Football Laws of the Game
Senior 6 · Physical Education
Football Laws of the Game
4 lessons
Lesson 3 of 4
Player conduct, discipline and fair play
25 min
A card is a message
A yellow card tells one player that his behaviour has crossed a line; it also tells both teams where the referee draws that line today. Discipline in football is not a list of punishments to be avoided but a code of conduct that keeps players safe and the contest fair. This lesson sets out the misconduct part of Law 12 of the IFAB Laws of the Game 2026–27: what earns a caution or a sending-off, how the referee decides on denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO), how team officials are disciplined, and what fair play asks of you beyond the written Laws.
Definition
Caution: an official warning, shown by a yellow card. Two cautions in one match lead to a sending-off.
Sending-off: removal from the match, shown by a red card; the player cannot be replaced and the team plays one short.
DOGSO: denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by an offence.
SPA: stopping (or interfering with) a promising attack by an offence, short of DOGSO.
Fair play: respect for the Laws, opponents, officials and the spirit of the game, beyond what the Laws require.
Cautions and sendings-off
| Caution (yellow card) | Sending-off (red card) |
|---|---|
| Delaying the restart of play | Denying a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by handball |
| Dissent by word or action | Denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by an offence punishable by a free kick (with the exception below) |
| Entering, re-entering or deliberately leaving the field without the referee's permission | Serious foul play |
| Failing to respect the required distance at a restart | Biting or spitting at someone |
| Persistent offences | Violent conduct |
| Unsporting behaviour, such as simulation (diving) or a reckless foul | Offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures |
| Entering the referee review area, or excessively making the "review" (TV-screen) signal | A second caution in the same match; entering the video operation room |
Team officials (coaches, doctors, substitutes on the bench) are also shown yellow and red cards. A team that falls below seven players, through sendings-off or otherwise, cannot continue: under the 2026–27 Laws the team responsible forfeits the match.
DOGSO and SPA
To decide whether a chance was "obvious", the referee weighs the distance to goal, the general direction of play, the likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball, and the location and number of defenders and (from 2026–27) attackers.
| Offence | Outside the penalty area | Inside the offender's penalty area (penalty awarded) |
|---|---|---|
| DOGSO by a foul that was an attempt to play or challenge for the ball | Sending-off | Caution |
| DOGSO by holding, pulling, pushing or with no chance to play the ball | Sending-off | Sending-off |
| DOGSO by deliberate handball | Sending-off | Sending-off (not the goalkeeper in his own area) |
| SPA by a foul that was an attempt to play the ball | Caution | No card |
| SPA by holding, pulling or pushing | Caution | Caution |
The softer sanction inside the area exists because the penalty kick already restores most of the lost chance; punishing a genuine attempt to win the ball three times (penalty, red card, suspension) was judged too harsh. If the referee plays advantage after a DOGSO offence and a goal is scored anyway, there is no card for the DOGSO (2026–27).
Worked example 1: two last-man fouls
- An attacker is clean through, 20 m from goal with only the goalkeeper to beat. The last defender, 3 m outside his penalty area, slides in for the ball and trips him. DOGSO outside the area, even though he tried to play the ball: direct free kick and sending-off.
- The same chase, but the trip happens 3 m inside the area. Penalty kick; because the foul was an attempt to play the ball, the defender is cautioned, not sent off.
- Had he pulled the attacker's shirt instead, inside the area: penalty and sending-off, since holding is not an attempt to play the ball.
Worked example
Worked example 2: counting the cards. In the 70th minute a midfielder already on a yellow card kicks the ball away after a free kick is given against his team. Delaying the restart is a cautionable offence, so he receives a second yellow card and then a red card. His team now has 10 players and may not replace him. If two more players of that team were sent off and three others were injured with no substitutes left, it would fall below 7 players and the match would end.
Fair play beyond the Laws
- Kick the ball out when an opponent is seriously hurt; return it to the other team after the treatment.
- Accept decisions; under the "only the captain may approach the referee" guideline, used by many competitions and compulsory in all competitions from 1 July 2027, only the captain speaks to the referee about a decision.
- No simulation: diving to win a foul is unsporting behaviour and is cautioned.
- No discrimination by word or gesture; it is offensive language and a sending-off.
- Under 2026–27 options a competition may send off a player who covers his mouth to insult an opponent, or who leaves the field in protest at a decision.
- Shake hands with opponents and officials at the end, whatever the result.
Tip
Memory hook for DOGSO factors: "D-D-C-L". Distance to goal, Direction of play, Control of the ball, Location and number of defenders and attackers.
Warning
Common mistakes. DOGSO is not automatically a red card inside the penalty area. A second yellow card is shown before the red one. A sent-off player cannot be replaced, but a cautioned player may be substituted.
✦
Practice
- Name four cautionable offences and four sending-off offences.
- State the four factors a referee considers for DOGSO.
- A defender handles the ball on the goal line to stop a certain goal. Decision?
- A player dives in the penalty area to win a penalty. Decision?
- Inside his own area a defender makes a genuine but mistimed tackle that stops a promising attack (not DOGSO). Penalty given. Is there a card?
- A coach throws a water bottle onto the field in anger. Can he be shown a card?
- Explain why the Laws treat a DOGSO foul inside the penalty area differently from the same foul outside it. Do you agree?
- Design a fair-play award for your school league: three criteria and how each is scored.
Show answersHide answers
- Cautions: for example delaying the restart, dissent, persistent offences, unsporting behaviour, failing to respect the distance. Sendings-off: for example serious foul play, violent conduct, DOGSO, spitting, offensive language, a second caution.
- Distance between the offence and the goal; general direction of play; likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball; location and number of defenders and attackers.
- Penalty kick (or goal if it goes in) and a sending-off for DOGSO by handball, unless a goal is scored.
- Caution for unsporting behaviour (simulation); indirect free kick to the defending team.
- No card: SPA inside the area by an attempt to play the ball is not cautioned.
- Yes: team officials can be cautioned and sent off; throwing an object in anger is likely to bring a red card.
- The penalty restores the scoring chance; adding a sending-off and suspension to a genuine attempt to play the ball would punish the same act three times. Arguments either way are accepted if reasoned.
- For example: cards received (points deducted per card), respect towards officials (rated by the referee), and conduct towards opponents (handshakes, returning the ball after injuries), each on a 0–5 scale.
Remember
- Yellow: delay, dissent, entering or leaving without permission, distance, persistence, unsporting behaviour.
- Red: serious foul play, violent conduct, DOGSO, spitting, offensive language, second yellow.
- DOGSO inside the area with an attempt to play the ball: penalty and caution.
- Fewer than 7 players: the match cannot continue.
Sources and credits
- Laws of the Game 2026–27 and Law changes 2026–27, The International Football Association Board: Laws 3 and 12 summarised, not copied.
- Fouls and misconduct (association football), Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted by Ganzaa.
- Sportsmanship, Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted by Ganzaa.
- Photo: Second Division in Football Rwanda, Annick green, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC0.
- Card and DOGSO tables, worked examples and practice: written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.