Penalty card

A penalty card is used in many sports as a means of warning, reprimanding or penalising a player, coach or team official. Penalty cards are most commonly used by referees or umpires to indicate that a player has committed an offense. The referee will hold the card above his or her head while looking or pointing towards the player that has committed the offense. The colour and/or shape of the card used by the official indicates the type or seriousness of the offence and the level of punishment that is to be applied.

By analogy the term is sometimes used in other areas than sport. For example, the UK Radio Authority speaks of issuing a yellow card to those who break its rules[1].

Contents

History and origin

The idea of using language-neutral coloured cards to communicate a referee's intentions originated with British football referee Ken Aston.[2] Aston had been appointed to the FIFA Referees' Committee and was responsible for all referees at the 1966 FIFA World Cup. In the quarter finals, England met Argentina at Wembley Stadium. After the match, newspaper reports stated that referee Rudolf Kreitlein had cautioned both Bobby and Jack Charlton, as well as sending off Argentinian Antonio Rattin. The referee had not made his decision clear during the game, and England manager Alf Ramsey approached FIFA for post-match clarification. This incident started Aston thinking about ways to make a referee's decisions clearer to both players and spectators. Aston realised that a colour coding scheme based on the same principle as used on traffic lights (yellow - caution, red - stop) would traverse language barriers and clarify whether a player had been cautioned or expelled.[2] As a result, yellow cards to indicate a caution and red cards to indicate an expulsion were used for the first time in the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. The use of penalty cards has since been adopted and expanded by several sporting codes, with each sport adapting the idea to its specific set of rules or laws.

Commonly used penalty cards

Yellow card

A yellow card is used in many different sporting codes. Its meaning differs among sports, however it most commonly indicates a caution given to a player regarding his or her conduct, or indicates a temporary suspension. Examples include:

  1. Unsporting behaviour
  2. Dissent by word or action
  3. Persistently infringing the laws of the game
  4. Delaying the restart of play
  5. Failing to respect the required distance of a corner kick or free kick
  6. Entering or re-entering the field of play without the referee’s permission
  7. Deliberately leaving the field of play without the referee’s permission

In most tournaments, the accumulation of a certain number of yellow cards over several matches results in disqualification of the offending player for a certain number of subsequent matches, the exact number of cards and matches varying by jurisdiction.

Red card

A red card is used in several different sporting codes. Its meaning differs among sports, however it most commonly indicates a serious offence and often results in a player being permanently suspended from the game (commonly known as an ejection, dismissal, expulsion, removal, or sending-off, often with personal embarrassment). Examples include:

  1. Serious foul play (a violent foul)
  2. Violent conduct (any other act of violence)
  3. Spitting at anyone or another player
  4. A deliberate handling offense to deny an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by any player other than a goalkeeper in his own penalty area
  5. Committing an offence that denies an opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (informally known as a professional foul)
  6. Using offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures
  7. Receiving a second caution (yellow card) in one game

In most tournaments, a single direct red card (i.e. not one received as a result of two successive yellow ones) results in disqualification of the offending player for one or more of subsequent matches, the exact number of matches varying by the offence committed and by jurisdiction. Since the red card is the main punitive instrument against unsportsmanlike behavior, recurrent offenders and team captains are often punished more harshly than others.

  • In beach volleyball, where each team is composed of only two players, red cards can still be issued for offenses similar to that of regular volleyball, but instead of ejecting the offending player, the opposing team is usually awarded service and a penalty point.

Other types of penalty cards

Green card

A green card is used in some sports to indicate an official warning to a player who has committed a minor offence that does not warrant a more serious sanction.

White card

A white card is used in bandy to indicate a five minute timed penalty given to a player.[4] The offending player must leave the playing area and wait on a penalty bench near the centre line until the penalty has expired. During the 5 minute period the player may not be replaced, although he or she may be replaced with a different player when the penalty has expired. Offences that can warrant a white card include trying to hinder the opponents from executing a free-stroke, illegal substitution or repeated illegal but non-violent attacks on an opponent.

Blue card

A blue card is used in bandy to indicate a ten minute timed penalty given to a player.[4] The offending player must leave the playing area and wait on a penalty bench near the centre line until the penalty has expired. During the 10 minute period the player may not be replaced, although he or she may be replaced with a different player when the penalty has expired. A blue card is typically shown for offences that are more serious than those warranting a white card including attacking an opponent in a violent or dangerous way, causing advantage by intentionally stopping the ball with a high stick or protesting a referee's decision.

A blue card is also frequently used in indoor soccer in the United States, signifying that the offender must leave the field and stay in a penalty box (usually 2-5 minutes), while his team plays down a man (identical to ice hockey). If a goal is scored by the team opposite of the offender, then the offender may return to the field immediately. It is also used in the Clericus Cup association football league for a 5 minute bench penalty for unsportsmanlike play.

Black card

A black card is used in both fencing and football. It is issued by the director, or the referee for severe rule infractions.[7] In football, a black card will result in a permanent ban, or expulsion from the football club . A second instance of a Group 3 offence, and all Group 4 offences including deliberate brutality, refusal to fence, refusal to salute, and refusal to shake hands can be punished with a black card.[7] When the black card is issued, the offending fencer is excluded from the remainder of the competition and may be suspended from further tournaments. In the official record of the tournament, his or her name is replaced with the words "FENCER EXCLUDED".[14]

In the Gaelic Games of Gaelic football and hurling, a black card - also known as a tick or black book - is recorded against a player for a minor infringement not warranting a yellow card. The act of the referee physically holding up his black notebook in the same manner as a card has been discontinued by the GAA. [15]

See also

References

  1. ^ UK Radio broadcasting authority "The Authority has issued two Yellow Cards..." (unrelated to sport)
  2. ^ a b "Ken Aston - the inventor of yellow and red cards". fifa.com. http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/developing/refereeing/news/newsid=80623.html/. Retrieved June 7, 2008. 
  3. ^ a b c "Laws of the Game". fifa.com. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/lawsofthegame.html/. Retrieved June 6, 2008. 
  4. ^ a b c d "Bandy - Rules of Play". internationalbandy.com. http://www.internationalbandy.com/. Retrieved June 10, 2008. 
  5. ^ a b c "International Canoe Polo - Rules of Play". canoepolonz.org.nz. http://www.canoepolonz.org.nz/default.asp?Page=2996. Retrieved June 12, 2008. 
  6. ^ a b "FEI General Regulations". fei.org. http://www.fei.org/Rules/Documents/GeneralRegulations_22ndedition_effective1June2007.pdf. Retrieved September 17, 2008. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f "FIE Competition Rules". britishfencing.com. http://www.britishfencing.com/governance/rules/fie-rules/. Retrieved Sept. 8, 2010. 
  8. ^ a b c d "Rules of Hockey 2007/8". fihockey.org. http://www.fihockey.org/. Retrieved June 6, 2008. 
  9. ^ a b c "International Handball Federation - Rules of the Game 2005". ihf.info. http://www.ihf.info/. Retrieved June 8, 2008. 
  10. ^ a b What is Olympic Race Walking?
  11. ^ a b "International Rugby Board - Laws of the Game". irb.com. http://www.irb.com/lawregulations/laws/index.html/. Retrieved June 8, 2008. 
  12. ^ a b c d e "FIVB - Official Volleyball Rules 2005". fivb.org. http://www.fivb.org/TheGame/Rules.htm/. Retrieved June 16, 2008. 
  13. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E--jUfo3R6k
  14. ^ "Fencing For Parents". U.S. Fencing - The Official Website of the U.S. Fencing Association. Archived from the original on 2008-06-25. http://web.archive.org/web/20080625054519/http://www.usfencing.org/usfa/content/view/1273/111/. Retrieved 2008-08-14. 
  15. ^ Keys, Colm (May 8, 2009). "GAA throw caution to wind and abandon black books". Irish Independent. http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/gaa-throw-caution-to-wind-and-abandon-black-books-1732523.html.