🟨 Yellow Card — Caution
The referee shows a yellow card to warn a player for an infraction that is not serious enough to send them off but deserves a formal sanction. Common reasons: tactical foul, moderate rough play, time-wasting, protesting the referee, or celebrating by removing the shirt. A yellow card does not remove the player from the match. But if the same player receives a second yellow card in the same match, they automatically receive a red card and are sent off.
🟥 Red Card — Sending Off
A red card means immediate expulsion: the player must leave the field and their team plays the rest of the match with one fewer player. A red card can come in two ways: from two accumulated yellow cards in the same match, or directly for a very serious offense — such as a studs-up tackle, physical aggression, or denying an obvious goal with the hand. The expelled player also serves a suspension in the team's next tournament match.
📌 At the World Cup, accumulating two yellow cards across different matches can also generate a one-match suspension. The caution system resets at the semifinals.
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