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Two identical rectangles that differ only in colour, and in everything that follows.
Yellow cautions and the player continues; red dismisses and the team plays a player short with no substitute allowed. Two yellows in one match produce a red. Nothing is written on either card — colour is the entire message, which is why they work across every language in the stadium.
Colour is the entire distinction. Yellow is a caution and the player continues; red is a dismissal and the team plays on a player short.
Drawn from the visual attributes recorded for each symbol. Only traits the two records disagree about are listed.
| Trait | Yellow card | Red card |
|---|---|---|
| Colour | yellow | red |
| Yellow card | Red card | |
|---|---|---|
| What it means | The player is cautioned | The player is sent off |
| Player continues? | Yes | No |
| Team replaced? | Not applicable | No — the team plays one short |
| Cumulative effect | A second in the same match becomes a red | Immediate |
| Introduced | 1970 World Cup | 1970 World Cup |
| Anything written on it? | No | No |
| Relationship (from Symbolwise's records) | Commonly confused with Red card — Colour is the entire distinction. Yellow is a caution and the player continues; red is a dismissal and the team plays on a player short. | Commonly confused with Yellow card — Identical but for colour. Yellow cautions, red dismisses, and two yellows in a match produce a red. |
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) · retrieved 2026-08-02
The Laws that govern association football worldwide, revised annually. Authoritative for what a referee's signal means and when it must be given. Signals used in other codes of football are governed elsewhere and are not covered by it.
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-02
Tertiary reference. Cited for how a mark is written and read in ordinary practice, and for conventions no governing body issues. Never cited for a claim that a rule says something — the rulebooks below carry those.
Both arms sweeping forward means play continues and no kick is coming. One arm straight up means a kick is coming and cannot score directly. Confusing them changes whether players expect a stoppage.
The plain black flag excludes the competitor: their race is over. The black flag with an orange disc reports a mechanical problem that endangers others and sends the driver to the pits to have it fixed, after which they may rejoin. Both are shown with a number board, both are black, and confusing them costs a competitor a race they could have finished.
A cross means all ten pins fell to the first ball; a forward slash means it took two. The cross carries two deliveries of bonus and the slash only one, which is why three strikes are needed for a frame to reach thirty.
The exclamation mark praises a move, the question mark criticises it. Neither is defined by FIDE: unlike the rest of chess notation these are publishing convention, and two annotators may disagree about the same move.