Different sports have different rules which are used by referees to keep the overzealous players in check. A majority of these sports have very similar systems in place, and such systems are more preferably called 'in-game penalties' as they can are made available to the referees to use in the middle of any match.
What are in-game penalties?
In order to allow players to perform in a game in a fair manner, the referee can call fouls. The penalty for a foul can vary depending on the type and severity of the foul.
Football
Football was the first sport to introduce cards to indicate the referee's decisions. The first major use of the cards was in the 1970 FIFA World Cup. In football, there are two levels of fouls — Yellow card and Red card. In case any player is found to be involved in misconduct during a game, the player will result in either receive a caution — with a yellow card — or be dismissed from the field of play with a red card. Such instances in a football match are called a booking.
Once a player has been dismissed with a red card, he cannot be replaced. This also means that the team will be required to play the remainder of the game with one player less.
Another way that a player can be dismissed is if he receives two yellow cards. The referee has discretion in this respect. Meaning he can choose when to show a player the card, although sometimes they refrain from bookings early in a match. Unless the offence is a major one, most minor offences are reprimanded with a caution. Multiple cautions are penalized with a yellow card, which might increase the chances of a player receiving a red card as well.
When a player is penalized for a foul, he might or might not be carded. But in every foul, a free kick is awarded to the player. If the foul is committed inside the penalty box, the opponent team is given a spot kick (free kick from six yards with only a goalkeeper to save the ball).
The only instance when a free-kick is not given is when there is an offside involved. Offside is when a player is in front of the opponent's defensive line, and the football is with his teammate, who is behind the defensive line, then it is considered a foul.
In such a situation if there is a foul worthy of a card then referees can brandish one, even if a free kick is not given.
Badminton
The sport of badminton also has cards that can be shown by a referee to a player. In Badminton, a yellow card is given to a singles player or a doubles pair which will act as a warning for breaching the Laws of Badminton. A yellow card can only be given once to a player or pair in a match, subsequent breaches are sanctioned with a red or black card.
A yellow card is issued by an umpire when a player breaches the official Badminton World Federation (BWF) laws and acts as a warning for misconduct. The Umpire can call the offending player and announces their name loudly while saying, ‘Warning for misconduct’. At the same time, the umpire raises his/her right hand holding a yellow card above their head.
Instances when a yellow card can be given to a player/team:
1. Throwing their badminton racket
2. Distractions
3. Leaving the court without permission
4. Unnecessary Delay
5. When a player deliberately modifies or damages the shuttle to change its speed or its flight
6. Coaching from off the court
7. When a player behaves in an offensive or inappropriate manner
8. Mobile Phone
There are also red and black cards in badminton. A red card is given when a player/team accumulates two yellow cards. In such a situation, the umpire calls the name of the player out loud and follows it up by saying, ‘Fault for misconduct‘. The umpire then raises his right hand with a red card and calls the referee.
When a player/team receives a red card, the opponents gain a point. Furthermore, the players/teams are given a heavy fine.
What does a Black card mean in Badminton?
When a player continues to breach the laws after even the red card, the Umpire calls in the referee with a view to disqualification. If the referee agrees to disqualify the offending player, a black card is given to the Umpire by the referee.
The Umpire will call out the name of the player followed by ‘Disqualified for misconduct‘ and will raise his/her right hand holding the black card. When a player receives a black card, the player gets disqualified for the entire championship/tournament.
Field hockey
Yellow cards in field hockey are a temporary suspension of a minimum of five minutes. The length of the suspension is determined by the umpire. Players can also receive two yellow cards for different offences during the same match; however, the period of suspension should be significantly longer with each yellow card.
When an offence for a yellow card is repeated, the yellow card must not be used again and a more severe penalty is touted to be awarded. There must also be a clear difference between the duration of a yellow card suspension for a minor offence and the duration for a major offence. The yellow card can be shown to a specific player or to the captain for misconduct by the entire team. In this case, the captain is temporarily suspended.
A red card in field hockey results in a player being permanently suspended from the game. The player cannot take part in the game and cannot also be substituted, much like in football. Unlike other penalty cards in field hockey, the red card is never given to the captain for team misconduct. In addition to their colour, red cards in field hockey are often circular in shape.
Basketball
Depending on the situation, penalties in basketball are different. Non-shooting fouls generally cause the team to lose possession. Shooting fouls result in free throws. If the basket was made when the player was fouled, then the basket counts and one free throw is awarded. If the basket wasn't made, then either two free throws or three (if the player was attempting a three-point shot when fouled) are awarded.
Below is a list of the major fouls in Basketball:
Fouling Out
Team Fouls
Technical Foul
Flagrant Foul
Cricket
The idea of cards have not yet been inculcated in the sport of cricket. But there are still different ways that players are still penalized.
Slow overrate penalties
If the fielding team is unable to finish the match in the stipulated time, then an additional fielder will have to be placed inside the 30-yard circle. This means that instead of five, only four fielders will be able to field outside the circle.
Five run penalty
If a player of the fielding team commits an intentional wrongful act during the bowler's run-up, then five runs will be given as a penalty to the batting team.
No-balls and wide balls
No-balls in cricket can be given in three ways. Position of feet: the bowler bowls without some part of the front foot behind the popping crease; Unfair / dangerous bowling: If the ball does not touch the ground in its flight between the wickets and reaches the batter on the full (this delivery is called a beamer) over waist height; and Illegal action by a fielder.
In wide balls, In cricket, a wide is a type of illegal delivery to a batter (the other type being a no-ball) that is judged by the umpire to be too wide or (in international cricket) too high to be hit by the batsman by means of a normal cricket shot. It is also a type of extra, being the run awarded to the batting team as a consequence of such an illegal delivery.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is a clear difference between different sports and their in-game penalties. Most sports have at least one available card in between matches for referees to implement on their players. Here is a list of these penalties:
Football: Red card and yellow card
Hockey: Yellow and red card
Badminton: Yellow, red and black card
Basketball: No cards but Fouling Out, Team Fouls, Technical Foul, Flagrant Foul
Cricket: No cards but technical penalties, like no-balls and wides, slow overrate and the like.
