Ruleside
Careless, reckless or excessive force?

What card did that challenge deserve?

Mark what you can see in the clip. The reading names the card as you go, shows why, and shows what would change it.

This panel describes a challenge made with the foot, a kick, a tackle or a trip, wherever on the opponent it lands. It does not describe a push, a charge, a strike or a head-butt; walk those on the foul ladder alone.

Law 12 defines careless, reckless and excessive force, and prints no list of signs for any of them. Every observation on this page, and the way each one leans, is Ruleside's reading. Only the definitions are the Law, and they are quoted in full. A reading is not a verdict, and careless against reckless never reads as clear here.

What did you see?

Tap what the clip shows. Anything you leave blank counts as not seen, not as absent.

How the player arrived

Speed into the challenge
Feet and balance
Body weight

The contact

What made the contact
The highest point it reached on the opponent
The opponent's leg, where the contact was on a leg

The ball

Could the ball be won
Ball or opponent first
After the ball

The thresholds, as Law 12 defines them

This is the only law on the page, and it is quoted in full.

Safety endangered, or excessive force

A foul, and a sending-off

The definition

Walk a foul from the start for the restart and the card, including the questions this page does not ask: where it happened, and whether it denied a goal or stopped an attack.

The rule in plain words is on the foul page, and every clause is in Law 12.