What does a yellow card mean?
A yellow card means the referee has cautioned the player and suspended them for ten minutes of playing time. Play restarts with a penalty. The player waits in the sin bin, a set place outside the playing area, and the team plays a player short while they are there. When the ten minutes are over, the player can come back on.
If the same player commits another yellow-card offence later in the match, they are sent off. In sevens and tens, a yellow card lasts two minutes instead of ten.
What does a red card mean?
A red card means the player is sent off. They take no further part in the match and cannot come back on. Under the standard law, a player who is sent off may not be replaced, so the team plays a player short for the rest of the game. After the match, the referee sends the match organiser a written report on the foul play.
The 20-minute red card in elite rugby
Elite rugby has a different rule. Law 9.30 says that in elite rugby only, a player sent off for an intentional and highly dangerous act cannot be replaced. A player sent off for any other act may be replaced after 20 minutes of playing time, counted from the incident. The player who was sent off still cannot return. World Rugby ran this as a global law trial first, and it is now full law for elite rugby.
The law defines elite rugby as a professional level of rugby, and each union or competition decides which of its matches count. Outside elite rugby the standard rule applies. World Rugby's notice making it full law tells anyone already in the middle of a competition to check implementation dates with their union.
In elite matches you may see the referee show a yellow card and then cross their arms above their head. That signal sends the incident to an off-field review while the player serves the ten minutes. The reviewing official has up to eight minutes to watch the footage, then advises the referee to keep the yellow card or upgrade it to a 20-minute red card. They cannot recommend a permanent red card. The referee gives that on the field. When there is no off-field review, a red card shown with crossed arms is a 20-minute red card, and a red card without that signal is permanent.
Yellow and red cards at a glance
| Card | What happens to the player | What happens to the team |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow card | Off for ten minutes of playing time, then returns | Plays a player short until the player returns |
| Yellow card in sevens or tens | Off for two minutes, then returns | Plays a player short for those two minutes |
| Red card under the standard law | Takes no further part in the match | Cannot replace the player and plays a player short for the rest of the match |
| 20-minute red card in elite rugby | Takes no further part in the match | Can bring on a replacement after 20 minutes of playing time |
| Permanent red card in elite rugby | Takes no further part in the match, for an intentional and highly dangerous act | Cannot replace the player |
| Second yellow card in elite rugby | Sent off with a 20-minute red card, unless the second act is intentional and highly dangerous | Can bring on a replacement after 20 minutes of playing time |
What earns a card?
Cards are for foul play. The law groups foul play into obstruction, unfair play, repeated infringements, dangerous play and misconduct. Law 9 says a player who commits foul play must be cautioned, shown a yellow card, or sent off. For most foul play the sanction written in the law is a penalty, and the referee decides whether a card goes with it. A few laws fix the card outcome.
| Situation | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Foul play stops a probable try | The referee awards a penalty try, and the player responsible must be shown a yellow card or sent off (Law 8.3) |
| Different players on one team keep repeating the same offence | The referee gives the team a general caution. If the team repeats the offence, the referee shows a yellow card to the player or players responsible (Law 9.10) |
| A player commits a second yellow-card offence | The player is sent off (Law 9.29) |
| Reckless or dangerous play | The referee can always show a yellow or red card (Law 9.11) |
| Foul play that makes contact with the head or neck, such as a high tackle or a shoulder charge | World Rugby's Head Contact Process guides the referee. Low danger means a penalty or a yellow card, high danger means a red card, and mitigation can lower the sanction |
Common confusions
- An accidental knock forward gives a scrum, not a card. Knocking the ball forward on purpose is a penalty offence, and intentionally breaking any law is foul play, so a card is possible.
- When a front-row player is shown a yellow card and the team cannot keep contesting scrums, the team picks another player to leave the field so a replacement front-row player can come on. That player may not come back until the ten minutes are over, except as a replacement.
- A red card is final for the player. Even under the elite rule, the replacement is a different player.
What happens after a red card?
The referee's written report goes to the match organiser, and the case then goes through a disciplinary process. World Rugby's disciplinary regulation gives a player who is sent off the right to be heard by independent adjudicators, and a player who is suspended cannot play in any match at any level until the suspension ends. Unions and competitions run that process for their own matches, so ask your club or union how it works where you play.