Professional foul Football League, recommended in 1982 that any offence that denies the attacking player an obvious scoring opportunity should be deemed "serious foul play" by English referees and would therefore receive a red card, in order to deter offenders. The subcommittee produced several suggestions, including making the professional foul a mandatory red card offence, which they submitted to the IFAB for consideration. All the suggestions were defeated. The rule was finally fixed into the Laws of the Game by IFAB in 1990 and referees were instructed by FIFA for the 1990 World Cup to send off players for a professional foul.
Professional foul player or use their hand. The offence is popularly but inaccurately referred to as the "last man" foul, leading to the incorrect belief that if a defender is the last member of the defending side and in a position to stop an attacking player with an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and he does so, he should automatically be sent off. This so-called "last man" is typically the defender in front of the goalkeeper but it can be the goalkeeper. However, the terminology "last man" has never been included in the Laws of the Game. Under the Laws of the Game, what