unsporting behavior
Against fair competition
Unsporting behavior is conduct that violates the spirit of fair play in athletics or competition.
The phrase appears most often in soccer, where referees issue yellow cards for acts like time-wasting, diving, or taunting opponents.
Beyond sports, it describes any breach of expected fairness: Leaking the exam questions was unsporting behavior.
- foulOffensive or illegal
- cheatingDeceptive rule-breaking
- dirty playUnethical competitive conduct
- late hitFoul after play ends
- gamesmanshipWinning without cheating outright
misconduct · poor form · roughing · professional foul · diving · taking a dive · simulation · trash talk · fighting words · taunting · brawl · bench clearing · flagrant · penalty · ejection · red card · cheap shot · violation
- soccer officiatingreferee, yellow card, red card, foul, booking
unsporting behaviorsportsmanship
Ethical athletic conduct
good sportsmanship · fair play · graciousness · gentlemanly conduct · fair competition
unsporting, sport, sporting, sports, sporty, sportive, sportsman, sportsmanship, sportswear