Section 7: Violations & Penalties
Fouls Generally (Section 3, Rule 10). When a foul is committed, the referee immediately calls FOUL. If the striker has not made a stroke, their turn ends and the referee announces the penalty; if a stroke has been made, the referee waits until the stroke is completed before announcing the penalty. The next stroke is played from wherever the cue-ball comes to rest, or from in-hand if the cue-ball is not in play.
Standard Penalty (Section 3, Rule 11). The default penalty for a foul is four points, awarded to the non-offender, unless a higher value applies. Listed four-point (or higher) fouls include: striking before the referee has completed spotting a colour taken as a free ball; striking the cue-ball more than once in a stroke; having both feet off the floor while striking; playing out of turn in Four-handed Snooker; playing improperly from in-hand; causing the cue-ball to fail to contact any object ball; causing the cue-ball to be pocketed or snookered by the nominated free ball or, in Six Reds Snooker, the nominated ball; playing a jump shot; playing with a non-standard cue; and conferring or communicating with a partner contrary to Section 3, Rule 18(e).
Higher-Value Fouls. Where the ball on, or the ball concerned, has a higher point value than 4, that higher value becomes the penalty — for example, for causing the cue-ball to first strike a ball not on, for making a push stroke, for contacting a ball in play with any part of the player's person, attire, or equipment, or for causing a ball to be forced off the table (Section 3, Rule 11(b)).
Seven-Point Fouls (Section 3, Rule 11(d)). A flat penalty of seven points applies where the striker: uses a ball off the table for any purpose; uses any object to measure gaps or distance; plays at Reds, or a nominated free ball followed by a Red, in successive strokes; uses any ball other than White as the cue-ball after the frame has started; fails to declare which ball they are on when requested by the referee; or, after potting a Red (or a free ball nominated as a Red), commits a foul before a colour has been nominated.
Multiple Fouls and Unsporting Conduct (Section 3, Rule 10(g); Section 4, Rule 1). Where more than one foul is committed in the same stroke, only the highest-value penalty is incurred. Independently of scoring penalties, offensive conduct or persistent unsporting behaviour is addressed under Section 4, Rule 1, which escalates from a formal Warning to awarding the frame, and ultimately the game, to the offending player's opponent.