A red card removes more than one player.

What foul play covers

Foul play is broader than one dramatic tackle. It includes obstruction, unfair play, repeated infringements, dangerous play, and misconduct. The referee can penalise the offence and, when the action is serious enough, add a yellow or red card.

In practical terms, foul play covers actions such as dangerous tackles, late contact, playing an opponent in the air, striking, tripping, stamping, verbal or physical abuse, retaliation, cynical offences, and repeated team infringements after a warning.

When red is available

A red card is used when the referee decides the player must be sent off rather than temporarily suspended. That can happen for serious dangerous play, violent conduct, abuse, clear serious misconduct, or a second yellow-card offence in the same match.

The exact line between penalty, yellow, and red depends on the incident. Officials look at danger, force, contact point, player control, body position, whether there is mitigation, and whether the action was reckless, deliberate, or highly dangerous.

What happens after red

The red-carded player leaves the playing area and cannot return. The match restarts according to the offence, usually with a penalty to the non-offending team. The player may also face post-match discipline if the competition has a citing or disciplinary process.

World Rugby law says a sent-off player may not be replaced, with elite-rugby replacement protocols applying only where the competition has adopted them. In a normal short sevens match, viewers should assume the player is gone for the match and the team plays short unless the tournament rules clearly say otherwise.

Second yellow becomes a sending off

A yellow card in sevens sends the player to the sin bin for two minutes. If that same player later commits another yellow-card offence, the player must be sent off. The second offence does not have to be a straight-red offence on its own.

This matters because sevens creates repeated high-speed decisions. A player who has already been binned is at greater risk if they commit another cynical penalty, dangerous tackle, or repeated-infringement offence later in the match.

Why foul play changes the match so quickly

With only seven defenders, one missing player creates immediate space. A red card can force the defending team to narrow up, leave edges exposed, and use more energy covering overlaps. Even a two-minute yellow can include several possessions, so a permanent sending off is often decisive.

That does not mean every hard collision is red. Rugby is a contact sport. Officials separate legal physicality from illegal danger by looking at the mechanics of the contact and the risk created for the opponent.

Head contact and tackle danger

Dangerous tackling is one of the most debated foul-play areas. Officials assess whether there was head contact or contact above the relevant sanction line, whether the tackler had a realistic chance to adjust, and whether the ball-carrier or another player caused meaningful mitigation.

A low degree of danger may reduce the sanction. High danger, forceful head contact, a shoulder charge, a leading elbow or forearm, or a lift that drives an opponent toward the head or upper body can move the decision toward red.

Not every red card is a tackle

Foul play can happen away from the ball or after the whistle. Striking, stamping, tripping, physical abuse, verbal abuse of officials, retaliation, deliberately interfering with an opponent when the ball is dead, or conduct against good sportsmanship can all bring serious sanctions.

Repeated infringements can also create card pressure. If a team keeps committing the same offence after a general warning, the next offender can be shown yellow. If that player already has a yellow, the result can be a red card for accumulation.

Where viewers get caught

• "Sevens red cards work differently from rugby union": the foul-play law is the same unless a sevens variation changes the detail. The key sevens change is the two-minute yellow-card period.
• "A red always means the player meant it": no. Reckless or highly dangerous actions can be red even without intent to injure.
• "Two yellows prove both offences were serious foul play": no. The second yellow sends the player off because of accumulation.
• "A hard tackle is automatically foul play": no. Officials look at legality, height, force, timing, wrapping, and player safety.
• "A substitute can just replace the red-carded player": not under ordinary red-card logic. Any replacement exception must come from the active competition protocol.

How officials sort the decision

1. Identify the offence: obstruction, unfair play, repeated infringement, dangerous play, or misconduct.
2. Decide whether a penalty alone is enough or whether a card is required.
3. For dangerous contact, assess danger, body position, force, head or neck risk, and any clear mitigation.
4. Check whether the player already has a yellow card or whether the team has been warned for repeated offences.
5. Use the available match-official process, such as assistant referees or video review, only where the competition provides it.
6. Apply the sanction: penalty, yellow card, second-yellow red card, or straight red card.

Source material

• World Rugby Law 9: Foul play
• World Rugby Sevens variation: Law 9 Foul play
• World Rugby Head Contact Process
• World Rugby 20-minute red-card replacement guideline