Yellow vs red card: caution, dismissal and the score
Understand disciplinary cards without confusing a sending-off with a goal or match result.
A card is a disciplinary decision
IFAB Law 12 says a yellow card communicates a caution and a red card communicates a sending-off. They are not points on the scoreboard. A hypothetical 0-0 match remains 0-0 merely because a player is cautioned.
Cards can be shown to players, substitutes, substituted players and team officials. A card icon next to the bench does not automatically mean a player currently on the field has left it. Read who received the sanction.
Two cautions and a direct red differ
Two separate cautionable offences require two cautions even if they occur close together. Receiving a second caution in the same match is a sending-off offence. A direct red is another disciplinary route, not proof that two yellow cards happened first.
The reason matters. Reckless play and excessive force are not interchangeable Law descriptions, and the sanction depends on the offence. Do not invent the reason for a card from a score provider's icon alone.
The match can continue
A sending-off is not by itself the final result. The remaining play and the competition's rules still matter. A dismissed on-field player cannot simply be replaced as if it were an ordinary tactical substitution.
ScoreZaap separates the score, match status and event stream. Use all three before sharing a result. A delayed card after advantage can appear after the original incident, so its timestamp need not be the moment the foul happened.