red card

red card — noun

IPA/ˌred ˈkɑːd/
IPA/ˌred ˈkɑːrd/

1. In football and some other team sports, a small red-coloured card that a referee

1.nounB1
Definition

In football and some other team sports, a small red-coloured card that a referee holds up to tell a player they have committed a very serious offence and must leave the game immediately.

Example

Referee Kenji showed a red card to defender Hao after a dangerous tackle.

Camille was shown a red card for arguing with the referee.

passive: was shown a red card for [reason]

Common collocations
  • show a red card
  • give a red card
  • get a red card
  • receive a red card
  • pull out a red card
  • a straight red card
  • a second yellow card leading to a red card
Synonyms
  • sending-off

    Common British term for the punishment itself, not the physical card

  • ejection

    Used more broadly in American sports; less specific to the red-card system

Antonyms
  • yellow card

    A warning for a less serious offence; the player stays on the field

Grammar Patterns

get/show/give/receive + a red card

Usage Note

Common verb partners include 'get,' 'give,' 'show,' and 'receive.' The passive form ('was shown a red card') is very frequent in news reports about matches. In informal British English, people often say 'sent off' instead of 'shown a red card.'

Common Mistakes

The player got a yellow card for a dangerous tackle from behind.
The player got a red card for a dangerous tackle from behind.
A red card is for serious rule violations that force the player to leave; a yellow card is a warning for less serious offences.
In basketball, the referee gave him a red card for fouling.
Red cards are used in football, rugby, and field hockey
not in basketball.' — Each sport has its own penalty system.

red card — verb

IPA/ˌredˈkɑːd/
IPA/ˌredˈkɑːrd/

Word family

  • red-card
    verbB1
  • red-carded
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A 'red card' is the most specific term — it refers to the actual coloured card the referee shows to signal a player must leave the game for a serious offence. A 'yellow card' is a less severe warning; two yellow cards in one match add up to a red card. 'Sending-off' is a common British English phrase for the punishment itself ('He got a sending-off'), focusing on the action of leaving the field rather than the physical card. 'Ejection' is a broader term used across many American sports for any forced removal from a game. Example: 'The defender received a red card for a dangerous tackle, while the striker only got a yellow card for time-wasting. The sending-off left the team with ten players for the final thirty minutes.'

red card ↗yellow cardsending-offejection ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • straight red card
  • second yellow card

Prepositions

  • for (an offence)
  • in (a match/competition)

Etymology

English

The term comes directly from the red-coloured card that referees hold up. The coloured-card system was invented by English football referee Ken Aston in 1966 after a famously confusing match during the World Cup. Aston was inspired by traffic lights: yellow means caution, red means stop. The system was first used in the 1970 World Cup and later adopted by many other sports.