Editing (section) Comparison of American and Canadian football 0 You are not logged in. The rich text editor does not work with JavaScript switched off. Please either enable it in your browser options, or visit your preferences to switch to the old MediaWiki editor <h3>Other differences</h3> <p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">In American <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22high%20school%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22high%20school%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5Bhigh%20school%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-13409534965dea84a52d900" href="/wiki/High_school" title="High school">high school</a> and <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22college%20football%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22college%20football%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5Bcollege%20football%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-13409534965dea84a52d900" href="/wiki/College_football" title="College football">college football</a>, as well as all Canadian football, receivers need only have one foot in bounds for a catch to count as a reception. NFL play requires two feet in bounds and, up through the 2007 season, an NFL official could also award a catch if it was judged that the receiver would have come down in bounds if he had not been pushed by a defender. This rule was based on a judgement call by the official, and was criticized for being inconsistent. The rule was dropped prior to the 2008 season by the NFL.<span data-rte-instance="24816-13409534965dea84a52d900" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3E%7B%7Bcite%20web%7Curl%3Dhttp%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fsports.espn.go.com%5C%2Fnfl%5C%2Fnews%5C%2Fstory%3Fid%3D3325273%20%7Ctitle%3DESPN%20-%20Owners%20table%20reseeding%20playoffs%20proposal%3B%20pass%20other%20rules%20-%20NFL%20%7Cpublisher%3DSports.espn.go.com%20%7Cdate%3D2008-04-02%20%7Caccessdate%3D2011-11-14%7D%7D%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup data-rte-washtml="1" id="cite_ref-0" class="reference" data-rte-attribs=" id=cite_ref-0 class=reference"><a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-13409534965dea84a52d900%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255B%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ6637bd2e16dd07bf-nowiki-00000001-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E1%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-13409534965dea84a52d900%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255D%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ6637bd2e16dd07bf-nowiki-00000002-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22%23cite_note-0%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B%23cite_note-0%7C%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%229%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E1%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%2210%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-13409534965dea84a52d900" href="#cite_note-0"><span data-rte-instance="24816-13409534965dea84a52d900" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>1<span data-rte-instance="24816-13409534965dea84a52d900" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span> </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Pass interference rules have some minor differences: </p> <ul><li data-rte-spaces-before="1">In Canadian football, defensive pass interference may be called on any legal forward pass, even when the receiver is behind the line of scrimmage. Pass interference rules in all levels of American football do not apply until the thrown ball crosses the neutral zone. </li><li data-rte-spaces-before="1">Until 2010, when a forward pass was deemed to be "uncatchable", defensive interference with the intended receiver was penalized in Canadian football. This rule was dropped for 2010, bringing it in line with long-standing practice in American college and professional football. </li></ul> <p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">CFL roster sizes are 46 players (rather than 53 as in the NFL, though only 45 will dress for a game). A CFL team may dress up to 42 players comprising 20 non-imports (essentially, Canadians), 19 imports (almost exclusively Americans), and 3 quarterbacks. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">While the traditional NFL football season runs from the 2nd week of September until the start of January, with the NFL playoffs occurring in January and February, the CFL regular season begins in late June so that the playoffs can be completed by mid-November, an important consideration for a sport played in outdoor venues in locations such as <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Regina%2C%20Saskatchewan%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Regina%2C%20Saskatchewan%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BRegina%2C%20Saskatchewan%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-13409534965dea84a52d900" href="/wiki/Regina,_Saskatchewan" title="Regina, Saskatchewan">Regina, Saskatchewan</a>; <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Calgary%2C%20Alberta%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Calgary%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BCalgary%7CCalgary%2C%20Alberta%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-13409534965dea84a52d900" href="/wiki/Calgary" title="Calgary">Calgary, Alberta</a>; <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Edmonton%2C%20Alberta%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Edmonton%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BEdmonton%7CEdmonton%2C%20Alberta%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-13409534965dea84a52d900" href="/wiki/Edmonton" title="Edmonton">Edmonton, Alberta</a>; and <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Winnipeg%2C%20Manitoba%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Winnipeg%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BWinnipeg%7CWinnipeg%2C%20Manitoba%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-13409534965dea84a52d900" href="/wiki/Winnipeg" title="Winnipeg">Winnipeg, Manitoba</a>. Nevertheless, as recently as 1972, it was not uncommon for the CFL season to end in December. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"><a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Official%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Official%20%28Canadian%20football%29%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BOfficial%20%28Canadian%20football%29%7COfficial%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-13409534965dea84a52d900" href="/wiki/Official_(Canadian_football)" title="Official (Canadian football)">Officials</a>' penalty flags used in the CFL are orange in color. In American football, <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22official%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22official%20%28American%20football%29%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5Bofficial%20%28American%20football%29%7Cofficial%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-13409534965dea84a52d900" href="/wiki/Official_(American_football)" title="Official (American football)">officials</a> typically use yellow penalty flags. Conversely, coaches' challenge flags for replays are yellow in the CFL as opposed to red in the NFL. Further, in the CFL, the referee wears a black cap with white piping, and the other officials wear white caps with black piping. In American leagues, the referee wears a solid white cap, and the other officials wear black with white piping. </p> <br /><strong data-rte-washtml="1" class="error" data-rte-attribs=" class=error">Cite error: <code data-rte-washtml="1"><ref></code> tags exist, but no <code data-rte-washtml="1"><references/></code> tag was found</strong><p /> <!-- Saved in parser cache with key footbal:rte-parser-cache:24781 --> Loading editor Below are some commonly used wiki markup codes. Simply click on what you want to use and it will appear in the edit box above. 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