Fouls and misconduct (association football)

Fouls and misconduct in football/soccer are acts committed by players which are 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, deemed by the referee to contravene the game's laws, that interferes with the active play of the game. Fouls are punished by the award of a free kick (direct or indirect depending on the offence) or penalty kick to the opposing team. A list of specific offences that can be fouls are detailed in Law 12 of the Laws of the Game (other infractions, such as technical infractions at restarts, are not deemed to be fouls), these mostly concern unnecessarily aggressive physical play and the offence of handling the ball. Additionally, a foul can only be committed by a player (not a substitute) and on the field of play while the ball is in play. Where applicable, fouls are limited to acts committed against an opponent (for example, a player striking the referee or a teammate is not a foul, but is misconduct).

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). A dismissed player cannot be replaced; their team is required to play the remainder of the game with one fewer player. 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". A second caution results in the player being dismissed. 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.

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