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Football (Soccer) vocabulary · Rules, Fouls & Match Time

Foul

Meaning in football (soccer), with examples

/faʊl/nounCore term

In football (soccer), foul means: An unfair or illegal action against an opponent, such as tripping, pushing or holding, for which the referee gives a free kick or a penalty.

In Turkish: faul

How it is used

Players commit a foul; the other team wins or gets a foul. A tactical foul stops a counter-attack on purpose, and a player who keeps fouling can be booked for persistent fouling. Foul is also a verb: "He was fouled."

Example sentences

  1. That was a clear foul; he took the player, not the ball.

  2. We committed too many fouls near our own box.

Common collocations

  • commit a foul
  • win a foul
  • tactical foul
  • foul throw
  • persistent fouling
  • free kickA kick awarded after a foul or another offence by the opponents, taken from where the offence happened while opponents stand at least 9.15 metres (10 yards) away.
  • penaltyA shot at goal from the penalty spot, 11 metres (12 yards) from the goal line, given when a defender commits a direct free-kick offence inside their own penalty area.
  • yellow cardA card the referee shows to caution a player for offences such as reckless tackles, time-wasting or dissent; a second one in the same match means a red card.
  • tackleAn attempt to take the ball away from an opponent with your feet. A fair tackle wins the ball; a mistimed or reckless one is a foul.
  • advantageThe referee's decision to let play continue after a foul because stopping it would hurt the team that was fouled.

More terms: Rules, Fouls & Match Time

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