Rule 12 — Player Conduct
Section 1 — Blocking, Use of Hands and Arms
Article 1 — Legal and Illegal Block
A player of either team may block an opponent at any time, provided that the act is not: pass interference; illegal contact; fair catch interference; clipping; a chop block; an illegal crackback block; an illegal low block; unnecessary roughness; roughing the passer; an illegal cut block; roughing the kicker or holder; offensive or defensive holding; illegal use of hands; an illegal block in the back; tripping; an illegal peel back block; an illegal blindside block; an illegal double team block; or an illegal wedge block.
Article 2 — Legal Block by Offensive Player
An offensive player is permitted to block an opponent by contacting him with his head, shoulders, hands, and/or outer surface of the forearm. A blocker may use his arms, or open or closed hands, to contact an opponent on or outside the opponent's frame.
Article 3 — Illegal Block by Offensive Player
It is a foul if an offensive blocker:
- Thrusts his hands forward above the frame of an opponent to forcibly contact him on the head or neck. — Penalty: For illegal use of hands by the offense: Loss of 10 yards.
- Blocks an opponent from behind in the back above the opponent's waist. — Penalty: For an illegal block in the back: Loss of 10 yards.
- Uses his hands or arms to materially restrict or alter the defender's path. — Penalty: For holding by the offense: Loss of 10 yards.
Article 4 — Assisting the Runner and Interlocking Interference
No offensive player may: (a) pull a runner; (b) use interlocking interference; or (c) push or throw his body against a teammate.
Penalty: For assisting the runner or interlocking interference: Loss of 10 yards.
Article 5 — Legal Use of Hands or Arms by Defense
A defensive player may use his hands, arms, or body when defending against blocking opponents, pursuing a loose ball, during a forward pass touched by any player, or during a kick.
Article 6 — Defensive Holding
It is a foul for defensive holding if a defensive player tackles or holds any opponent other than a runner.
Penalty: For defensive holding: Loss of five yards and an automatic first down.
Article 7 — Illegal Use of Hands by Defense
It is a foul if a defensive player thrusts his hands or arms forward above the frame of an opponent to forcibly contact him on the head or neck.
Penalty: For illegal use of hands by the defense: Loss of five yards and an automatic first down.
Section 2 — Personal Fouls
Article 1 — Clipping
Clipping is blocking an opponent from behind below the waist, and is prohibited against a non-runner.
Penalty: For clipping: Loss of 15 yards.
Article 2 — Peel Back Block
An offensive player cannot initiate contact on the side and below the waist against an opponent if the blocker is moving toward his own end line and approaches the opponent from behind or from the side.
Penalty: For a peel back block: Loss of 15 yards.
Article 4 — Blocking Below the Waist
Blocks below the waist are prohibited: (a) by players of either team after a change of possession; (b) by kicking team players; (c) by receiving team players during a kick; or (d) by players of either team during a scrimmage down unless the contact occurs in the tight end box.
Penalty: For illegally blocking below the waist: Loss of 15 yards.
Article 5 — Chop Block
All chop blocks are illegal. A chop block is a high/low double team block by the offense in which one player blocks a defensive player at the thigh or lower while another engages that same defensive player above the waist.
Penalty: For chop block: Loss of 15 yards.
Article 6 — Crackback Block
It is an illegal crackback block if an offensive player moving toward the position from which the ball was snapped makes prohibited contact (below the waist, or initiating contact against a defenseless posture) within five yards of the line of scrimmage.
Penalty: For an illegal crackback block: Loss of 15 yards.
Article 7 — Blindside Block
It is a foul if a player initiates a block when his path is toward or parallel to his own end line and makes forcible contact with his helmet, forearm, or shoulder.
Penalty: For a blindside block: Loss of 15 yards.
Article 8 — Unnecessary Roughness
There shall be no unnecessary roughness. This shall include, but will not be limited to: leg whipping; forcibly contacting a runner who is out of bounds; running, diving into, or throwing the body against a runner whose forward progress has been stopped; running into a player who is out of the play; pulling an opponent off a pile in an aggressive or forcible manner; and unnecessary contact with a kicker.
Penalty: For unnecessary roughness: Loss of 15 yards. The player may be disqualified if the action is judged flagrant. If the foul is by the defense, it is also an automatic first down.
Article 9 — Players in a Defenseless Posture
It is a foul if a player initiates unnecessary contact against a player who is in a defenseless posture. Players in a defenseless posture include:
- A player in the act of or just after throwing a pass.
- A receiver running a pass route when the defender approaches from the side or behind.
- A player attempting to catch a pass who has not had time to become a runner.
- The intended receiver of a pass during and immediately following an interception.
- A runner already in the grasp of a tackler whose forward progress has been stopped.
- A kickoff or punt returner attempting to field a kick in the air.
- A player on the ground.
- A kicker/punter during the kick or during the return.
- A quarterback at any time after a change of possession.
- A player who receives an illegal blindside block.
Article 10 — Hip-Drop Tackle
It is a foul if a tackler grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms and unweights himself by swiveling and dropping down on the back of the runner's legs at or below the knee.
Penalty: For hip-drop tackle: Loss of 15 yards and automatic first down.
Article 11 — Roughing the Passer
A defender may not make unnecessary contact with a passer who has just released a forward pass. A passer becomes a runner as soon as he hands off or loses possession of the ball by a fumble. A roughing the passer foul also may be called if, after the passer releases the ball, a defender: uses the body weight to land on the passer; attacks the passer's head or neck area with a hand, fist, elbow, or forearm; hits the passer's plant leg(s) at or below the knee; or drives or rolls up on the passer's lower legs.
Penalty: For roughing the passer: Loss of 15 yards and automatic first down. The player may be disqualified if the action is flagrant.
Article 12 — Roughing the Kicker
It is roughing the kicker if a defensive player:
- (a) uses a direct path to contact the kicker's kicking leg while he is still in a kicking position;
- (b) slides into or contacts the kicker at the plant leg when the kicker is still in a kicking position; or
- (c) contacts the kicker's body, other than the kicking leg, before or during the kick and after the kicker's kicking leg has started its kicking motion upward.
Penalty: For roughing the kicker: Loss of 15 yards and automatic first down.
Article 13 — Running Into the Kicker
It is running into the kicker if a defensive player contacts the kicker's kicking leg, other than as described in Article 12.
Penalty: For running into the kicker: Loss of five yards.
Article 14 — Tripping
Tripping is the use of the leg or foot to obstruct an opponent below the knee.
Penalty: For tripping: Loss of 15 yards.
Section 3 — Unsportsmanlike Conduct
Article 1 — Acts of Unsportsmanlike Conduct
There shall be no unsportsmanlike conduct. Acts of unsportsmanlike conduct include but are not limited to:
- (a) Using abusive, threatening, or insulting language or gestures toward an opponent, game official, or representative of the League.
- (b) Using baiting or taunting acts or words that engender ill will between teams.
- (c) Throwing a punch or forearm, or kicking at an opponent whether or not there is contact.
- (d) Concealing the ball under a uniform, padding, or equipment.
- (e) Being guilty of any act contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship.
- (k) Simulated substitutions to confuse opponents.
- (n) Wearing illegal equipment.
- (v) Any attempt to call an excess team timeout or a second timeout during the same dead ball period by Team B to "freeze" a kicker.
Penalty: For unsportsmanlike conduct: Loss of 15 yards. If the conduct is flagrant, the offender may be disqualified.
Article 2 — Ejection and Disqualification
A player may be ejected from the game for multiple reasons, including: a second unsportsmanlike conduct foul; a flagrant personal foul; or fighting.
Article 3 — Fighting
There shall be no fighting during any AFLE game. No player on the field or in the bench area may challenge an opponent to fight or commit any act with the intent to fight.
Penalty: For fighting: Disqualification. A fine may also be levied.
Article 4 — Palpably Unfair Act
No player shall commit any act which is palpably unfair. The Referee, after consulting with the crew, shall make such ruling as he considers equitable.
Section 4 — Taunting
Taunting includes any act of celebrating or demonstrating with the ball, or any acts by players of either team to engender ill will. Taunting is a dead ball foul and a live ball foul can be called on the same play.
Penalty: For taunting: Loss of 15 yards. The player may be disqualified if the action is flagrant.
Section 5 — Batting and Kicking
Article 1 — Batting
A player may bat a backward pass toward his own goal line. No player may intentionally bat a forward pass in flight. No player may bat a free kick, scrimmage kick, or kickoff out of bounds in the field of play or into the end zone. No player of the kicking team may bat a grounded scrimmage kick.
Penalty: For an illegal bat: Loss of 10 yards and possible loss of down (combination penalty).
Article 2 — Kicking
A player may not intentionally kick a loose ball or a ball in the possession of a runner.
Penalty: For illegal kicking: Loss of 10 yards and possible loss of down.