In the 2011 Copa América, the main disciplinary action taken against players came in the form of red and yellow cards.
Any player picking up a red card was expelled from the pitch and automatically banned for his country's next match, whether via a straight red or second yellow. After a straight red card, FIFA would conduct a hearing and could extend this ban beyond one match. If the ban extended beyond the end of the finals (i.e. if a player was sent off in the match in which his team was eliminated), it had to be served in the team's next competitive international match(es).
| Day | Match | Round | Referee | Total cards | Yellow | Second yellow | Straight red | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Roberto Silvera | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Day 2 | Colombia vs Costa Rica | Group A | Enrique Osses | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | |
| Day 3 | Brazil vs Venezuela | Raúl Orosco | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Day 3 | Paraguay vs Ecuador | Group B | Sergio Pezzotta | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Day 4 | Uruguay vs Peru | Wilmar Roldán | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Day 4 | Chile vs Mexico | Group C | Juan Soto | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Day 5 | Argentina vs Colombia | Group A | Sálvio Fagundes | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Day 5 | Bolivia vs Costa Rica | Group A | Carlos Vera | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | |
| Day 6 | Uruguay vs Chile | Group C | Carlos Amarilla | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Day 6 | Peru vs Mexico | Group C | Sergio Pezzotta | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Day 7 | Brazil vs Paraguay | Group B | Wilmar Roldán | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Day 7 | Venezuela vs Ecuador | Group B | Wálter Quesada | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Day 8 | Colombia vs Bolivia | Group A | Francisco Chacón | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Day 9 | Argentina vs Costa Rica | Group A | Víctor Hugo Rivera | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Day 10 | Chile vs Peru | Group C | Sálvio Fagundes | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | |
| Day 10 | Uruguay vs Mexico | Group C | Raúl Orosco | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Day 11 | Paraguay vs Venezuela | Group B | Enrique Osses | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Day 11 | Brazil vs Ecuador | Group B | Roberto Silvera | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Day 14 | Colombia vs Peru | Francisco Chacón | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Day 14 | Argentina vs Uruguay | Quarter-finals | Carlos Amarilla | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | |
| Day 15 | Brazil vs Paraguay | Quarter-finals | Sergio Pezzotta | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | |
| Day 15 | Chile vs Venezuela | Quarter-finals | Carlos Vera | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | |
| Day 17 | Peru vs Uruguay | Raúl Orosco | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Day 18 | Paraguay vs Venezuela | Semi-finals | Francisco Chacón | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| Day 21 | Peru vs Venezuela | Wilmar Roldán | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Day 22 | Uruguay vs Paraguay | Sálvio Fagundes | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Referee | Matches | Red | Yellow | Red cards | Penalties awarded | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4 | 16 | 2 straight reds 2 second yellows | 1 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 20 | 2 second yellows | 0 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 15 | 2 straight reds | 0 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 10 | 2 straight reds | 0 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 16 | 1 straight red | 0 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 14 | 1 straight red | 0 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 9 | 1 straight red | 0 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 8 | 1 second yellow | 2 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |||
| 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team | Yellow | Red | Red Cards | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 2 | Antolín Alcaraz vs Brazil straight red Jonathan Santana vs Venezuela second yellow | misconduct tactical foul | |
| 15 | 2 | Giancarlo Carmona vs Chile straight red Juan Manuel Vargas vs Uruguay straight red | fighting elbowing an opponent | |
| 12 | 2 | Jean Beausejour vs Peru straight red Gary Medel vs Venezuela second yellow | fighting handling the ball | |
| 11 | 2 | Ronald Rivero vs Costa Rica second yellow Wálter Flores vs Costa Rica straight red | handling the ball tackling | |
| 11 | 2 | Tomás Rincón vs Chile straight red and vs Peru straight red | shirt pulling + swinging a fist at opponent tackling | |
| 18 | 1 | Diego Pérez vs Argentina second yellow | tactical foul | |
| 14 | 1 | Javier Mascherano vs Uruguay second yellow | tackling | |
| 8 | 1 | Lucas Leiva vs Paraguay straight red | misconduct | |
| 8 | 1 | Randall Brenes vs Colombia straight red | tackling | |
| 9 | 0 | |||
| 5 | 0 | |||
| 2 | 0 | |||
The Fair Play Award was given to the team with the best overall discipline throughout the tournament. Teams were given a certain number of points—15 in the first stage, 5 in the quarter-finals, and 10 points for the remaining four teams—from which points were deducted depending on the infraction. The team that advanced past the first stage with the most points was awarded the trophy. Teams that dropped below zero points were excluded from winning the award.
| Infraction | Points deducted |
|---|---|
| Booking of a player (yellow card) | 1 point |
| Expulsion of a player (red card) | 2 points |
| Suspension per game | 1 point |
| Delay of game at the start of restart of a match | 2 points |
| Misconduct of the players and/or coaching staff | 1 point |
| Recidivism of misconduct | 2 points |
| Incomplete team | 1 point |
| Abandonment of the game | Exclusion |
| Others | Case-by-case judgement |
The four semi-finalists (Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela) were the only teams considered for the Fair Play Award. After a post-match brawl in the semi-finals, Paraguay and Venezuela were excluded from winning the award. Peru and Uruguay finished the tournament with the same number of points. Since Uruguay had fewer players handed a red card during the tournament, they won the Fair Play Award.[1]
| width=165 | Team! | ! | ! | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | −4 | −5 | −2 | +5 | −7 | +10 | X | X | N/A | ||
| 15 | −4 | −0 | −7 | +5 | −2 | +10 | −6 | −3 | 8 | ||
| 15 | −1 | −6 | −2 | +5 | −5 | +10 | −3 | −5 | 8 | ||
| 15 | −5 | −0 | −2 | +5 | −5 | +10 | X | X | N/A |