Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

, the three-minute warning is given when three minutes of game time remain on the game clock in the first and second halves of a game. (If the football is in play when the clock reaches 3:00, the three-minute warning is given immediately after the ball is declared

dead Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

.) The three-minute warning stops the game clock in all cases. It is the Canadian football equivalent of the

two-minute warning In most levels of professional American football, the two-minute warning is a suspension of play that occurs when two minutes remain on the game clock in each half of a game, i.e., near the end of the second and fourth quarters, and overtime. It ...

in the American game.

Rule changes after the warning

* The game clock stops whenever the ball is dead. * The game clock starts on the snap after any kickoff, kick from scrimmage, open field kick, change of possession, incomplete forward pass, score, or the ball being carried out of bounds, accepted penalty, or fouls on both teams. If a foul is declined, the non-offending team can choose to start the game clock on the snap. * The game clock does not run on convert attempts. * Since the

2006 CFL season The 2006 CFL season is considered to be the 53rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 49th Canadian Football League season. CFL News in 2006 It was announced on April 9, 2006 that the CFL had suspended the operat ...

, CFL teams cannot use instant replay challenges to dispute rulings during the final three minutes of the second half. However, a replay official may initiate a review during this time. * The penalty for a "time-count violation" by the offence—failure to place the ball legally into play within 20 seconds of it being declared ready for play (a foul known as "delay of game" in American football, which is a different foul in Canada)—dramatically changes at the warning. Before the warning, the penalty is 5 yards with the down repeated. After the warning, the base penalty changes to loss of down on first or second down, and 10 yards with the down repeated on third down. Additionally, if the referee deems a time-count violation on third down to be deliberate, he has the right to require the offence to put the ball legally into play within 20 seconds or lose possession (similar to the

unfair act In American football, an unfair act is a foul that can be called when a player or team commits a flagrant and obviously illegal act that has a major impact on the game, and from which, if additional penalties were not enforced, the offending team w ...

clause in American football). However, the enforcement of time-count violations on convert attempts does not change at the warning; it remains 5 yards with the down repeated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Three-Minute Warning Canadian football terminology

Rule changes after the warning

See also

References