{
  "id": "serious-foul-play",
  "type": "glossary",
  "name": "Serious foul play",
  "summary": "Serious foul play is a tackle or challenge for the ball that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality; it is always a sending-off offence.",
  "locale": "en",
  "tags": [
    "glossary",
    "cards",
    "fouls",
    "laws-of-the-game"
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "rel": "governed_by",
      "target": "law-12-fouls-and-misconduct"
    },
    {
      "rel": "contrast_with",
      "target": "violent-conduct"
    }
  ],
  "questions": [
    "What is serious foul play?",
    "What is the difference between serious foul play and violent conduct?"
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "c1",
      "text": "Serious foul play is a tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality; it must be sanctioned with a sending-off.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-12-2026-27",
        "ifab-glossary-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.96
    },
    {
      "id": "c2",
      "text": "Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, the side or behind, using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangering the opponent's safety, is guilty of serious foul play.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-12-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.95
    },
    {
      "id": "c3",
      "text": "The distinguishing element versus violent conduct is that serious foul play occurs in a challenge for the ball.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-12-2026-27",
        "ifab-glossary-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.95
    }
  ],
  "takeaways": [],
  "faqs": [],
  "evidence_tier": "primary",
  "evidence": {
    "level": "industry_observation",
    "source_types": [
      "industry_observation"
    ]
  },
  "moat_flag": false,
  "winning_edge": "Draws the challenge-for-the-ball boundary with violent conduct explicitly, bound to the 2026/27 Law 12 and glossary wording.",
  "confidence": 0.95,
  "last_verified": "2026-08-08",
  "canonical_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/serious-foul-play",
  "api_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/api/k/serious-foul-play.json",
  "jsonld": {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "name": "Serious foul play",
    "description": "Serious foul play is a tackle or challenge for the ball that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality; it is always a sending-off offence.",
    "url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/serious-foul-play",
    "license": "https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html",
    "dateModified": "2026-08-08",
    "citation": [
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Law 12 — Fouls and Misconduct (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/fouls-and-misconduct/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Glossary — Football Terms (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/glossary/football-terms/"
      }
    ],
    "@type": "DefinedTerm"
  }
}