FIFA World Cup 2006

[Laney]

umm, can someone please explain to me what does a Yellow Card mean? no i don't play sport so i have no idea. and last night during the france vs switzerland game they had yellow cards flying everywhere. i assume once you get too many something happens...but i honestly don't know...???

[Mythor]

There are many things one can be given a yellow card for but probably the most common is "unsportsmanlike behaviour" which is generally things like slide tackles where the player has deliberately struck the legs of an opponent rather than playing at the ball. It can also be things like deliberately ramming into someone (I think) and some other dirty plays.
Another fairly common one is for "dissent", which is usually given for abusing the ref after a penalty goes against you. It's usually not given immediately or for minor once-off abuses, it tends to be more continued or particularly vile backchat.

Occasionally one will be given for post-goal celebrations. I'm not sure if any have been given for that in the Cup so far, though I thought Aloisi might have got one after he scored the third for Australia, not sure.
You can also get one for waving your hand at the ref suggesting someone should have just been carded. I saw someone get one for that the other night.

One yellow card generally means nothing. Usually when a yellow card is given the other team has been given a penalty kick for it anyway. If it's a particularly nasty foul that brought about the card, there may be post-game ramifications.
It also doesn't matter how many yellow cards the team gets as a whole - not like in basketball where 5 team fouls means free throws for the rest of the quarter (or whatever the rule is).

If a second yellow card is given to the same player though, that means the second yellow is immediately followed by a RED card. Red card means the player is sent off and can take no further part in the game, nor can he be replaced by another player - his team is reduced to 10 men for the rest of the match. If the goalkeeper is somehow the one to get two yellows or an instant red (rare, but it happens) then the team can choose to put one of the other players on the field in the goalie position - they must tell the ref who it is as only the goalie may handle the ball - or they can immediately replace one of the 10 men with a reserve goalie. Most teams have two goalies on the team, more in case one is injured though.
It is possible, though rare, for a player to be given an immediate red card, rather than going through two yellows to get the red, but it is generally only for the most disgusting and blatant fouls.

Not every game has yellow/red cards, soccer is probably the main one. A lot of other games like rugby league/union rely more on verbal "Don't do it again!" style warnings. The yellow/red style is a bit more dramatic but is really no different to the standard systems in other games - it all comes down to what the ref lets the players get away with.

[sooty]

so with the cards, do they carry on for the whole series?
Like we know some of the Aussie kids got carded, does that mean if they get carded again in the Brazil game they get sent off, it becomes a red card?
Or do cards only last the duration of a match?

[Mythor]

Sorry, left that bit out - there are some leagues where if you accumulate a certain number of cards within a certain number of matches you end up suspended for a certain period of time.
As far as I know, this is not true of the World Cup. Yellow and Red Cards only count for the current match and no further.
Any suspensions or disqualifications or what have you that result from the actions that led to the carding may be another matter, though. I can't imagine FIFA would be overeager to suspend anyone during the Cup, unless it is a really bad offense.

Are you planning on tipping sooty? Because you've still yet to enter any tips for any of the games!

[Laney]

thanks Myth for clearing that up.

Considering the cards aren't carried through each game, but are rather for each game alone, they don't seem too serious, and the whole 'OMG They got a yellow card!" done by the commentators does seem a bit overly dramatic.

[Mythor]

Well, see, if they already have one yellow card it means they need to be a lot more careful from then on. And they definitely can't deliberately foul someone as a last means of defense because that will probably get them sent off.
If you don't have a card yet you can afford to go in hard for tackles or throw yourself at someone or whatever.

Also, depending on the game, there could have been a lot of card-worthy penalties up till that point and the ref had been lenient till then. It can sometimes come as a surprise when teams seem to have been getting away with a lot and suddenly the ref goes for the card.

[Alisso]

Actually, in the World Cup, yellow cards are held over, at least for a little while.

I don't know the exact details, but there was some talk of making the yellow carded players sit out the Brazillian match, so they wouldn't get red carded and suspended from the Croatia match. But apparently not. I don't think the players would have been thrilled if they were told they couldn't play Brazil in the world cup *g* Win or lose, that's a hell of a game to be part of.

http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/200606/s1662229.htm

[Mythor]

Dangit.
They can't sit out, we need them to try and pull a win out, or at least hold them to a draw.

[Alisso]

Originally Posted by Mythor

Dangit.
They can't sit out, we need them to try and pull a win out, or at least hold them to a draw.

I think the people suggesting it were following the "everyone will lose to Brazil" theory, so they figured it wouldn't matter if we didn't beat Brazil, as long as we could beat Croatia solidly.

But the assistant coach, Graham Arnold, said they probably wouldn't sit them out. He called sitting players out a "luxury" they don't have. I think he's right, the odds of beating Brazil aren't great, but sitting on good players against them is a weak strategy.

[katrant]

It said in the paper here that the yellow cards last until the first 3 rounds, once it gets to the finals, they start fresh.

[susanjacobs]

Thank you for the really information filled post. That is more than I ever wanted to know about yellow cards, but I think some stuck.

Originally Posted by Mythor

It also doesn't matter how many yellow cards the team gets as a whole - not like in basketball where 5 team fouls means free throws for the rest of the quarter (or whatever the rule is).

I don't know much about soccer, but I had a period in time when I was a Boston Celtics fan. Yeah, I know... it was a phase.

Anyway, if any one player get 5 fouls in basketball, that player is out of the game. He is replaced by another player so that there are always 5 per side on the court.

I don't remember about free throws though. I think the person who was fouled can take one or two. Dangit, I don't remember...

But we were talking soccer, I am no longer first, and I am glad. That was too much pressure. Now I can have some fun with the tipping.

[katrant]

How timely is this, there's an explanation of how the cards work for the world cup in today's paper:

Yellow cards: Awarded for minor offences such as shirt pulling, repeated fouling and dissent. In effect, a warning to the player to be on his best behaviour for the rest of the match. If a player gets a second yellow card in the same match he is automatically sent off as two yellow cards equal a red card.

Red cards: Awarded for serious offenses such as violent play and preventing a goal by using hands. A player can be sent off for these offenses even if he has not previously been shown a yellow card.

Suspensions: Any player sent off, whether for a straight red card or two yellow cards, is automatically suspended for the next match. A player shown yellow cards in two different matches during the tournament is automatically suspended for one game.

Wiping the slate: After the group matches, cards are wiped out for all players sitting on one yellow so they start the knockout phase with clean sheets. A player who gets a second yellow card on the final group must serve the suspension before his record is wiped clean.

[unfrufru]

ronaldo is in doubt to play against australia.

[sooty]

*gaspshockawe* really? cos of aforementioned card troubles? or health reasons? will it impact?

[Mythor]

He's "sick". Or "was sick". Doctors say there's nothing wrong though.
Sounds like a bunch of excuses for why he hasn't been playing well.

We should be more concerned with whether Kaka and Ronaldhino will be playing. Especially the chimp Ronaldhino, who is the biggest diving bitch ever to play the game. With Australia's reputation as "dirty" players, it could be a problem.