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
Comparison of American football and rugby union American football this is known as a lateral and is much less common than in rugby union. However designed laterals (often known as pitches) which take place behind the line of scrimmage are quite common in American football and are often a way that a ball is transferred from the quarterback to a running back on sweep plays or to a wide receiver on speed sweeps or a reverse. In both codes, if the ball is caught by an opposition player this results in an interception and possession changes hands. In both games it is permitted to bring down the