Reference
Misconduct codes, all three sets.
The abbreviation you write on the report depends on who receives it. These are the caution and send-off codes for US Soccer, for the IFAB wording used internationally, and for the England FA.
A misconduct code is a short abbreviation that says which Law 12 offence a card was for. The offences are the same everywhere — the Laws of the Game are one set — but each federation has its own shorthand for the match report. Write the code your competition uses, then describe what you saw in one or two plain sentences.
US Soccer (USSF)
What a referee affiliated to US Soccer writes on a match report in the United States.
Cautions (yellow card)
| Code | Offence |
|---|---|
UB | Unsporting behavior |
DT | Dissent by word or action |
PI | Persistent offenses |
DR | Delaying the restart of play |
FRD | Failure to respect the required distance |
ERL | Entering, re-entering or deliberately leaving the field |
Send-offs (red card)
| Code | Offence |
|---|---|
SFP | Serious foul play |
VC | Violent conduct |
S | Spitting at an opponent or any other person |
DGH | Denying a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity by handling |
DGF | Denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity by a foul |
AL | Offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures |
2CT | Receiving a second caution in the same match |
IFAB wording (FIFA)
The Laws of the Game's own descriptions, used where a competition doesn't prescribe its own abbreviations.
Cautions (yellow card)
| Code | Offence |
|---|---|
UB | Unsporting behaviour |
DT | Dissent by word or action |
PI | Persistent infringement |
DR | Delaying the restart of play |
FRD | Failure to respect the required distance |
E | Entering or re-entering the field of play without permission |
L | Leaving the field of play without permission |
Send-offs (red card)
| Code | Offence |
|---|---|
SFP | Serious foul play |
VC | Violent conduct |
S | Spitting at someone |
DOGSO-H | Denying a goal by deliberate handball |
DOGSO-F | Denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity by a foul |
OFFINABUS | Offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures |
2CT | Receiving a second caution in the same match |
The FA (England)
The C and S codes English referees submit through the Whole Game System.
Cautions (yellow card)
| Code | Offence |
|---|---|
C1 | Unsporting behaviour |
C2 | Dissent by word or action |
C3 | Persistent infringement of the Laws of the Game |
C4 | Delaying the restart of play |
C5 | Failure to respect the required distance at a restart |
C6 | Entering or re-entering the field of play without permission |
C7 | Deliberately leaving the field of play without permission |
Send-offs (red card)
| Code | Offence |
|---|---|
S1 | Serious foul play |
S2 | Violent conduct |
S3 | Spitting at an opponent or any other person |
S4 | Denying the opposing team a goal by deliberately handling the ball |
S5 | Denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity by an offence |
S6 | Offensive, insulting or abusive language or gestures |
S7 | Receiving a second caution in the same match |
A second caution is both cards
When a player who is already cautioned commits a second cautionable offence, they are cautioned again and then sent off. The report needs both: the two cautions with their own codes and minutes, and the send-off under the second-caution code — 2CT for US Soccer and the IFAB wording, S7 for the FA. A second caution is not a straight red, and writing it as one loses the record of what actually happened.
Team officials get cards too
Since the 2019/20 Laws, cards are shown to team officials as well as players — the coach, the assistant, the physio, anyone in the technical area. If the offender can't be identified, the senior coach in the technical area receives the card. Record the role rather than a shirt number, because there isn't one.
Writing the report
For every card, a report that nobody has to come back to you about has four things:
- The minute, including stoppage time, written the way you'd say it: 45+2'.
- The team and the player's number, or the official's role.
- The code, exactly as your federation lists it.
- What you saw, factually. Describe the action, not the player's character.
Reviewed against Laws of the Game 2026/27Codes and their wording change between editions and between federations, and your league may require its own form. The official text is published by The IFAB (Law 12), and US referees should follow the current instructions from US Soccer and their state association. Halfline is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them. Last reviewed.