The official uses his hands to signal control and wears wristbands, one green and one red, that correspond to the color of the starting lines of the home and visiting teams. He raises the arm with the appropriate wristband and puts one to five fingers up to indicate the number of points that a wrestler receives as control changes.
Officials also govern action during the match to ensure a fair and safe competition. Immediately following any infraction, the official stops competition, indicates the type of infraction, and takes the appropriate actions before restarting the match. Officials most commonly enforce penalties against the competitors for illegal holds, technical violations, stalling, unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct, and improper equipment. For each of the penalties listed above (except stalling), one point is deducted after the first and second penalty; two points are deducted for the third penalty; and a disqualification results from the fourth penalty. Additionally, when a wrestler commits a false start by starting before the official’s signal or is in the incorrect starting position, two warnings are given, after which one point is deducted for each occurrence. A severe penalty, called flagrant misconduct, is called for serious violations and results in the disqualification of the wrestler, a two-point team deduction, removal of the wrestler from the premises, and no further wrestling for the remainder of the meet or tournament.
Although less common, officials also penalize coaches, team personnel, and wrestlers who are not currently competing. These penalties include coach misconduct, unsportsmanlike conduct, and flagrant misconduct, all of which usually result in the deduction of team points.