Fair catch catch is called a "mark"; see mark (rugby) and mark (Australian football) for more information (however in Australian Rules Football the player is not protected from the opposition team while attempting a mark). Fair catches featured in some extinct forms of football, and they have been abolished in other modern codes. In Rugby league the defensive player attempting to catch the ball cannot be tackled whilst in the air, though the attacking players can contest the ball by attempting to catch it themselves. A player who successfully catches the ball is able to be tackled only once they have landed
Fair catch forms of football descended from certain English school football games of the 19th century have had a fair catch. It was abolished early in the development of soccer, then in the middle of the 20th century by Canadian football, and slightly later by rugby league. Forms of football retaining a form of fair catch (also called "mark") include American (outdoor), rugby union, and Australian rules. The American-invented intramural games speedball and speed-a-way have some of the flavor of the original fair catch, which was to allow handling of the ball in games where handling was otherwise forbidden. Australian rules, speedball,