Penalty Signals

The signals shown below are the various Hand and Foot combinations that a Referee uses to indicate the Fouls committed by one or more players on the field.

 

 

Ball Illegally Touched, Batted or Kicked - (Fingertips tap both shoulders)

Chop Block - (Both hands striking side of thighs preceded by personal-foul signal)

Clipping - (One hand striking back of calf preceded by personal-foul signal)

Run the Clock - (Full arm circled to simulate moving clock)

Delay of Game - (Folded arms)

Face Mask -(Grasping face mask with one hand)

False Start, Illegal formation, Kickoff or Safety Kicked out of Bounds - (Forearms rotated over and over in front of body)

First Down - (Arm pointed towards defensive team's goal)

Crowd Noise - (One Arm above head with hand open)

 

4th Down - (One Arm above head with fist closed)

Holding - (Grasping one wrist, the fist clenched, in front of chest)

Illegal Block below the Waist - (One hand striking front of thigh preceded by personal-foul signal)

Illegal Contact - (One open hand extended forward)

Illegal Crackback - (Strike of an open right hand against the right mid-thigh preceded by personal foul signal)

Illegal Cut - (Hand striking front of thigh)

Illegal Forward Pass - (One hand waved behind back followed by loss of down signal)

Illegal Motion - (Horizontal arc with one hand)

Illegal Shift - (Horizontal arcs with two hands)

Illegal Use of the Hands, Arms or Body - (Grasping one wrist, the hand open and facing forward, in front of chest)

Incomplete Pass, Missed Field Goal or Penalty Refuse - (Hands shifted in horizontal plane)

Ineligible Receiver or Member of the Kicking Team Downfield - (Right hand touching top of cap)

Intentional Grounding - (Parallel arms waved in a diagonal plane across body. Followed by loss of down signal)

Interlocking Interference, Pushing or Helping Runner - (Pushing movement of hands to front with arms downward)

Invalid Fair Catch - (One hand waved above head)

Loss of Down - (Both hands held behind head)

Major Face Mask - (One wrist striking the other above head followed by grasping face mask)

Offside, Encroachment or Neutral Zone Infraction - (Hands on hips)

Pass Interference - (Hands open and extended forward from shoulders with hands vertical)

Pass Juggled Inbounds, Caught Out of Bounds - (Hands up and down in front of chest following incomplete pass signal)

Personal Foul - (One wrist striking the other above head)

Player Ejected from the Game - (Move the hand up and down with the thumb pointing up)

Reset Clock to 25 seconds - (Pump one arm vertically)

Reset Clock to 40 seconds - (Pump two arms vertically)

Roughing the Kicker - (One wrist striking the other above head followed by swinging leg)

Roughing the Passer - (One wrist striking the other above head followed by raised arm swinging forward)

Safety - (Palms together above head)

Timeout - (Hands criss-crossed above head)

12 Men in the Huddle or Too Many Players on the Field - (Both hands on top of the head)

Touchdown - (Both arms extended above head)

Illegal Touching of the Forward Pass - (Diagonal motion of one hand across another)

Tripping - (Repeated action of right foot in back of left heel)

Uncatchable Forward Pass - (Palm of right hand held parallel to ground above head and moved back and forth)

Unsportsmanlike Conduct - (Arms outstretched, Palms down)