Sending Off

Sending-Off Offences

A player is sent off and shown the red card if they commit any of the following seven (7) offences:

Serious Foul Play (S1) – A player who makes a challenge which may be malicious or violent and may be designed to hurt or maim an opponent. Points to consider in your report:

	Speed of the challenge
	The part of the body where contact was made
	Whether the player received medical treatment and was able to continue play.

For example, “In the 89th minute of this game, the above-named player was guilty of a high and very late tackle in the vicinity of the opponent’s thigh and in my opinion the speed and nature of the challenge clearly endangered the safety of an opponent. I was only 15 metres away from the incident and I had a clear and uninterrupted view of the offence committed. I dismissed him from the field of play and showed him the red card. The injured player was able to resume play after receiving treatment. I restarted play with a direct free-kick.”

Violent Conduct (S2) – It is violent conduct when a player (or substitute) is guilty of aggression towards an opponent (whether they are contesting for the ball or not) or towards any other person (one of his team-mates, the referee, an assistant referee, a spectator, etc.). The ball can be in or out of play. The aggression can occur either on or off the field of play. Points to consider in your report:

	What type of aggression and a description of the force used; punch, head butt, kick
	The part of the body where contact was made or not made
	Whether the injured player received medical treatment and was able to continue play.

For example, “In the 40th minute of this game, the ball had gone out of play for a goal kick when I saw the above-named player deliberately and violently kick a team-mate on the right leg with her left foot following an exchange of words. At the time of the incident I was about ten metres away and I had a clear and unobstructed view. I sent off the player and showed her the red card. The injured player was unable to resume play after receiving treatment and had to be substituted. I restarted the game with a goal kick.”

Spits at an opponent or any other person (S3) - Points to consider in your report:

	Was contact made to any part of the body?
	Distance the players were apart
	Reaction of the player being spat on (did the player react and what did he do?).

For example, “In the 23rd minute of this game, the above-named player reacted to being tripped by an opponent inside the centre circle by spitting in his opponent’s face. Both players were approximately two yards away from each other. I was about eight metres from both players and I had a clear and uninterrupted view of the incident. The opponent responded by adopting an aggressive attitude towards the opposition player”.

Denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to the goalkeeper within his own penalty area) (S4)

	The key words here are obvious and deliberate and these must be included in your report
	The position where the ball was handled
	Remember, if a goalkeeper handles the ball outside his own penalty area it is not an automatic dismissal. You have to judge whether his actions were deliberate and denied his opponents an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.

For example, “In the 89th minute of this game, the above-named player deliberately handled the ball on her own goal-line and prevented a goal-bound shot from entering the goal, thereby denying an obvious goal to her opponents. I dismissed her from the field of play, showed her the red card and restarted play with a penalty-kick to the opposing team. I was approximately ten metres from the incident and I had a clear and uninterrupted view of the offence committed.”

Denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player’s goal by an offence punishable by a free-kick or a penalty-kick (S5) - Points to consider in your report:

	The direction of play (the player must be moving toward the opponents’ goal, not towards the goal-line or corner)
	The proximity of the ball (could the player have reached it to play it?)
	The location and number of opponents able to participate immediately (one or none between the player and the goal, in addition to the opponent infringing Law 12)
	The location of the foul (farther from goal, the less likely an obvious goal scoring opportunity existed)
	The opportunity for a clear attempt on goal.

For example, “In the 43rd minute of this game, the above-named player deliberately held back an opponent by his shirt just outside the penalty area as he was heading towards goal. There were no other defending players near the incident and a clear goal-scoring opportunity was denied. I stopped play and dismissed him from the field of play, showing him the red card and restarted play with a direct free-kick to the opposing team. I was approximately 15 metres from the incident and I had a clear and uninterrupted view of the offence committed.”

Uses offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures (S6) –

The referee should judge offensive, insulting, or abusive language according to its content (the specific words or actions used), the extent to which the language can be heard by others beyond the immediate vicinity of the player and whether the language is directed at officials, opponents, or team-mates. Points that must be included in your report:

	The actual words that were used or a description of the player’s actions
	The manner in which they were said or carried out

For example, “In the 33rd minute of this game, the above-named player ran aggressively towards me and in a very loud voice, shouted directly at me, “You f****** cheat” after I had awarded a penalty-kick against him. I dismissed him from the field of play and showed him the red card.”

Receives a Second Caution in the same match (S7) – A player who receives a second caution must be shown the yellow card for the second caution and must then be shown the red card for the sending off offence. There is no requirement to submit the first caution on a Multi Caution Match Report Form as the offence is recorded on the Misconduct Report Form. Please note a player at County FA level has the right to challenge one or both cautions at a Personal Hearing. Therefore, full details of both cautions must be submitted. Points that must be included in your report:

Time of the first and second cautions and the description of both offences committed.

For example, “In the 28th minute of this game, the above player tripped an opponent with a late and reckless tackle. I was approximately five metres from the incident and I had a clear and uninterrupted view of the offence committed. I cautioned him for Unsporting Behaviour and showed him the yellow card. Having previously cautioned the above named player in the 28th minute as described above, I dismissed the above named player from the field of play after he committed his second cautionable offence when, in the 73rd minute, he was guilty of a late and reckless tackle on an opponent making no attempt to play the ball himself. I was approximately 15 metres from the incident and I had a clear and uninterrupted view of the offence committed.”

An example of a Sending Off form can be found here: Sending Off