What Does a Red Card Mean in Soccer? How Sending-Offs Change the Game
Learn about the rules and consequences of the red card in soccer. See why players get sent off, how it affects betting odds, and how you can make money from it.
What does a red card mean in soccer? The answer? You’re out of the match.
This can happen for various reasons: from receiving two yellow cards in the same match to using excessive force against the opposing team.
You can even get a red for headbutting the opposition player as Zinedine Zidane famously did in the 2006 World Cup final.
Key Takeaways
- A red card means you’re out. Once shown, the player must leave the field with no replacement, leaving their team a player down for the rest of the match.
- Not all reds are equal. From two yellows to violent conduct or denying a clear goal, each offence carries its own suspension: sometimes just one match, sometimes much, much longer.
- For bettors, it’s a game-changer. Red cards can flip match momentum and betting odds fast. On sites like Gamdom, those moments can turn chaos into profit.
When a player gets red-carded, they’re instantly sent off, but what does it mean for their team? It means they’re one man down for the rest of the game.
It’s a huge disadvantage for the team, but a big advantage for bettors. Keep reading as we’ll now show you how to make the most of it. We’ll also look into the history of red cards, how the rule works in today’s game, and what the future might bring.
Red card rule in a nutshell
Let’s start with the basics of the red card in soccer, and why a sending off can completely shift the flow of a match.
With that in mind, here’s a quick rundown of how red cards work in soccer:
Player receives a red card, gets sent off
When a player receives a red card, they must leave the field immediately. They’re not even allowed to sit on the bench. Instead, the offending player needs to exit straight to the changing room.
Not everyone’s keen to do it, though. It sometimes happens that the red-carded player refuses to leave the field. But there are consequences for such actions: this is an offence punishable with extended suspensions.
Back in 1998, Paolo Di Canio received a red card for which he’d probably just get a one-game suspension. But he decided not to leave the pitch straight away, arguing and even pushing the referee so hard that he fell backwards.
The result? Instead of a one-match ban, the Italian received a suspension for 11 subsequent games.
Next game suspension
A player who receives a red card cannot play immediately in the following match. Instead, they're suspended for one or several future games. The suspension length for a red card depends on how serious the offence was.
For two yellow cards, for example, the punishment is usually a one-match suspension. But if it's a more violent conduct, the sentence can affect several future matches. And there’s zero tolerance for more serious offences like disrespecting the game officials.
Aleksandar Mitrović, for example, received a red card for pushing the referee, which was later followed by an 8-game suspension.
No substitution for the offending team
After a player is shown a red card, their team must play with one fewer player. No substitutes are allowed to replace the sent-off player.
This goes even if the player in question is a goalkeeper. Sure, the coach has the option to substitute one of the outfielders for a backup goalie, but only if they haven’t used up all of their substitutions.
If they don’t have any subs left, one of the outfield players will get between the posts. Just think of when Harry Kane allowed a goal from a free kick, by basically slotting the ball with his chest into his own net.
Situations like that usually don’t end well for the team involved, but there are a few cases that prove otherwise.
Cosmin Moti, a defender for Bulgarian side Ludogorets Razgrad, got between the sticks after his goalkeeper got sent off. The match went to penalties, where he scored one and saved two, helping his team qualify for the Champions League for the first time in history.
Game forfeiture rules
If a team receives five red cards in a single match, the game is forfeited. The referee will then reward the opposing team with a 3-0 win (unless the score was already more favourable).
While this happens rarely, it has happened before. In 2018, Vitoria hosted Bahia in the Brazilian top flight with a total of 10 red cards (and another eight yellow cards) brandished by the officials.
While each team did get five red cards, three of Bahia’s players were sitting on the bench at the time. Vitoria, meanwhile, dropped to six players, forcing the referee to blow the whistle 11 minutes early. Bahia were awarded a win, and both clubs faced additional fines afterwards.
When does a player get sent off?
You now know what happens after a player receives a red card. But what happens right before the referee decides to send a player off?
There are seven reasons for that, namely:
- Two yellow cards. The first yellow card serves as a warning. Receiving a second yellow card in the same match (for whatever reason) will get you a red one.
- Serious foul play. Excessive force or a reckless tackle that could seriously injure the opponent is punishable with a red card.
- Violent conduct. Striking, kicking, or any violent act toward another player, coach, or even a fan will result in a red card.
- Abusive language. Using offensive, insulting, or abusive language, as well as offensive gestures, is prohibited. The referee has the right to punish such behaviour with a red card.
- Spitting. Considered one of the worst examples of unsportsmanlike behavior, spitting at an opponent, match officials, or any other person will get you sent off.
- Denying a goal with a handball. Stopping the opposition from scoring through a deliberate handling of the ball will result in a red card and (in some cases) a penalty kick.
- Denying a goal with a foul. If a player commits a foul to deny an obvious goal scoring opportunity, they’ll receive a red card. In the past, it was a yellow card offence, but today, it's a straight red card.
It’s not just players on the pitch who can see red. Match officials can also send off substitutes, managers, and even members of the coaching staff.
Red card in soccer vs. other sports
| Sport | Referee Signal | Offence | Punishment | How it Differs from Red Card in Soccer |
| American Football (NFL) | Yellow penalty flag | Fighting, unsportsmanlike conduct, or severe fouls | Player gets ejected | Team stays at full strength |
| Basketball | Hand gestures | Two technicals, two unsportsmanlike fouls, or one flagrant 2 | Player ejected, another player substitutes | Team loses a player but not a roster spot; play resumes with free throws or possession |
| Rugby | Red card held aloft | Dangerous tackles, fighting, two yellow cards | Player sent off, with no replacement | Similar to soccer for reds, but yellow cards are temporary suspensions (10-minute “sin bins”) |
| Ice Hockey | Hand gestures | Major penalty, fighting, boarding, checking from behind | Player ejected or sent to penalty box (2 to 5 minutes) | Team has one fewer player for only a limited time |
| Cricket | The umpire raises a red card high in one hand | Violent conduct, intimidation, or serious unsportsmanlike behaviour | Player ejected (rare), team continues with fewer players | Immediate ejections are extremely rare (players are usually fined post-match) |
Most sports have ejection or dismissal rules for serious misconduct, but there are some big differences. Some, like soccer, punish the whole team by forcing them to play a man down for the rest of the match. Others punish only the player, allowing a substitute to come in.
Another difference is in the way ejection is announced by the match official. Unlike soccer, where a red card is used, sports like basketball and American football use hand gestures.
Rugby and cricket, on the other hand, use red and yellow cards, which is something they borrowed from soccer.
History of the red card in soccer
Soccer was the first sport in history to introduce the card system. Curious about how it all started? If so, let us take you on a journey through the history of the soccer red card rules.
- 1966: Confusion at the World Cup sparks the idea. In the England vs. Argentina quarter-final, captain Antonio Rattín was sent off, but no one realised. Confusion spread across the pitch and stands, showing FIFA that football needed a clear visual signal.
- 1970: Cards are introduced. Yellow and red cards first appeared at the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. The idea came from English referee Ken Aston, who wanted a simple signal everyone could instantly understand. His inspiration? Traffic lights: yellow = warning, red = stop.
- 1991: Straight red card for professional fouls. FIFA later toughened the rules, allowing referees to show a straight red card for a “professional foul.” In short, deliberately stopping an obvious goal scoring opportunity no longer earns a warning in the form of a yellow card. It means an early trip to the dressing room.
- 1998: Tackling rules toughened. FIFA made it crystal clear: serious foul play, violent conduct, and reckless tackles became straight red offences. The real crackdown began at the 1998 World Cup in France, with England's David Beckham being one of the first players to be shown a red card for such offence.
- 2016: Red cards to subs and staff. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) expanded its card rules, allowing referees to show red and yellow cards not only to players but also to coaches and staff who misbehave in the technical area.
- 2019: VAR (video assistant referee) and red cards. With VAR’s arrival, referees finally got reliable backup on the biggest stage. It soon became standard in major tournaments, helping officials review key incidents and issue reds for fouls that might’ve gone unnoticed in real time.
What’s next for the red card rule? We might see the rise of “sin bins,” which you can think of as something between yellow and red cards.
The IFAB already tested the idea in 2023, experimenting with temporary dismissals for dissent. Instead of a full red, players would serve short timeouts on the sidelines.
Whether it becomes official is still unclear, but as of 2025, a red card still means one thing: you’re off.
Examples of infamous red cards in soccer
Over 400,000 professional matches have been played since the introduction of the red card in soccer more than half a century ago. According to a CIES study across 87 leagues and over 100,000 matches, referees handed out 0.25 red cards per match on average.
What this means is that there have been roughly 100,000 red cards awarded. Most of those aren’t remembered even by the players involved, but some will live in fans’ memories forever.
Zidane headbutting Marco Materazzi
It’s one of the most famous events in soccer history, but not in a good way. This happened in the final of the 2006 World Cup when Zinedine Zidane’s journey ended in chaos.
Marco Materazzi provoked him, and he headbutted the Italian square in the chest. The red card came instantly, leaving France without their leader in the closing moments of extra time.
Les Bleus lost the game on penalties, but the fans did not blame Zizou. On the contrary, polls conducted in the following days showed that 61% of the French had already forgiven him.
Even the French President at the time, Jacques Chirac, called Zidane a man of “heart and conviction.”
Lee Todd’s red card after 2 seconds
Lee Todd holds one of football’s quickest and funniest red cards ever. It took him just two seconds to get an expulsion from a Sunday League match in 2000.
The story goes that the referee blew the whistle to start the game, and Todd, startled by the loud sound, shouted, “F*** me, that was loud!” The ref didn’t hesitate and sent him off on the spot.
Eric Cantona’s kung-fu kick
Fun fact: Eric Cantona did not get a red card for kung-fu kicking a fan. Instead, the incident occurred after the referee sent him off for a serious foul play. While leaving for the dressing room, the Manchester United star heard insults from the stands and decided to react.
His reaction? Launching himself feet-first into the heckling fan. For this, not only did he receive a lengthy suspension, but he also had to do community service.
Andre Marriner’s red for the wrong Gunner
Arsenal probably wouldn’t have been hammered 6-0 by Chelsea if Kieran Gibbs hadn’t been red-carded in the 15th minute of the match. Sure, they were already 2-0 down, but after he got sent off, they conceded another four to their London rivals.
Did the Gunners blame their left-back? Nope. They blamed their winger, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. They blamed the referee, Andre Marriner, even more. And rightfully so.
It was AOC who handled the ball to stop Chelsea’s Eden Hazard from scoring: an offense punishable by a red card.
But the match official thought it was Gibbs who had jumped in the air to deny the goal with his hand. Although Chamberlain admitted the guilt, the referee stood by his initial decision.
This example shows that referees do make mistakes, sometimes big ones. An even more bizarre example is when Graham Poll failed to notice he had already given two yellow cards to Croatia’s Josip Šimunić at the 2006 World Cup. It was his third yellow that finally got him sent off.
Luis Suárez: hero or a cheat?
Uruguay faced Ghana in the quarter-final of the 2010 World Cup. It was 1-1 late in the extra time when the Black Stars had a clear opportunity to score, but Luis Suárez got involved.
He was there in his own penalty area, ready to stop his team from conceding by any means necessary, even those that break the competition rules.
Had Suárez played fairly, his team wouldn’t have lost. But he didn't. Instead, he handled the ball on the goal line to stop Ghana’s last-minute winner.
He was sent off, and a penalty kick was awarded to the opposing team. However, Asamoah Gyan missed the shot, and the match went to penalties, where La Celeste won. Ghana fans still call it robbery; Uruguayans call it sacrifice.
Ronald Araújo’s red causes Barça’s Champions League collapse
Barcelona were slight favorites ahead of their 2024 UEFA Champions League clash with PSG, but when Raphina scored in the 12th minute, their live odds shortened massively.
They seemed in control of the match and were chasing another goal, but then a red card happened. Ronald Araújo tripped an opposition player, forcing the referee to send him off.
What followed next was a real disaster for Barça: they conceded four goals by the end of the 90 minutes.
Whoever bet against them live made some nice cash. Speaking of soccer betting, did you know you can bet on red cards at Gamdom?
What does a red card mean in soccer betting?
The red card in soccer betting is one of the most entertaining ways to spice up a football match. It can be surprisingly profitable, too.
Odds on a red card in soccer are usually above 2.00, making every risky tackle a potential payout.
At Gamdom, you can pick from several red card betting markets, including the following.
- Sending Off: You can bet that a player will get sent off. It can be any player from either team.
- (Team) Sending Off: Narrow down your options and get better odds by betting that a player from one team will get red-carded.
- 1st Half Sending Off: With this bet, you get the money if the referee sends a player off within the first 45 minutes.
- 1st Half (Team) Sending Off: You can bet that a player from a certain team will get sent off during the first half.
Other markets include total bookings, which count red cards as well. How it works is that you bet on whether the total number of bookings (yellow cards + red cards) will be over or under a specific number.
Let’s say you bet on over 4.5 cards; you’ll win if the referee shows five or more cards of either colour (e.g., four yellow cards and one red).
Start betting on red cards now!
Red cards bring chaos, emotion, and an opportunity for bettors to make some money. Whether it’s a last-man foul or a moment of madness, the risk is always high and the rewards even higher.
With Gamdom’s red card betting markets, you can turn those heated moments into winning ones. So next time the referee reaches for his pocket, you’ll know exactly what that could mean: not just for the match, but for your bets as well.
