For field hockey umpires, by field hockey umpires
A clear foul occurs when the defender misses the initial tackle and pursues from behind and pushes down the attacker when in a dangerous scoring position. A penalty stroke is unquestionably the …
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It’s a fine line picking out whether a ball is within playable distance of an obstructed attacker who is at a full run. Inside the circle, given the close proximity of many players and the goal, a …
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A video referral late in Q4 of a tied game shows on the first attempted tackle a potential push, although an argument can be made that the collision is 50/50. After a second push on the same attacker …
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When a raised shot at goal strikes a defender who is 5m or fewer from the ball, the rule requires us to examine the height. Had this shot struck the runner below the knee, it is not considered …
A shove in the back from the pursuing defender is appropriately penalized with a penalty corner. The temptation may be to give a penalty stroke because it presents as an intentional foul, but the …
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The ball becomes trapped in the goalkeeper’s equipment after making a save in this shootout attempt. As this is an unintentional obstruction, the correct decision is a re-award. To access …
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While playing the rebound on a penalty corner, the attacker’s shot raises into the defender’s upper body from very close range. The goalkeeper is behind him and on the ground. After consulting with …
An attacker receives the ball in an unusual kneeling position after fighting her way around her tightly-marking defender. The defender clearly holds her stick down with her own, but the ball springs …
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After the penalty corner breaks down and a free hit defence is awarded for a dangerous ball inside the circle, the ball drifts to the opposite side of the circle and a (former) defender attempts to …
It’s also a heart-in-mouth moment when you get caught supporting near the centre line on the penalty corner and a rebound and quick break fly by you. This umpire does the right thing by running back …
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The attacker carries the ball to the goalkeeper on this shoot-out, turns her back and continues her motion into the goalkeeper’s space. This is an easy obstruction call with no doubts from any …
On this penalty corner, the goalkeeper makes a save that sits directly in front of her pads. An attacker comes in and places her stick against the ball, and eventually pushes it up against the pads …
An attacker carries the ball towards the top left (far) side of the circle as a defender approaches from the front. The attacker drops the ball behind her body just as the defender attempts to make …
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The ball doesn’t leave the circle after being injected on the penalty corner. The umpire allows play to continue and the shot to be taken, but calls the free hit once it has entered the goal. …
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On this play, a penalty stroke is awarded against the defender for intentionally throwing his body in front of the ball inside the circle. However, on replay it’s clear that he tripped over the leg of …
The umpire plays advantage after a defender lunges for a tackle inside the circle, and then returns to the defender for the green card after the next foul is called. To sell the sequence more …
It’s difficult to be prepared for first time a player at your level breaks a relatively unknown regulation. The FIH shoot-out regulations (which are often mimicked in domestic competitions but not …
On a sweep shot like this it can be difficult to see a back stick as there is no telltale spray or looping ball trajectory as indicators. Here, the best sign is the toe of the stick. When we don’t …
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When the ball is cleared off the end line by a defender, the umpire deems it unintentional, and the attacking team requests their video referral. When you examine the travel of the ball, the body …
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The umpire takes a self-referral on this go-ahead goal, which is a crucial decision to take when the defending team has already lost their right to refer.The question may initially have been whether …
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A defender breaks early and although she does stop her forward momentum into the circle, the umpire calls for the restart immediately in order to keep things safe for everyone. When the regular pace …
A penalty stroke is given for this tackle inside the circle, and goes to VR. The foul was initially given for the body contact on the tackle made by the AUS defender, which was reckless and took the …
When the attacker makes a moves around the tackler at the edge of the circle, they throw the ball too far towards a second defender. As they were unlikely to catch up to the ball, no disadvantage has …
The defender gains possession of the ball and, after a short adjustment, plays it towards her teammate who is completely unprepared for the pass and actually picks up her feet to get out of the way, …
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When the ball is on the opposite low side of the circle, it’s almost impossible to see exactly what may be going on through the players’ backs. This is where off-ball supporting umpire assistance is …
A quick break from inside the other 23m area leaves the umpire chasing the play into his circle. From his position, he adjudges a stick shield by the attacker who is dribbling with one hand on his …
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After a defensive free hit is awarded for danger on the cross, the umpire gets distracted addressing players away from where the ball has drifted to. The team in possession takes advantage and takes a …
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In this extraordinary sequence there are several shots, saves and near fouls.Notice the initial position of the umpire on the penalty corner injection, which is close to the end line; this serves him …
The first decision of note here is the quick self-pass taken inside the 23m with a defender caught within the 5m zone. That defender isn’t expected to disappear and can, in some circumstances, work …
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On this nullified goal, an attacker is not only standing in front of the goalkeeper but creating significant contact with him as the shot is being taken on goal, pushing him off balance and …
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A ball is raised into the circle off a reverse sweep hit, rising dangerously past one defender and heading for a set of opposing players where the defender is marking very tightly. Either for the …
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Immediately after a turnover is created in the circle, be aware of (previously) attacking players trying to poach the ball back and subtly obstructing or otherwise impeding the break by the (former) …
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Excellent communication from the supporting umpire over the radio throughout this sequence leads to an accurate and accepted penalty corner decision. It’s just as important for the support to say …
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A penalty stroke is awarded for this intentional stick tackle which interfered with the shot taken by the attacker. To access this content, you must purchase FHu3t Green, FHu3t Green 365, …
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When this defender “bravely” comes in behind the shooter, she is struck in the head with the attacker’s backswing. The attacker lacks eyes in the back of her head and cannot be held responsible for …
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A ball sent into the circle deflects high off a defender’s stick, striking the next attacker in the arm, where the umpire is unsighted. Rather than attempting to play on from a poor angle, the …
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Opposing players often jockey for position in the circle before a free hit will be played towards it. After a couple of interventions in this passage of play, the message isn’t taken up and the …
An attacker attempts a raised hit shot at goal but is off-target, making it dangerous. In this context the free hit would normally go back to where the hit was attempted, but the defender moves the …
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This is a highly complex shootout attempt. The first issue you may see is that the attacker backs into the goalkeeper, knocking him off-balance. Then, the goalkeeper attempts a poke tackle between the …
This tackle shows the fine line between a well-executed block and tackling illegally with body contact.The defender is tracking body-to-body and is able to get his stick completely flat and cleanly …
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All of us, even the top umpires, make the occasion mistake on out-of-bounds calls. Having the awareness to notice authentic body language by players can help us fix them. Here, the defender who sent …
The attack begins well behind the centre line. As there are large channels for the ball to move through, the controlling umpire is very high up the pitch and close to their end line. The lack of …
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Preferred positioning has the controlling umpire well ahead of the play, turned to face the attack as it transitions into the 23m area and from an inside angle. In order to get to this spot, umpires …
This team referral comes after the umpire chooses to play advantage from the body foul by the defender, and while the attacker manages to put a stick on the deflected ball the shot goes wide. The …
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Showing patience inside the circle when little incidents occur can show dividends when an umpire has a thorough understanding of the skill level of the players involved. There is a minor bump by the …
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Terrific advantage played for this goal. The trick is to not only see possession but what also constitutes an opportunity for the level of skill in front of you. For most levels, a player in …
The attacker approaches the top of the circle just as 3 defenders converge to all cut off his pathway to the goal. The defender to the attacker’s left, in particular, has good positioning and a …
The umpire mistakenly awards a penalty corner (which isn’t possible in a shoot-out anyway), or a retake, when the goalkeeper plays the ball intentionally off the backline during a shoot-out attempt. …
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A very subtle stick block gives the ball carrier two steps of clearance to get spacing in the circle to try to attempt a shot. Notice the stick moving over the ball and then the movement to the left …
Just prior to offloading the ball to a teammate, an attacker slips as he attempts a change of direction, knocking his defender back onto the floor as his teammate picks up the ball. It can be tricky …
