A is an informal term, used in both gridiron football

Gridiron football

Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...

 and rugby football

Rugby football

Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

 codes, to describe an illegal

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 pass. A forward lateral occurs when any player, who has advanced beyond the line of scrimmage

Line of scrimmage

In American and Canadian football a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun...

(in gridiron) or at any time in rugby, passes the ball forward to another player who is any distance ahead of the passing player. The term "forward lateral" is not found in the official NFL rulebook.