The Yellow Card

Photo:  Keith Barlow Dreamstime.com

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct is the section of FIFA's Laws of the Game that describes among other things, when yellow and red cards are given.

Basically, a yellow card is given...

• only to players - not coaches, spectators, or other personnel - and...
• is a formal signal to the player that he or she has been cautioned for...
• committing one of seven cautionable offences:

               1.  unsporting behaviour
               2.  dissent by word or action
               3.  persistent infringement of the Laws of the Game
               4.  delaying the restart of play
               5.  failure to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick, free
                    kick or throw-in
               6.  entering or re-entering the field of play without the referee’s permission
               7.  deliberately leaving the field of play without the referee’s permission

There are some fine strokes around this, but that's it in a nutshell.  An edited version of the actual text in the law is provided below.

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From Law 12

Disciplinary Sanctions




The yellow card is used to communicate that a player, substitute or substituted player has been cautioned.


The red card is used to communicate that a player, substitute or substituted player has been sent off.


Only a player, substitute or substituted player may be shown the red or yellow card.


The referee has the authority to take disciplinary sanctions from the moment he enters the field of play until he leaves the field of play after the final whistle.


A player who commits a cautionable or sending-off offence, either on or off the field of play, whether directed towards an opponent, a team-mate, the referee, an assistant referee or any other person, is disciplined according to the nature of the offence committed.


Cautionable Offences


A player is cautioned and shown the yellow card if he commits any of the following seven offences:


• unsporting behaviour


• dissent by word or action


• persistent infringement of the Laws of the Game


• delaying the restart of play


• failure to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick, free kick or throw-in


• entering or re-entering the fi eld of play without the referee’s permission


• deliberately leaving the fi eld of play without the referee’s permission

A substitute or substituted player is cautioned if he commits any of the following three offences:


• unsporting behaviour


• dissent by word or action


• delaying the restart of play