Soccer players Nathan Broekhuizen and Myles Witteborg shared their opinions on the ins and outs of red cards and what impact they have on a high school team.

“The refs describe [a red card] as a very reckless or dangerous play,” Broekhuizen said. 

First, to understand a red card, you have to understand what a yellow card is. 

To Broekhuizen it means “a less intense tackle so it’s not as dangerous to the players but is still a dumb challenge.”

Most often, two of these challenges result in a red card, but in rare instances, a straight red can be given.  

The biggest challenge that Witteborg faced after the red card was the embarrassment of letting his teammates down. As a captain, he meant to be a leader and show the rest of the team how to handle hard situations.

“It made me feel stupid afterward just knowing that I let my teammates down,” Witteborg said. 

The punishment for a red card is quite simple. The player must leave the field and sit out the rest of the game and their team cannot replace them. In Witteborg’s experience, the player must then miss the next game and complete a course on how to better manage their anger and show good sportsmanship. 

Although Broekhuizen said he thought the punishment system was fair, Witteborg, while also acknowledging its fairness, said he believed that the one-game suspension was harsh.

A red card can also heavily affect the morale of the team because “if it is somebody who is an important part of the team, it can be rough to see them go off and know that they won’t be able to play,” Witteborg said. “Also playing with a man down is just gonna make it harder for everyone else because of more running.” 

Both Broekhuizen and Witteborg said they thought that a red card could make a huge impact on the rest of the game. 

“A red card can affect the outcome of a game because once you get a red card, you’re off the field for the rest of the game,” Broekhuizen said. “You can’t come back in, nobody can come in your place and your team is stuck with 10 players on the field.” 

“For one, your team has to play a man down for the rest of the game, so if you’re in a close game, it can be really rough for your team to continue,” Witteborg said. “then, having to sit out another [player] can be detrimental to your team as well.”

In summary, a red card is a serious offense that results in a one-game suspension and requires the completion of a course based on maintaining a good sportsmanship attitude.