Sanctions against foul play at the 2006 FIFA World Cup are in the first instance the responsibility of the referee, but when he deems it necessary to give a caution, or dismiss a player, FIFA keeps a record and may enforce a suspension.[1] Referee decisions are generally seen as final. However FIFA's Technical Study Group may additionally penalise players for offences unpunished by the referee.
[edit] Red cards
A player receiving a red card is automatically suspended for the next match. FIFA does not allow for appeals of red cards except in the case of mistaken identity. If a player is sent off during his team's final World Cup match, the suspension carries over to his team's next competitive international. For example, should a player from a European team be sent off during the Round of 16 match which his team goes on to lose, then he will miss his team's first Euro 2008 qualifying match.
During the match between Portugal and the Netherlands on June 25, four red cards and 16 yellow cards were produced. The number of reds set an all-time record for a World Cup match, and the number of yellows tied a record previously set in the Germany-Cameroon match in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.[2]
[edit] Yellow cards
Any player receiving two cumulative yellow cards during the three group stage matches or during the knockout stage matches is suspended for the next match. A single yellow card does not carry over from the group stage to the knockout stages. Should the player pick up his second yellow during the team's final group match he will miss the Round of 16 if his team qualified for it. However, suspensions due to yellow cards do not carry beyond the World Cup finals.
[edit] Additional punishment
For serious transgressions, a longer suspension may be handed down at the discretion of a FIFA disciplinary committee. The disciplinary committee is also charged with reviewing any incidents that were missed by the officials and can award administrative red cards and suspensions accordingly. However, just as appeals of red cards are not considered, the disciplinary committee is also not allowed to review transgressions that were already punished by the referee with something less than a red card. For example, if a player is booked but not sent off for a dangerous tackle, the disciplinary committee cannot subsequently deem the challenge to be violent conduct and then upgrade the card to a red. However, if the same player then spits at the opponent but is still not sent off, then the referee's report would be unlikely to mention this automatic red card offence. Video evidence of the spitting incident could then be independently reviewed.
As a rule, only automatic red card offenses are considered for longer bans. A player who gets sent off for picking up two yellow cards in the same match will not have his automatic one-match ban extended by FIFA on account of what he did to get the second booking, because the referee has not deemed him to have committed an automatic red card offense.
If FIFA suspends a player after his team's elimination from the tournament, or for more games than the team ends up playing without him prior to the final and/or their elimination, then the remaining suspension must be served during the team's next competitive internationals. For a particularly grave offence (such as João Pinto's punching a referee in the 2002 FIFA World Cup), FIFA has the power to impose a lengthy ban against the offender.
[edit] Tables
Cautions and sendings off are as reported on the official FIFA website for the tournament.[3]
Note: The "Suspensions" category refers to the match in which the player mentioned will serve his suspension.
[edit] By referee
[edit] By team
[edit] By individual
[edit] Additional discipline
| Name | Team | Suspension imposed | Fine imposed |
| Daniele De Rossi |  Italy | 4 match ban
Missed last group stage match, R16 match, QF match and SF match[6] | CHF 10,000 |
| Pablo Mastroeni |  United States | 3 match ban
Missed last group stage match, will also miss first two matches of 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup[6] | CHF 7,500 |
| Arjen Robben |  Netherlands | Not banned
Fined for diving during a match. | CHF 5,000 |
| Torsten Frings |  Germany | 1 match ban and 6 month probation where a 2nd match can be added
Missed SF match[7] | CHF 5,000 |
| Leandro Cufré |  Argentina | 4 match ban
Misses four Copa América 2007 matches.[8] | CHF 10,000 |
| Maxi Rodríguez | Argentina | 2 match ban
Misses two Copa América 2007 matches.[8] | CHF 5,000 |
| Wayne Rooney |  England | 2 match ban
Misses first two matches of Euro 2008 qualifying[9] | CHF 5,000 |
| Zinedine Zidane |  France | 3 match ban
Will do three days of community service with children on FIFA's behalf instead of his suspension in light of his retirement from football. [10] | CHF 7,500 |
| Marco Materazzi | Italy | 2 match ban
Misses Italy's first two Euro 2008 qualifying match(es).[10] | CHF 5,000 |
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ "FIFA Disciplinary Code" (PDF format). 2007. http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/administration/fifa_dc_en_34118.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ^ "Portugal 1–0 Holland", BBC, 25 June, 2006.
- ^ FIFA World Cup - Tournament - Match Schedule
- ^ a b c Josip Šimunić erroneously received three yellow cards (61', 90', 93+') from referee Graham Poll in the Croatia match against Australia before being sent off, but FIFA changed the report to include only two of the bookings.
- ^ a b Zidane earned a 3-match ban for his red card in the headbutt incident in final match. As he plans to retire after the 2006 World Cup, Zidane has agreed to perform three days of community service in FIFA's name as pennance for his red card, in lieu of suspension. In addition, he will be fined CHF 7500 by FIFA.
- ^ a b "Italy's De Rossi gets 4-game ban", CBC, 23 June, 2006
- ^ "Torsten Frings suspended for FIFA World Cup semi-final", FIFA Media Information, 3 July, 2006
- ^ a b "FIFA hands Rooney two-match ban", Reuters, 8 July, 2006
- ^ "Rooney gets two-match ban; Cufre out for four", Associated Press, 8 July, 2006
- ^ a b "Zidane banned and fined for Materazzi headbutt", ESPNsoccernet, 20 July, 2006
| |
| 2006 FIFA World Cup finalists | | | Champions | | | | Runners-up | | | | Third place | | | | Fourth place | | | | Eliminated in quarter-finals | | | | Eliminated in round of 16 | | | | Eliminated in group stage | | |
