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.
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Ball Illegally Touched, Batted or Kicked - (Fingertips tap both shoulders) |
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Chop Block - (Both hands striking side of thighs preceded by personal-foul signal) |
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Clipping - (One hand striking back of calf preceded by personal-foul signal) |
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Run the Clock - (Full arm circled to simulate moving clock) |
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Delay of Game - (Folded arms) |
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Face Mask -(Grasping face mask with one hand) |
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False Start, Illegal formation, Kickoff or Safety Kicked out of Bounds - (Forearms rotated over and over in front of body) |
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First Down - (Arm pointed towards defensive team's goal) |
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Crowd Noise - (One Arm above head with hand open)
4th Down - (One Arm above head with fist closed) |
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Holding - (Grasping one wrist, the fist clenched, in front of chest) |
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Illegal Block below the Waist - (One hand striking front of thigh preceded by personal-foul signal) |
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Illegal Contact - (One open hand extended forward) |
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Illegal Crackback - (Strike of an open right hand against the right mid-thigh preceded by personal foul signal) |
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Illegal Cut - (Hand striking front of thigh) |
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Illegal Forward Pass - (One hand waved behind back followed by loss of down signal) |
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Illegal Motion - (Horizontal arc with one hand) |
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Illegal Shift - (Horizontal arcs with two hands) |
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Illegal Use of the Hands, Arms or Body - (Grasping one wrist, the hand open and facing forward, in front of chest) |
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Incomplete Pass, Missed Field Goal or Penalty Refuse - (Hands shifted in horizontal plane) |
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Ineligible Receiver or Member of the Kicking Team Downfield - (Right hand touching top of cap) |
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Intentional Grounding - (Parallel arms waved in a diagonal plane across body. Followed by loss of down signal) |
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Interlocking Interference, Pushing or Helping Runner - (Pushing movement of hands to front with arms downward) |
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Invalid Fair Catch - (One hand waved above head) |
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Loss of Down - (Both hands held behind head) |
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Major Face Mask - (One wrist striking the other above head followed by grasping face mask) |
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Offside, Encroachment or Neutral Zone Infraction - (Hands on hips) |
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Pass Interference - (Hands open and extended forward from shoulders with hands vertical) |
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Pass Juggled Inbounds, Caught Out of Bounds - (Hands up and down in front of chest following incomplete pass signal) |
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Personal Foul - (One wrist striking the other above head) |
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Player Ejected from the Game - (Move the hand up and down with the thumb pointing up) |
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Reset Clock to 25 seconds - (Pump one arm vertically) |
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Reset Clock to 40 seconds - (Pump two arms vertically) |
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Roughing the Kicker - (One wrist striking the other above head followed by swinging leg) |
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Roughing the Passer - (One wrist striking the other above head followed by raised arm swinging forward) |
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Safety - (Palms together above head) |
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Timeout - (Hands criss-crossed above head) |
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12 Men in the Huddle or Too Many Players on the Field - (Both hands on top of the head) |
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Touchdown - (Both arms extended above head) |
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Illegal Touching of the Forward Pass - (Diagonal motion of one hand across another) |
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Tripping - (Repeated action of right foot in back of left heel) |
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Uncatchable Forward Pass - (Palm of right hand held parallel to ground above head and moved back and forth) |
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Unsportsmanlike Conduct - (Arms outstretched, Palms down) |








































