The following holds and actions are illegal and strictly prohibited:
- Throat hold
- Twisting of arms more than 90 degrees
- Arm lock applied to the forearm
- Holding the head or neck with two hands, as well as all situations and positions of strangulation
- Double Nelson, if not executed from the side without the use of the legs on any part of the opponent's body
- Bringing the opponent's arm behind his back and at the same time applying pressure to it in a position where the forearm forms an acute angle Executing a hold by stretching the opponent's spinal column
- Chancery hold with one or two hands in any direction whatsoever
- The only holds allowed are with the head and one arm
- In standing, holds executed from behind when the opponent is head down (reverse waist hold), the fall must be executed only to the side and never from top to bottom (header)
- In executing a hold, only one arm may be used to hold the opponent's head or neck
- Lifting the opponent who is in a bridge position and then to throw him onto the mat (severe impact on the ground); that is, the bridge must be forced down
- Breaking the bridge by pushing in the direction of the head
- Generally, if the attacking wrestler is found to have violated the Rules during the execution of a hold, the action in question shall be completely void and on the first offence, the referee shall give an "attention" to the attacking wrestler at fault. If the attacker repeats his violation, he will be punished by a caution and one point will be awarded to his opponent in Freestyle and a caution and 2 points in Greco-Roman Wrestling.
- If a defending wrestler, by an illegal action, prevents his opponent from developing his hold, the defending wrestler will be cautioned. His opponent will receive two points.

Prohibited holds for Women's wrestling

All double Nelsons holds in the "parterre" or standing position are forbidden in Women's wrestling.

Prohibited holds for schoolboys and cadets

To protect the health of young wrestlers, the following holds are considered illegal and prohibited for the schoolboy and cadet categories:
- Double Nelson from both the front and side
- In freestyle, a leg hook on the opponent's leg, in addition to the double Nelson

Referee's duty towards the competitor committing a violation

If the attacking wrestler can carry out the action in spite of an illegal hold of the defending wrestler:
- Stop the violation
- Give the value corresponding to the hold to his opponent
- Ask for a caution Give 1 point in FS and 2 points in GR to the opponent
- Stop the match
- Resume wrestling in the position where the infraction occurred

If the attacking wrestler cannot carry out his action because of an illegal hold of the defending wrestler
- Stop the match and ask for a caution
- Give 2 points to his opponent
- Resume wrestling in the position where the infraction occurred