Afoul is almost never used alone. The phrase you need is run afoul of (American English; people also say fall afoul of, and in British English you may see run foul of, without the a-).

Afoul is almost never used aloneafoul 幾乎不會單獨使用。The phrase you need is run afoul of你需要的片語是 run afoul of（American English這是美式用法；people also say fall afoul of大家也會說 fall afoul of, and in British English you may see run foul of, without the a-而英式英文裡可能會看到沒有 a- 的 run foul of）。

If you run afoul of the law, you do something the law does not allow, and trouble follows. You can also run afoul of a school rule, a boss, or what a group believes is right — so it is not only about crime.

If you run afoul of the law如果你 run afoul of the law（觸犯法律）, you do something the law does not allow你做了法律不允許的事, and trouble follows接著麻煩就找上門。You can also run afoul of a school rule, a boss, or what a group believes is right你也可以 run afoul of 校規、老闆，或一個團體所相信的是非標準——so it is not only about crime所以這不只是跟犯罪有關。

The word feels a little old and serious. In daily talk, get in trouble with is more common.

The word feels a little old and serious這個字感覺有點老派、嚴肅。In daily talk, get in trouble with is more common日常對話裡，get in trouble with 更常見。

Foul here is the “wrong / tangled” foul, not the sports foul. The picture is probably of things getting tangled, like ropes on a ship, and then of a person getting tangled with rules.

Foul here is the "wrong / tangled" foul這裡的 foul 是「出錯、纏在一起」的那個 foul, not the sports foul不是體育比賽裡「犯規」的那個 foul。The picture is probably of things getting tangled, like ropes on a ship背後的畫面大概是東西纏在一起，像船上的繩索, and then of a person getting tangled with rules接著延伸成一個人被規則纏住。