In football, when a team commits an infraction against the rules of the game a foul will be called and a penalty will be assessed. Penalties can have varying levels of punishment for teams including loss or gain of yardage, automatic 1st downs, or even ejection. Referees will usually signal penalties by throwing a yellow flag and using the corresponding hand motion for the respective penalty. Most penalties are common throughout the sport of football. However, some penalties may be different at varying levels of the game. The following is a list of penalties in football.
These penalties can only be committed by the defense team, the severity of the penalty varies for each. Defensive penalties usually result in the offensive gaining yards or an automatic 1st down.
These penalties can only be committed by the offensive team, the severity of the penalty varies for each. Offensive penalties usually result in a loss of yardage.
These penalties can be committed on either the offensive or defensive side of the ball and many can happen in dead ball situations. The severity of the penalty varies with each.
