Section 7: Violations & Penalties
7.1 Penalty Card System
The FIE uses a structured card system to penalize infractions. Cards accumulate within a single bout and carry over across bouts in a team match:
- Yellow Card: A formal warning with no immediate scoring consequence. Only one yellow card may be issued per bout — subsequent Group 1 offenses receive a red card.
- Red Card: A penalty touch is awarded to the opponent. Red cards are issued for repeat Group 1 offenses or immediately for Group 2 offenses.
- Black Card: Immediate expulsion from the competition and, in severe cases, exclusion from the remainder of the tournament. Black cards are reserved for the most serious infractions (Groups 3 and 4).
7.2 Offense Groups
- Group 1 (Yellow → Red on repeat): Covering valid target with the non-weapon hand or arm; turning one's back to the opponent during a phrase; jostling or displacing the opponent by physical contact; leaving the piste without permission; delaying the bout (adjusting equipment without cause); weapon or equipment on the piste at the start; failing to present for equipment check.
- Group 2 (Immediate Red Card): Deliberate brutal body contact (corps à corps with violence); deliberate use of the non-weapon arm or hand to block a touch; deliberate hit with the guard; removing mask before the referee calls “Halt”; refusal to obey the referee; leaving the piste to avoid a touch.
- Group 3 (Immediate Black Card): Disturbing order on the piste; acting in a manner that brings the sport into disrepute; unsportsmanlike conduct of a serious nature (insulting opponent, referee, or spectators); collusion or match-fixing; unauthorized modification of equipment to gain unfair advantage.
- Group 4 (Black Card + Referral): Anti-doping violations; deliberate fraud regarding identity, nationality, or eligibility; physical violence against officials. Group 4 offenses are referred to the FIE Disciplinary Commission for further sanctions including potential multi-year bans.
7.3 Non-Combativity (Passivity)
The FIE actively discourages passive fencing. The non-combativity rule is applied when both fencers refuse to engage for approximately one minute of effective fencing time:
- The referee issues P-cards (passivity cards) to both fencers as a warning.
- If passivity continues after the P-card, the referee halts the bout and conducts a priority draw (coin toss). The winner of the draw is designated as having priority.
- One minute of fencing time is then set. If a touch is scored, that fencer wins the touch. If no touch is scored, the fencer with priority is awarded the touch.
- This process repeats for each subsequent touch if non-combativity continues, forcing fencers to engage or risk losing by default.
7.4 Video Replay Challenges
At FIE-level competitions, each fencer is entitled to appeal a referee's decision by requesting video review. Each fencer receives two unsuccessful appeals per bout. If the video referee overturns the original call, the appeal is not counted against the fencer's allocation. Video review may address: materiality of a touch (did it land?), priority analysis (who had right of way?), timing of the action relative to “Halt,” and whether a fencer crossed the boundary of the piste.