Fouls and their penalties – Basketball Rules of the Game (Senior 6 Physical Education) | Ganzaa

Basketball Rules of the Game

Lessons

Senior 6 · Physical Education

Basketball Rules of the Game

5 lessons

Lesson 3 of 5

Fouls and their penalties

30 min

Goodbye to the unsportsmanlike foul

Until 30 September 2026, a referee who saw a defender grab a player on a fast break called an unsportsmanlike foul, and two of them sent a player out of the game. The FIBA Official Basketball Rules 2026 split that foul in two: a disruptive foul for tactical contact that stops play, which does not lead to disqualification, and a flagrant foul for dangerous or excessive contact, which does. Technical fouls were also divided into two categories. FIBA's stated aim was "proportionality in sanctions". This lesson sets out the principles of legal and illegal contact and every type of foul with its penalty.

Definition

Foul: an infraction involving illegal personal contact with an opponent or unsporting behaviour.

Cylinder principle: each player owns the imaginary cylinder he or she occupies, from the floor to the ceiling.

Legal guarding position: a defender facing the opponent with both feet on the floor.

Team foul: any personal, technical, disruptive, flagrant or disqualifying foul by a player; after 4 in a quarter the team is in the team foul penalty situation.

Game disqualification (GD): being sent off for the rest of the game for an accumulation of the most serious fouls.

Legal and illegal contact

Verticality: a player who has established a cylinder may jump straight up inside it, arms raised, and is not responsible for contact. The player who leaves his or her cylinder and causes contact is responsible.
Guarding the ball-handler: time and distance do not apply. Once in a legal guarding position, the defender may move to stay in front but may not extend arms, shoulders, hips or legs to stop the dribbler. A dribbler who charges into a defender already in position commits the foul (charging); a defender who moves into the dribbler's path late, or is not set, commits a blocking foul.
Guarding a player without the ball: the defender must give time and distance, and may not take a position so close or so quickly in the path of a moving opponent that contact cannot be avoided.
No-charge semi-circle: when an airborne attacker in control of the ball shoots or passes, contact with a defender who has a foot in the semi-circle is not called as an attacking foul, unless the attacker uses hands, arms, legs or body illegally.
Other personal fouls: holding, pushing, hand-checking, illegal use of hands, hooking, illegal screen, excessive swinging of elbows, hitting the head.

Types of foul and their penalties (FIBA 2026)

Foul	What it is	Penalty
Personal foul	Illegal contact with an opponent, ball live or dead	Not shooting: throw-in, or 2 free throws if the offending team is in the team foul penalty. Shooting: basket counts + 1 free throw, or 2 or 3 free throws if missed
Team control foul	A personal foul by a player of the team that controls the ball (e.g. charging, illegal screen)	Throw-in to the opponents; never free throws
Double foul	Two opponents foul each other at about the same time	Both charged; no free throws; play restarts by possession or alternating possession
Technical foul	Non-contact or behavioural foul. Category 1 (counts towards GD): disrespect to officials, taunting, faking a foul, swinging elbows without contact. Category 2 (does not): delaying the game, hanging on the ring, goaltending the last free throw	1 free throw to the opponents (any player), then the team that had the ball keeps it
Disruptive foul	Unnecessary contact, not a play on the ball, to stop a transition or stop the clock at the end of a quarter; or contact from behind or the side on a player progressing to the basket with no defender in front	2 free throws (or basket + 1, or 2 or 3), then a throw-in from the throw-in line in the frontcourt; shot clock 14 s. Does not count towards GD
Flagrant foul	Not a legitimate basketball play; reckless, violent or dangerous; or excessive hard contact	As for a disruptive foul, and it counts towards GD
Disqualifying foul	Any flagrant unsportsmanlike action, including aggression on opponents or referees	Offender to the dressing room for the rest of the game; free throws and frontcourt throw-in

Limits. A player who has committed 5 fouls must leave the game. A player is game-disqualified for two category 1 technical fouls, two flagrant fouls, or one of each; the timer raises the GD marker. A head coach is disqualified for two category 1 technical fouls for his or her own behaviour, or three counting those charged for the bench. Team fouls in an overtime count as fourth-quarter fouls.

Worked example

Worked example 1: the team foul penalty. In the third quarter Team B has already committed 4 team fouls.

B6 holds A4, who is dribbling and not shooting. This is Team B's 5th team foul, so Team B is in the penalty: A4 shoots 2 free throws.
Later A5 sets an illegal screen while Team A has the ball. It is a team control foul: throw-in to Team B, with no free throws, however many team fouls Team A has.
B9 fouls A7 on a 3-point attempt that misses: 3 free throws. Had the shot gone in: 3 points and 1 free throw.

Worked example

Worked example 2: disruptive or flagrant? A10 steals the ball and dribbles alone towards the basket, no defender ahead of her.

B4, chasing from behind, grabs her arm without trying to play the ball. Contact from behind on a progressing player with nobody between her and the basket: disruptive foul. A10 shoots 2 free throws; Team A then throws in from its frontcourt throw-in line with 14 s on the shot clock. B4 is not nearer to disqualification.
If instead B4 swings an arm into A10's head as she jumps, the act is reckless and dangerous: flagrant foul, same penalty, but it counts towards GD. If B4 already has a category 1 technical foul, she is game-disqualified and goes to the dressing room.

Video: "2026 FIBA Rule Changes", Referee University. Watch for the new disruptive and flagrant fouls, the two categories of technical foul and the new signals.

Warning

Safety and first aid (ERC Guidelines 2025)

Bleeding: FIBA requires a bleeding player to be substituted until the bleeding stops and the wound is securely covered. Wearing gloves, press firmly and directly on the wound, or on a dressing placed on it; once the bleeding is controlled, apply a pressure dressing.
Blow to the head (a "hit to the head" foul, a fall): suspect concussion if the player is confused, has a headache, dizziness, nausea, blurred vision or behaves differently. Recognise, remove, refer: take the player out of the game and do not let him or her play again until a health professional has assessed the injury. If the player is unresponsive and not breathing normally, call 912 and start CPR.
Fingernails must be short and jewellery removed (Article 4): most cuts in school basketball come from these.

Tip

Coaching point: defend without fouling. Teach defenders to beat the dribbler to the spot, chest square, both feet down (the legal guarding position), hands up and inside the cylinder. A defender who reaches in with the hands gives away fouls; one who arrives early draws charges, except in the no-charge semi-circle.

✦

Practice

State the two conditions for a legal guarding position.
What are the front and rear limits of a defender's cylinder?
A defender with one foot in the no-charge semi-circle is knocked over by an airborne shooter who is not using the arms illegally. Decision?
Team A has 4 team fouls in the second quarter. A8 fouls B3, who is dribbling. What is the penalty? What if it were the first quarter's 3rd team foul?
Classify each as category 1 or 2 technical foul: (a) faking being fouled, (b) hanging on the ring after a dunk to show off, (c) gesturing to incite the crowd.
B11 has one flagrant foul. She now receives a category 2 technical foul. Is she game-disqualified?
Explain the difference in consequences between a disruptive foul and a flagrant foul.
Evaluate FIBA's decision to replace the unsportsmanlike foul. Give one argument for and one concern.

Show answersHide answers

Facing the opponent, with both feet on the floor.
Front: the palms of the hands (arms bent, forearms raised); rear: the buttocks.
No attacking foul (no charge): the defender was in the no-charge semi-circle. Play continues or the basket counts.
It is Team A's 5th team foul, so B3 shoots 2 free throws. In the earlier case (not yet in the penalty), Team B would get a throw-in.
(a) category 1; (b) category 2 (hanging on the ring); (c) category 1.
No: category 2 technical fouls do not count towards GD; she would need a second flagrant foul or a category 1 technical foul.
Both carry the same penalty (free throws and a frontcourt throw-in, shot clock 14 s), but only the flagrant foul counts towards game disqualification.
For: tactical fouls that are not dangerous no longer cost a player the game, so sanctions match the seriousness of the act. Concern: referees must now judge a fine line between disruptive and flagrant, and some teams may use the cheaper disruptive foul more often to stop fast breaks.

Remember

Cylinder + verticality: the player who leaves the cylinder is responsible.
5 fouls and out; 4 team fouls per quarter, then 2 free throws for every defensive personal foul.
Team control foul: throw-in only.
2026: disruptive (no GD) and flagrant (GD); technical category 1 (GD) and 2 (no GD).
GD: 2 × category 1 technical, 2 × flagrant, or 1 of each.
Bleeding: substitute, gloves, direct pressure. Head knock: recognise, remove, refer.

Sources and credits

Official Basketball Rules 2026 (version 1.1, July 2026), FIBA: Articles 4, 5 and 32 to 42 summarised, not copied.
The FIBA Official Basketball Rules Changes, valid as of 1 October 2026 (version 1.1), FIBA Referee Operations: the reasons for the new fouls, summarised; the quoted phrase is FIBA's.
European Resuscitation Council Guidelines 2025: First Aid, ERC, 2025: bleeding control and concussion, summarised.
Video: "2026 FIBA Rule Changes", Referee University, embedded from YouTube.
Contact diagram, tables, worked examples and practice: written by Ganzaa.

1Goodbye to the unsportsmanlike foul

2Legal and illegal contact

3Types of foul and their penalties (FIBA 2026)

Goodbye to the unsportsmanlike foul

Legal and illegal contact

Types of foul and their penalties (FIBA 2026)