In sports, a foul is an inappropriate or unfair act by a player as deemed by a referee

Referee

A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...

. A foul may be intentional or accidental, and often results in a penalty.

Individual sports may have different types of fouls. For example, in basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, a personal foul involves illegal personal contact with an opponent. A technical foul

Technical foul

In basketball, a technical foul is any infraction of the rules penalized as a foul which does not involve physical contact during the course of play between players on the court, or is a foul by a non-player. The most common technical foul is for unsportsmanlike conduct...

 refers to unsportsmanlike non-contact behavior, a more serious infraction than a personal foul. A flagrant foul

Flagrant foul

A flagrant foul is a serious contact foul involving unnecessary, excessive, or intentional contact in sport. There is a specific National Basketball Association foul termed a flagrant foul.-NBA flagrant fouls:...

 involves unsportsmanlike contact behavior, considered the most serious foul and often resulting in ejection from the game.

In association football, a foul

Foul (football)

A foul in association football is an unfair act by a player which is deemed by the referee to contravene Law 12 of the Laws of the Game.For an act to be a foul it must:...

 is an unfair act by a player as deemed by the referee. In association football or rugby

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:...

, a professional foul

Professional foul

In sports, a professional foul is a deliberate act of foul play, usually to prevent an opponent's scoring.-Association football:The concept gained notoriety in association football after an infamous incident in the 1980 FA Cup Final when Willie Young of Arsenal committed a deliberate foul on Paul...

 is a deliberate act of foul play, usually to prevent an opponent scoring.

Kinjite

Kinjite

Kinjite are various fouls that a sumo wrestler might commit that will cause him to lose the bout. They are:* Striking the opponent with a closed fist.* Grabbing the opponent’s hair....

 are various fouls that a sumo

Sumo

is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...

 wrestler might commit that will cause him to lose the bout.

Facial is a term used in some contact sports to refer to a foul that involves one player hitting another in the face.

See also

• Sportsmanship
  Sportsmanship
  Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors...
  
  
• Violence in sports
  Violence in sports
  Violence in sports refers to physical acts committed in contact sports such as American football, ice hockey, rugby football, soccer, boxing, mixed martial arts, wrestling, and water polo beyond the normal levels of contact expected while playing the sport...
  
  
• Foul (nautical)
  Foul (nautical)
  Foul is a nautical term meaning to entangle or entwine, and more generally that something is wrong or difficult. The term dates back to usage with wind-driven sailing ships.-Fouled anchor:...
  
  , in nautical terms, to entangle
• Foul ball
  Foul ball
  In baseball, a foul ball is a batted ball that:* Settles on foul territory between home and first base or between home and third base, or* Bounds past first or third base on or over foul territory, or...
  
  , in baseball, a batted ball that lands in foul territory