What is a disruptive foul?

A disruptive foul (Art. 37) is a player's illegal contact with an opponent that does not rise to the level of a flagrant foul, and that disrupts the flow of the game and places the opponent at a disadvantage. The criteria are:

• Unnecessary contact by a defensive player, not legitimately attempting to play the ball, to stop the offensive team's progress in transition (until the offensive player starts the act of shooting).
• Unnecessary contact by a defensive player anywhere on the court, not legitimately attempting to play the ball, to stop the game clock and/or shot clock at the end of a quarter or overtime.
• Illegal contact from behind or laterally on an opponent progressing towards the opponent's basket with no opponents between the player and the basket, who is in control of the ball, attempting to gain control, or has had the ball released on a pass to them (until the act of shooting starts).

Referees must interpret disruptive fouls consistently throughout the game and judge only the action.

Penalty: charged against the offender and counted as a team foul. Free throw(s) go to the fouled player (2 if not shooting; the goal plus 1 if shooting and successful; 2 or 3 if shooting and unsuccessful), then a throw-in from the throw-in line in the team's frontcourt, opposite the scorer's table.

Source: FIBA Official Basketball Rules 2026, Article 37 (https://assets.fiba.basketball/image/upload/documents-corporate-fiba-official-rules-2026-v1-1.pdf)