What is a foul in soccer?

A foul is an illegal act against an opponent. The most common ones are pushing, tripping, holding, kicking, dangerous tackles, charging, and playing the ball with a hand. Every foul gives the opposing team a free kick — or a penalty kick if it happened inside the penalty area.

The 30-second version

• Direct fouls: physical. Kick, push, trip, hold, charge, jump at, strike, or handle the ball.
• Indirect fouls: technical. Dangerous play, impeding without contact, goalkeeper holding the ball more than 6 seconds, blocking the keeper.
• The team fouled gets a free kick at the spot. Inside the box → penalty.
• The fouling player can also be booked (yellow) or sent off (red) depending on severity.

Direct free kick fouls

These all involve careless, reckless, or excessive force against an opponent:

• Kicking or attempting to kick
• Tripping or attempting to trip
• Striking or attempting to strike (including elbows)
• Pushing
• Holding (shirt grabs, body holds)
• Charging into a player without playing the ball
• Jumping at an opponent
• Tackling and making contact with the player before the ball
• Spitting or biting

Plus handball — deliberate or "made the body unnaturally bigger" accidental.

If any of these happens inside the defending team's penalty area, the result is a penalty kick.

Indirect free kick fouls

These don't involve direct physical contact (or the contact is technical, not violent):

• Dangerous play — high boots near another player's head
• Impeding an opponent without contact (running into their path to slow them down)
• Preventing the goalkeeper from releasing the ball
• Goalkeeper holding the ball longer than 6 seconds
• Goalkeeper picking up a back-pass from a teammate's foot
• Offside

Indirect kicks must touch a second player before going into the goal. A direct shot from an indirect kick that goes straight in doesn't count — it's a goal kick instead.

How serious does the foul have to be?

The IFAB law uses three levels:

• Careless — a small loss of judgment. Free kick, no card.
• Reckless — disregard for an opponent's safety. Free kick + yellow card.
• Excessive force — endangers an opponent. Free kick + red card.

A late, slightly mistimed challenge from the side is careless. A sliding tackle that catches the player above the ankle is reckless. A two-footed lunge from behind is excessive force.

The advantage rule

If the team that was fouled would do better by playing on than stopping for a free kick, the referee waves play to continue. They make a sweeping motion with both arms and shout "play on" or "advantage."

If the advantage materialises into a goal or a clear chance, no foul is awarded. If it doesn't develop within a few seconds, the referee can pull play back and give the original free kick.

The referee can still show a card for the original foul after the play ends — even if no free kick was given. Bookings are independent from where the play ends up.

A simple example

Midfielder dribbles into the opponent's half. A defender slides at his feet, misses the ball, and clips his ankle. He stumbles, stays on his feet, and the ball runs to a teammate who is in space.

The referee waves "play on" — advantage. The teammate takes a touch, runs at goal, scores.

Goal stands. The defender who fouled is given a yellow card after the celebration for the reckless challenge.

If the teammate had run into traffic and lost the ball, the referee would have come back and given the free kick at the spot of the original foul.

Common confusion

• "He didn't even touch him." — Not every foul requires contact. Impeding, blocking the keeper, and dangerous play can all be fouls without touch.
• "The ref didn't blow the whistle, so it can't be a foul." — Sometimes it's an advantage call. The ref will revisit it once play settles.
• "That's just shoulder-to-shoulder." — A fair shoulder-to-shoulder challenge isn't a foul. Charging with arms or with extra force is.

What fans usually get wrong

• The location of the foul, not the ball, decides whether it's a penalty.
• A defender can win the ball cleanly and still be called for a foul if the follow-through is dangerous (studs into shin after the ball's gone).
• Being fouled doesn't automatically mean a free kick if the ref plays advantage and the fouled team scores.

Official rule basis

Fouls and misconduct are covered by Law 12 of the IFAB Laws of the Game, which lists every direct-foul and indirect-foul offence and the criteria for cards. Law 5 covers the referee's authority, including the advantage rule.