Cards are football’s way of making discipline visible. A yellow card is a caution, a red card is a sending-off, and the player who sees red must leave the field without being replaced. The offences that earn each card are listed in Law 12 of the IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, and they apply identically in the Premier League, MLS and a youth game. What happens after the match, how many games a player misses, is decided by each competition’s disciplinary rules, which is why the same yellow card can mean different things in different leagues.
Yellow card offences (cautions)
A player is cautioned for:
- unsporting behaviour, such as a reckless tackle, a cynical foul that stops a promising attack, simulation or removing the shirt to celebrate,
- dissent by word or action,
- persistent offences, meaning repeated fouling,
- delaying the restart of play,
- failing to respect the required distance at a corner, free kick or throw-in,
- entering or re-entering the field without the referee’s permission,
- deliberately leaving the field without permission.
Substitutes and substituted players can be cautioned too, for example for dissent from the bench.
Red card offences (sending-offs)
A player is sent off for:
- serious foul play, a challenge that endangers an opponent’s safety or uses excessive force,
- violent conduct, including striking an opponent off the ball,
- biting or spitting at someone,
- denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO) by a deliberate handball,
- DOGSO by an offence punishable by a free kick, with the exception below,
- using offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures,
- receiving a second caution in the same match.
The DOGSO “double punishment” exception
If a defender commits a DOGSO foul inside their own penalty area and it was a genuine attempt to play the ball, the referee awards a penalty and only shows a yellow card. The idea is that the penalty already restores the scoring chance. If the defender held, pulled or pushed the opponent, made no attempt to play the ball, or committed serious foul play, it remains a red card. Deliberate handball that stops a goal is always red.
Signals and procedure
The referee shows the card clearly, records the player’s number and the time, and explains the decision to the captain where needed. If the referee lets play continue under the advantage rule, the card is shown at the next stoppage. Under the 2026/27 wording, when the referee plays advantage after a DOGSO offence and a goal is scored, no caution is given for that offence.
Coaches and other team officials can also be shown yellow and red cards. If the culprit cannot be identified, the senior coach in the technical area receives the card.
VAR can review direct red cards and mistaken identity, and from 2026/27, in competitions that adopt it, a clearly wrong second yellow that leads to a red. See our VAR guide for the details.
Card accumulation and suspensions
Law 12 only covers the match. Bans for accumulated cards come from competition rules. The main ones:
| Competition | Yellow card accumulation |
|---|---|
| Premier League | 5 yellows by the club’s 19th league match → 1 match; 10 by the 32nd → 2 matches; 15 → 3 matches + FA referral |
| UEFA club competitions (from 2026/27) | Ban after the 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th yellow; single yellows wiped after the quarter-finals |
| UEFA club competitions (2025/26) | Ban after the 3rd yellow, then the 5th, 7th and so on |
| FIFA World Cup 2026 | Two yellows in different matches → 1-match ban; single yellows cancelled after the group stage and after the quarter-finals |
| Bundesliga | 5th, 10th and 15th yellow → 1-match ban each |
| LaLiga | Each cycle of 5 yellows → 1 match |
For MLS, NCAA and other leagues, the thresholds are set in each season’s disciplinary code, so check the current competition regulations rather than relying on last year’s numbers.
A red card has its own consequences. A sending-off for two yellows brings an automatic one-match ban. A direct red means at least one match, and disciplinary panels often add more for violent conduct or abusive language. In England, the FA’s regulatory commission decides extended bans for serious cases.
Tracking these numbers matters for fantasy managers and club secretaries alike. If you are running your own league, record cards next to results in our league table generator, and use the online scoreboard during matches to log who was booked and when.
Grassroots: sin bins and temporary dismissals
The Laws allow competitions in youth, veterans, disability and grassroots football to use temporary dismissals, often called sin bins, instead of or in addition to yellow cards for certain offences. The FA uses sin bins for dissent in much of English grassroots football: the player leaves the field for a set period, typically 10 minutes, and then returns. Many US youth and recreational leagues have their own versions. These rules only apply where the competition has adopted them, so a sin bin is never used in the Premier League or MLS.
Common card myths
- “A red card means the team plays the rest of the season short.” No, only the rest of that match. The player then serves a ban.
- “Yellow cards reset every match.” Within a match, yes. Across a season they accumulate until the competition’s cut-off.
- “The goalkeeper can’t be sent off for handling.” A goalkeeper handling outside the area to stop a clear goal-scoring chance is sent off like anyone else.
- “Kicking the ball away is just gamesmanship.” It is delaying the restart, a cautionable offence.
For the wider context of fouls, free kicks and penalties, read our complete football rules guide.