What is illegal touching in football?

Illegal touching in football (American football) refers to instances where a player makes contact with an opponent in a manner that violates the rules. It's a broad category encompassing various infractions, with penalties varying depending on the severity and intent. Here's a breakdown:

Types of Illegal Touching:

• Roughing the Passer: This is a significant infraction penalizing excessive or unnecessary contact with the quarterback after he's thrown the ball. The key is the unnecessary nature of the hit; a clean, legal tackle is allowed, but hitting a defenseless quarterback too hard, late, or in a dangerous manner is a penalty. Specific elements considered are the force of the hit, the quarterback's vulnerability, and whether the hit occurs after the pass leaves the quarterback's hand.

• Illegal Use of Hands/Arms: Defensive players cannot grab, hold, or impede offensive players with their hands or arms excessively. This applies to offensive linemen engaging with defensive linemen as well as defensive players tackling receivers. While some hand-fighting is expected, blatant holding or unnecessary grabbing is penalized.

• Clipping: This refers to hitting a player from behind below the waist, targeting their legs, and usually involving a low block. It's particularly dangerous and heavily penalized.

• Targeting: This is a major penalty aiming to protect players from dangerous hits to the head and neck area. Targeting involves launching into a player, using the crown of the helmet, or making unnecessary contact to the head or neck area. It often results in ejection from the game, in addition to yardage penalties.

• Late Hits: Contact with a player after they are already out of bounds or have completed a play (and are no longer involved in the action) is considered a late hit and is illegal.

Penalties:

Penalties for illegal touching vary by the infraction and often include:

• Yardage penalties: Usually 5-15 yards, but can be more for egregious violations like targeting.
• Automatic first down: Often awarded to the offensive team for certain infractions, especially those that substantially impact the play.
• Ejection from the game: Targeting penalties often result in ejection.

Determining Legality:

Determining whether a touch is legal or illegal depends heavily on context, the specific actions of the player, and the referee's judgment. Replays are often used to review questionable calls. The rules surrounding what constitutes legal and illegal contact are complex and require a detailed understanding of the rulebook.