Soccer Law 12: Fouls & Misconduct

A foul occurs when a player commits a specific offence listed in the Laws of the Game when the ball is in play. The offences that constitute a foul are listed in Law 12. Handling the ball, tripping an opponent, or pushing an opponent, are examples of "penal fouls", punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on where the offence occurred. Other fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick.

The referee may punish a player or substitute's misconduct by a caution (yellow card) or sending-off (red card). A second yellow card at the same game leads to a red card, and therefore to a sending-off. Misconduct may occur at any time, and while the offences that constitute misconduct are listed, the definitions are broad. 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. Non-players, such as managers and support staff, may be dismissed from the field and its surrounds by the referee if they fail to conduct themselves in a responsible manner.

Rather than stopping play, the referee may allow play to continue when its continuation will benefit the team against which an offence has been committed. This is known as "playing an advantage". The referee may "call back" play and penalise the original offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue within a short period of time, typically taken to be four to five seconds. Even if an offence is not penalised because the referee plays an advantage, the offender may still be sanctioned for any associated misconduct at the next stoppage of play.

Foul

A foul in football (soccer) is an unfair act by a player which is deemed by the referee to contravene Law 12 of the Laws of the Game.

For an act to be a foul it must:

• be a specific offence listed in Law 12 of the Laws of the Game (other infractions, for example technical infractions at restarts, are not deemed to be fouls);
• be committed by a player (not a substitute);
• be committed against an opponent, when applicable (a player striking the referee, for example, is not a foul, but a misconduct)
• occur while the ball is in play.

As can be seen from the above not all infractions of the Laws are fouls, rather they may constitute — and be punished as — technical infractions and/or misconduct.

Misconduct

Misconduct in football (soccer) is any conduct by a player which is deemed by the referee to warrant a disciplinary sanction (caution or send-off) in accordance with Law 12 the Laws of the Game.

Misconduct may occur at any time, including when the ball is out of play, during half-time and before and after the game. Further, both players and substitutes may be sanctioned for misconduct. This is unlike fouls, which may only be committed by players, and only against an opponent when the ball is in play.

Misconduct may result in the player either receiving a caution (indicated by a yellow card) or being sent off (indicated by a re card). When a player is cautioned, the player's details are then (traditionally) recorded by the referee in a small notebook; hence a caution is also known as a booking. 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.

The system of cautioning and sending-off has existed for many decades, but the idea of language-neutral coloured cards originated with British referee Ken Aston, who got the idea while sitting in his car at a traffic light. The first major use of the cards was in the 1970 FIFA World Cup, but they were not made mandatory at all levels until 1992.

Source: Wikipedia