A yellow card is a warning. A red card means the player is sent off and their team plays the rest of the game with one fewer player. Two yellows in the same match add up to a red.

The 30-second version

• Yellow card: booking. Stays on the player for the rest of the match. Two yellows = red.
• Red card: dismissal. Player leaves the field, team is down to 10. The sent-off player misses at least the next match.
• The referee shows the card by holding it above their head for everyone — players, fans, and the bench — to see.

What earns a yellow

The most common reasons:

• Reckless tackles or persistent fouling
• Unsporting behaviour (diving, time-wasting, shirt pulls in attacking moves)
• Dissent — arguing with the referee
• Delaying the restart — kicking the ball away after a free kick is given
• Entering or leaving the field without permission
• Goal celebrations that cross a line (removing the shirt, climbing fences)

What earns a straight red

A red card without a prior yellow is for serious offences:

• Serious foul play — a tackle that endangers an opponent (studs up, lunging, two-footed)
• Violent conduct — striking, elbowing, headbutting
• Spitting at anyone
• Denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by handball or a foul as the last defender (often called DOGSO)
• Offensive language or abuse

A second yellow is also a red — but it goes on the player's disciplinary record as a yellow plus a yellow, not a straight red.

Playing with 10 men

When a team is reduced, they don't get a substitute to fill the gap. Common adjustments:

• They drop deeper, defend in numbers, and try to hit on the counter.
• The opposing team usually pushes a defender into midfield to take advantage of the extra player.
• A 1–0 lead with a red card late in the match often ends 1–1 or 1–2 because the down-a-man side can't hold their shape.

A team reduced to fewer than 7 players has the match abandoned and forfeits. This rarely happens.

Common confusion

• "That was only a yellow, why did the ref show red?" — A second yellow is shown immediately after the first card is taken back out, then the red is shown. Looks like two cards in a row.
• "He didn't even touch him." — Cards aren't only for contact. Diving, dissent, and time-wasting all earn yellows without any tackle.
• "VAR can take the yellow back, right?" — VAR cannot intervene on yellow cards or second yellows. It only reviews straight reds and only when the referee misses a serious incident.

What fans usually get wrong

• Yellow cards do not transfer between matches in club leagues during a single game, but they accumulate across tournament group stages. A player on a yellow going into the next match can be one bad tackle away from missing a knockout fixture.
• A red-carded player's team plays with 10 even if the foul didn't deserve a penalty — the foul could have happened far from the goal.
• The referee can downgrade or upgrade a planned card after talking to their assistants or watching VAR.

Official rule basis

Cards are governed by Law 12 of the IFAB Laws of the Game and the FIFA Disciplinary Code for tournaments. The on-field referee makes the decision; FIFA's disciplinary committee handles suspensions afterward.