Section 411.13. Fouls, duties of the referee, and deduction of points

A. The following are considered fouls:

1. Head butts.

2. Punches to the back of the head.

3. Striking to the spine area.

4. Slapping (striking with the lace side of the glove).

5. Spitting.

6. Biting.

7. Holding the opponent's head or arm and hitting, unless permitted by this chapter.

8. Knee strikes unless permitted by this chapter.

9. Strikes to the knees.

10. Elbow and forearm strikes unless permitted by this chapter.

11. Palm heel strikes.

12. Joint attacks.

13. Take downs, throwing or grappling unless permitted by this chapter.

14. Clubbing.

15. Strikes to the groin area.

16. Spinning sweeps (boot to boot sweeps are allowed as long as the user does not spin).

17. Karate chopping style strikes.

18. Striking the opponent while he has slipped or fallen to one knee or more.

19. Using abusive language.

20. Attacking on the break.

21. Striking after the bell that had indicated the end of the round.

22. Pushing or shoving unless permitted by this chapter.

23. Grabbing or holding onto an opponents leg, foot, or any other part of the body unless permitted by this chapter.

24. Spinning forearm or elbow. A spinning backhand is allowed. It must strike with the legal striking area of the glove. This portion is limited to the tapeline at the wrist to the end of the glove. It does not include either side of the glove or wrist.

B. Referees are responsible for enforcing the rules of the contest and shall not permit fouls or other unfair practices that may cause an injury to a contestant. Referees shall warn contestants who commit fouls during the contest.

C. If a contestant commits a foul in the ring, the referee shall have the discretion to determine the following:

1. Give the contestant who has fouled a warning.

2. Deduct one to three points from the contestant who committed the foul. The number of points to be deducted shall be determined by the referee based on his determination of the severity of the foul and its adverse effect on the opponent and shall be reported to the judges and both contestants as soon as practical. The points shall be deducted from the score of the round in which the fouls were committed.

3. Disqualify the contestant who committed the foul.

D. Any contestant who commits a foul after being warned by the referee may have points deducted by the referee or may lose the contest by disqualification by the referee.

E. The referee shall stop the contest when he determines that a foul has occurred and determine whether the fouled contestant is able to continue. The referee may order the contest suspended for a reasonable period of time to allow the fouled contestant to recover if the referee determines the contestant's chance of winning has not been seriously jeopardized.

F. The referee shall inform the event inspector or his designee of any accidental foul. The referee shall stop a contest when it is determined that an injury resulting from an accidental foul is so severe as to adversely affect the fouled contestant's chances of winning. Except as provided in subsection H of this section, the contest shall be a draw if the accidental foul occurs during the first four rounds of a bout scheduled for more than four rounds or before the half-way point of a bout scheduled for four rounds or less. The contest shall be determined by a tabulation of the scores of the completed rounds if after the fourth round of a bout scheduled for more than four rounds or after the middle of a bout scheduled for four rounds or less.

G. The referee shall stop a contest when it is determined that an injury resulting from an accidental foul has been aggravated by fair blows. The outcome of the contest shall be determined by scoring the completed rounds.

H. If the contestant who committed the foul knocks out or causes injury to his opponent and the opponent is unable to continue the bout, the referee will stop the bout. The judges' score cards will be totaled and the decision of the bout will be announced. If the foul is committed in the first round and the fouled contestant cannot continue, the contestant who fouled will be automatically disqualified.

I. If a contestant is injured from a foul and the bout continues but is later stopped in any round after the first round because of additional injury to the fouled area, the judges' score cards will be totaled. If the contestant who committed the foul is ahead on the score cards the bout will end in a technical draw. If the contestant who was fouled is ahead, he will be awarded a technical win.

J. If a contestant becomes injured by something other than a foul or legal strike and the injury occurs in the first round, the bout shall be stopped and declared a no contest. If the injury occurs in the second round or beyond the judges will be asked to score the portion of the round. All judges score cards will be collected and tallied. If the injured contestant is ahead on the score cards he will be awarded a technical draw. If the noninjured contestant is ahead on the score cards he will be awarded a technical knockout (TKO).

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 23, Issue 24, eff. September 5, 2007.

Statutory Authority

§ 54.1-831 of the Code of Virginia and 15 USC § 6301 et seq.