Red card
From Free net encyclopedia
A red card is used in many sports as a means of indicating that a player has received a certain level of punishment, typically that they have been sent off (expelled from the game).
Association football
Image:Rot und Gelb (Fußball)-red and yellow card (Soccer).jpg
In association football (soccer), a red card is shown by a referee to signify that a player has been sent off following serious misconduct.
A player who has been sent off is required to leave the field of play immediately and must take no further part in the game. The player who has been sent off cannot be replaced during the game; their team must continue the game with one player less.
Law 12 of the Laws of the Game (which are set by the International Football Association Board and used by the sport's international governing body FIFA) lists the categories of misconduct for which a player may be sent off. Broadly these are:
- Serious foul play. This includes a tackle that endangers the safety of an opponent.
- Violent conduct
- Spitting at anyone
- A deliberate hand ball to deny an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by any player other than a goalkeeper in his own penalty area
- Committing an offence that denies an opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (informally known as a professional foul)
- Using offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures
- Receiving a second caution (yellow card) in one game
In addition to being excluded from participating in the rest of the game, a player who has been sent off may be subject to off-field sanctions. These are usually in the form of suspensions from playing for a number of future games. The exact punishments are determined by tournament or competition rules (not by the Laws of the Game). However, FIFA in particular has been adamant that a red card in any football competition must result in the guilty player being suspended for at least the next game without the right to appeal.
However, in the English Premier League, if a direct red card is shown, the player is sent off immediately and faces an automatic three-match ban. This can be overturned with a successful appeal. However, if the red card was shown after two yellow-cards, then the player is sent off and is faced with an automatic one-match ban without the right to appeal.
When a goalkeeper is sent off (regardless of second yellow or a direct red card), the goalkeeper must leave the field immediately. If a substitute goalkeeper is available, he can be brought on at the expense of an outfield player. If no substitute goalkeeper is available, or the team has already made the maximum permitted substitutions, an outfield player has to go in goal. This often happened in the period when teams were only allowed one substitute, and on occasion outfield players were known to perform very well in goal, with some even saving penalty kicks.
Yellow and red cards were first introduced in the game by British referee Ken Aston and its first major use was in the 1970 World Cup: he actually had the idea whilst sitting in his car waiting at traffic lights. The system of cautioning and sending-off existed prior to 1970; however, the use of coloured cards allows referees to convey their intentions directly regardless of the language spoken. The cards were only made mandatory at all levels in 1992.
Other sports
Other sports also use a red card to indicate a permanent expulsion from a game, including volleyball, futsal, handball, rugby union, British rugby league and field hockey. In the sport of fencing, a red card indicates a touch awarded to the offending fencer's opponent; the fencing equivalent to football's red card is the black card. In International Rules Football, a red card means the offending player is sent off the field of play for 15 minutes. Mixed martial arts promotion PRIDE uses red cards in matches held under its Bushido rules, which do not result in disqualification but do carry a 10% deduction of the guilty fighter's fight purse.
See also
de:Rote Karte he:כרטיס אדום it:cartellino rosso ja:レッドカード nl:Rode kaart zh:紅牌