What is a red card in football?

A straight red card punishes offences that go beyond the normal limits of the game: serious foul play that endangers an opponent, violent conduct away from a challenge for the ball, spitting at or biting anyone, denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by a foul or by handling the ball, and offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures.

Separately, a player who commits a second cautionable offence in the same match is shown the yellow first and then the red, and is sent off. Dismissals are not limited to the eleven on the pitch: substitutes and members of the technical staff can also be shown a red card.

The dismissed player must leave the field of play and its surroundings, and the team plays the remainder of the match short-handed, with no replacement allowed. If the goalkeeper is sent off, a substitute keeper may come on, but only if an outfield player is withdrawn to make room.

The suspension that follows differs from competition to competition. A red card rules the player out of at least the next match, and disciplinary panels can extend the ban for grave offences such as violent conduct. A red card built from two yellows usually carries a lighter sanction than a straight red; the exact lengths are defined in each competition's own regulations.

Both roads end in a sending off, but their nature differs. A straight red is the verdict on one offence severe enough to end a player's match on its own. A second-yellow red is an accumulation: two separate offences, each worth only a caution, adding up to a dismissal, with the referee showing yellow and then red.

VAR draws a hard line between the two: the video assistant referee may review straight red card incidents, but a second yellow card is not reviewable. A wrong second yellow therefore cannot be undone during the match, while a wrong straight red can be corrected after a review. Withdrawing a booked player before a second caution arrives remains a classic piece of risk management by coaches.