A red card is the most serious punishment a referee can give a player during a soccer match. When the referee holds up a red card, the player is sent off: they must leave the field immediately, they cannot be replaced, and their team plays the rest of the game with one player fewer. Understanding the red card rules in soccer helps you follow a match properly, because one sending-off can change the whole game.
This guide explains the red card rules in soccer as written in the IFAB Laws of the Game: every sending-off offence under Law 12, straight reds vs second yellows, playing with fewer players, VAR reviews and how suspensions work in different competitions.
What is a red card in soccer?
A red card is the signal a referee uses to show that a player, substitute or substituted player has been sent off (often called being “ejected” in the United States). It is a disciplinary sanction under Law 12 – Fouls and Misconduct of the IFAB Laws of the Game.
Coloured cards were introduced at the 1970 World Cup, based on an idea by English referee Ken Aston: yellow for a warning, red for stop.
The referee can show a red card from the pre-match pitch inspection until leaving the field after the final whistle, including during half-time, extra time and penalty shoot-outs.
What happens immediately after a red card?
As soon as a player is shown a red card, several things happen:
- The player must leave the field. The Laws state that a player who is sent off must leave the vicinity of the field of play and the technical area. In other words, they cannot sit on the bench or stand on the touchline; they go to the dressing room or the stands.
- The team cannot replace the player. A sent-off player cannot be substituted, so the team continues with one player fewer for the rest of the match, including extra time.
- Play restarts according to the offence. If the red card was for a foul, the opponents receive a direct free kick or a penalty kick. If it was for an offence such as offensive language when the ball was out of play, the game restarts in the usual way for that stoppage. If the referee stopped play only to send a player off for a non-foul offence, the restart is an indirect free kick.
Direct red card vs second yellow card
There are two ways a player can be sent off, and the difference matters for suspensions and statistics.
| Direct (straight) red card | Second yellow card | |
|---|---|---|
| How it happens | The referee shows a red card immediately for one serious offence | A player already cautioned receives a second caution in the same match |
| What the referee shows | Red card only | A second yellow card, followed by a red card |
| Typical offences | Serious foul play, violent conduct, DOGSO, spitting, offensive language | Two cautionable offences, such as two reckless tackles or a foul plus dissent |
| Can VAR review it? | Yes | No (a second caution is not a reviewable decision) |
| Usual suspension | Often longer, depending on the offence and competition | Usually a one-match suspension |
In both cases the effect on the match is the same: the player leaves and the team plays with one fewer.
All sending-off offences under IFAB Law 12
Law 12 of the IFAB Laws of the Game lists the offences for which a player, substitute or substituted player is sent off. They are:
- Denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by a deliberate handball offence (except a goalkeeper within their own penalty area).
- Denying a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent whose overall movement is towards the offender’s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick (with an exception inside the penalty area, explained below).
- Serious foul play.
- Biting or spitting at someone.
- Violent conduct.
- Using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or action(s).
- Receiving a second caution in the same match.
- Entering the video operation room (VOR).
Each of these is explained in detail below.
Serious foul play explained
The Laws define serious foul play as a tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality. It must happen when challenging for the ball, while the ball is in play. Any player who lunges at an opponent from the front, side or behind using one or both legs with excessive force, or who endangers the safety of an opponent, is guilty of serious foul play.
Referees judge fouls on three levels: careless (a foul, no card), reckless (a yellow card) and using excessive force (a red card for serious foul play).
Common examples include a high, studs-up tackle on an opponent’s shin or ankle, a two-footed jumping challenge, or a late lunge with straight legs. Serious foul play is penalised with a direct free kick (or a penalty kick if it happens inside the offender’s penalty area) as well as the red card.
Violent conduct explained
Violent conduct is different from serious foul play because it does not involve a genuine challenge for the ball. The Laws describe it as when a player uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball, or against a team-mate, team official, match official, spectator or any other person, whether or not contact is made.
In addition, a player who deliberately strikes an opponent or any other person on the head or face with the hand or arm is guilty of violent conduct, unless the force used was negligible.
Violent conduct can happen when the ball is in play or out of play, and even off the pitch. Typical examples are punching, headbutting, kicking an opponent off the ball, or elbowing someone in the face. The most famous example is Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt on Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final, which ended his career with a red card. Another well-known case is David Beckham’s dismissal against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup for flicking out his leg at Diego Simeone.
Biting or spitting
The Laws list biting or spitting at someone as a separate sending-off offence. It does not matter whether the target is an opponent, a team-mate or anyone else. Competitions usually punish spitting more heavily than many other red card offences.
Denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO)
DOGSO is one of the most discussed red card rules in soccer. A player is sent off for denying a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent whose overall movement is towards the offender’s goal, by an offence punishable by a free kick.
When deciding whether a chance was “obvious”, referees consider four factors:
- the distance between the offence and the goal;
- the general direction of the play;
- the likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball;
- the location and number of defenders.
A classic DOGSO situation is a defender pulling back a striker who has run through on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat.
The “triple punishment” exception in the penalty area
Since 2016 the Laws have reduced the punishment for some DOGSO offences inside the penalty area, to avoid a “triple punishment” of a penalty kick, a red card and a suspension. Now, when a defender commits a DOGSO offence inside their own penalty area and the referee awards a penalty kick, the offender is only cautioned (yellow card) if the offence was an attempt to play the ball or a challenge for the ball.
The player is still sent off inside the penalty area if they:
- hold, pull or push an opponent;
- do not attempt to play the ball or have no possibility of playing it;
- commit an offence that would be a red card anywhere on the field, such as serious foul play.
If the denied player still scores, or the advantage is played and a goal follows, the DOGSO red card does not apply, although the player may still be cautioned.
Denying a goal or goal-scoring opportunity by handball
Handball has its own DOGSO rule. Under Law 12:
- If a player denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by a deliberate handball, they are sent off wherever the offence occurs. The only exception is a goalkeeper handling inside their own penalty area, which is allowed.
- If a player denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity with a non-deliberate handball and the referee awards a penalty kick, the offender is cautioned instead of being sent off.
- A non-deliberate handball that denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity outside the offender’s own penalty area is still a sending-off.
The most famous handball red card in World Cup history came in the 2010 quarter-final between Uruguay and Ghana, when Luis Suárez punched the ball off the goal line in the last minute of extra time. He was sent off, Ghana missed the penalty, and Uruguay won the shoot-out. See our penalty shootout rules guide.
Offensive, insulting or abusive language and gestures
A player is sent off for using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or action(s). This covers swearing directly at a referee, insulting an opponent, abusive or discriminatory comments, and offensive hand gestures towards opponents, officials or spectators.
It is different from dissent. Simply disagreeing with a decision, shouting a complaint or waving arms in protest is dissent by word or action, which is a yellow card. The line is crossed when the words or gestures become personally offensive, insulting or abusive.
Receiving a second caution in the same match
A player who receives two yellow cards in the same match is sent off. The referee shows the second yellow card and then the red card, so everyone knows the player has been dismissed.
Cautions only count within a single match, although competitions often suspend players who collect several yellow cards over a number of matches.
Can a goalkeeper receive a red card?
Yes. Goalkeepers follow the same red card rules as every other player. They can be sent off for serious foul play, violent conduct, offensive language, a second caution or a DOGSO offence. A goalkeeper who rushes out of the area and fouls a striker through on goal, or handles the ball outside the penalty area to stop a goal-scoring chance, is likely to be sent off.
The main difference is that a goalkeeper handling the ball inside their own penalty area is not committing a handball offence, so the deliberate handball DOGSO rule does not apply there.
If a goalkeeper is sent off, the coach usually replaces an outfield player with the reserve keeper; if no substitutions remain, an outfield player must go in goal.
What happens if a team gets one or more red cards?
Every red card reduces the number of players a team has on the field. A team can lose several players and keep playing, as long as it has enough players left to meet the minimum (see the next section).
Going down to ten players is a serious disadvantage, and teams usually switch to a more defensive shape. Our guide to how many players are on a soccer team explains the normal line-up and substitution rules.
Matches with several red cards are rare, but they happen. The 2006 World Cup round of 16 match between Portugal and the Netherlands, nicknamed the “Battle of Nuremberg”, saw referee Valentin Ivanov show 16 yellow cards and four red cards, two to each team. That is still the World Cup record for red cards in a single match.
Minimum number of players required to continue a match
Under Law 3 – The Players, a match may not start or continue if either team has fewer than seven players. This includes the goalkeeper.
This means a team can lose up to four players through red cards (or injuries after all substitutes have been used) and still continue. If a team falls below seven players, the referee must abandon the match. Competition rules then decide the result, and many organisers award the match to the opposing team.
Can a substitute or team official receive a red card?
Yes. The sending-off offences in Law 12 apply to players, substitutes and substituted players. A substitute warming up on the touchline who uses abusive language or commits violent conduct can be sent off without ever playing a minute. If a substitute is sent off before entering the field, the team does not lose a player on the pitch, but it does lose that substitute.
Since 2019, team officials such as head coaches and assistants can also receive yellow and red cards. Red card offences for officials include entering the opposing technical area in an aggressive or confrontational manner, deliberately throwing or kicking an object onto the field, confronting a match official, violent conduct, offensive or abusive language, and receiving a second caution.
If the referee cannot identify which official committed the offence, the senior team coach present in the technical area receives the card. A sent-off team official must leave the technical area and its surroundings, which is why managers are sometimes seen watching from the stands.
Can VAR review a red card decision?
Yes. Under the VAR protocol, the video assistant referee can only intervene in four types of match-changing situations: goals, penalty decisions, direct red card incidents and cases of mistaken identity. You can read more about how VAR works in our guide to the offside rule and VAR.
For red cards, the VAR can recommend upgrading a yellow card (or no card) to a red, cancelling a red card that replays show was clearly wrong, or correcting a card shown to the wrong player. It only intervenes for a “clear and obvious error” or a “serious missed incident”.
VAR cannot review a second yellow card, because a second caution is not one of the reviewable decisions. In most cases the referee makes the final call after watching the replay on the pitch-side monitor, known as an on-field review.
Does a red card automatically mean a suspension?
This is one of the most searched questions about red card rules, and the honest answer is: it depends on the competition. The IFAB Laws of the Game only deal with what happens during the match. Suspensions are decided by competition organisers and national associations through their own disciplinary rules.
In almost all professional and organised competitions, a red card leads to an automatic suspension of at least one match. The length usually depends on the type of offence. A second yellow card normally carries a shorter ban than a straight red card for violent conduct or serious foul play, and disciplinary committees can add extra matches for very serious incidents, such as violence against officials or discriminatory abuse.
Clubs can usually appeal a straight red card they believe was clearly wrong; appeals against second yellows are normally not allowed.
Red card rules in different competitions
Because suspensions are set by each competition, there is no single worldwide rule. The table below shows general examples. Always check the current regulations of the specific league or tournament, because organisers can change them each season.
| Competition | Who sets the rules | How red card suspensions work (general) |
|---|---|---|
| FIFA World Cup | FIFA Disciplinary Code and tournament regulations | A red card brings an automatic suspension for at least the next match; FIFA’s disciplinary bodies can add more. Accumulated yellow cards are also punished, with cards cleared at points set in the tournament regulations. |
| English Premier League | The Football Association (FA) | Standard punishments are one match for DOGSO or a second caution, and three matches for serious foul play or violent conduct, with longer bans possible for other offences. |
| UEFA Champions League | UEFA Disciplinary Regulations | A sending-off brings at least a one-match ban in UEFA competition; UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body can extend it. |
| Major League Soccer (MLS) | MLS and its Disciplinary Committee | A red card brings at least a one-match suspension, with further review for serious incidents. |
Red card vs yellow card
| Yellow card | Red card | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Caution (official warning) | Sending-off (dismissal) |
| Player stays on the field? | Yes | No, must leave the field and technical area |
| Team affected? | No change in numbers | Team plays with one fewer player |
| Examples | Reckless foul, dissent, simulation, delaying the restart | Serious foul play, violent conduct, DOGSO, spitting, offensive language |
| Two in one match | Second yellow = red card | – |
| Suspension | Only after reaching a competition’s accumulation limit | Usually at least one match |
Frequently asked questions
How many games is a red card suspension?
It depends on the competition and the offence. Most competitions give at least a one-match suspension, and longer bans for serious foul play, violent conduct, spitting or abuse. The Laws of the Game do not set suspension lengths.
Is a second yellow card the same as a red card?
The result on the pitch is the same: the player is sent off. But a second yellow is recorded differently and usually carries a shorter suspension than a straight red card.
How long does a match last after a red card?
A red card does not change the match length. The game still lasts 90 minutes plus added time, as explained in our guide to how long a soccer game is.
Rules in this article are based on the current IFAB Laws of the Game. For the full official wording, see the IFAB Laws of the Game documents and Inside FIFA.
