellow cards accumulated across a season become an on-field red card; accumulation and suspension are governed by competition discipline.
Can a coach receive a yellow or red card?
Yes. A coach is a team official listed for the team, and conduct in the technical area can lead to a caution or sending-off. Only when the individual offender cannot be identified does Law 12 assign the sanction to the senior team coach present.
Is every DOGSO offence a red card?
No. Inside the penalty area, the offender receives a yellow card when the offence was an attempt to play or challenge for the ball and the referee awards a penalty kick. Holding, pulling, pushing, having no possibility of playing the ball and the separate handball branches can lead to a red card, so the whole incident matters.
Can a sent-off player be replaced?
No, once the match has started. The player must leave the applicable area and the team cannot put another player into that place. A substitute or substituted player can also receive a red card, but that does not create a new substitution.
Does a red card mean a three-match suspension?
There is no fixed number for every competition. The sending-off is decided in the match; suspension, fines, scope and appeal are controlled by the applicable regulations and disciplinary decision.
Does leaving the technical area once mean a red card?
No. Occasionally leaving without another offence may first be a warning; clear or persistent breaches can be a yellow card; deliberately leaving to dissent, provoke or confront can be a sending-off offence.
Can VAR review a second yellow card?
Under the IFAB 2026/27 update, a clearly incorrect second caution that results in a red card can fall within review when the match uses VAR. This does not mean VAR adds every missed second yellow card; the applicable protocol and competition rules still control the review.