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Football (Soccer) vocabulary · Referees, VAR & Discipline

Red card

Meaning in football (soccer), with examples

/ˌred ˈkɑːrd/nounCore term

In football (soccer), red card means: A card the referee shows to send a player off for a serious offence, such as violent conduct or denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity; the team then plays with one player fewer.

In Turkish: kırmızı kart

How it is used

A straight red card is shown directly; a second yellow card also leads to a red. The player is sent off and usually misses the next match or more. Commentators say a team is down to ten men.

Example sentences

  1. He got a straight red card for a two-footed tackle.

  2. After the red card, we had to defend with ten men for an hour.

Common collocations

  • straight red card
  • show a red card
  • red card offence
  • overturn a red card
  • send offTo order a player to leave the pitch for the rest of the match by showing a red card.
  • 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.
  • suspensionA ban that stops a player from playing in one or more matches, usually after a red card or after collecting too many yellow cards.
  • VARVideo assistant referee: officials who watch replays and advise the referee about clear and obvious errors in key, match-changing situations.

More terms: Referees, VAR & Discipline

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