In basketball, a personal foul (PF) is a breach of the rules that concerns illegal personal contact with an opponent. It is the most common type of foul in basketball. Due to the nature of the game, personal fouls occur on occasion and are not always regarded as unsportsmanlike. However, a contact foul involving excessive or unjustified contact is classed as an unsportsmanlike foul (or in the NBA, flagrant foul). It is common for a home crowd to sway a referee's decision, resulting in a 'home-court advantage' that is hard-fought for during the season.

The concept of a foul goes back to the very beginning of basketball in 1891, when in his original 13 rules, James Naismith defined a foul as:

Only the fourth definition remains. Running with the ball and striking it with the fist have since become violations; and holding the ball with the arms or body is no longer prohibited, though players rarely do so anyway.

The original penalty was that on a player's second foul, he would be disqualified until the next successful goal without substitution (similar to a penalty in ice hockey). Before long, free throws were introduced, originally worth three points each, then becoming one. Originally any team member was allowed to shoot free throws. In 1924, the rules were changed so that the fouled player was made to shoot his own free throws.

Charge or charged may refer to:

Basketball is a team sport, the objective being to shoot a ball through a basket horizontally positioned to score points while following a set of rules. Usually, two teams of five players play on a marked rectangular court with a basket at each width end. Basketball is one of the world's most popular and widely viewed sports.

A regulation basketball hoop consists of a rim 18 inches in diameter and 10 feet high mounted to a backboard. A team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket during regular play. A field goal scores two points for the shooting team if a player is touching or closer to the basket than the three-point line, and three points (known commonly as a 3 pointer or three) if the player is behind the three-point line. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but additional time (overtime) may be issued when the game ends with a draw. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it while walking or running (dribbling) or throwing (passing) it to a teammate. It is a violation to move without dribbling the ball (traveling), to carry it, or to double dribble (to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling).