For field hockey umpires, by field hockey umpires
As the ball is being situated for a 23m restart, the players begin jostling for position in the circle. The umpire uses her whistle to get the players’ attention and prevents the ball from being put …
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The free hit is awarded for an obvious combination foot and obstruction foul. A second defender taps the ball away after the whistle, preventing the attacker from taking a quick self-pass which would …
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An aerial is launched into the circle safely over the heads of the players with established positions, falling into a landing area where only a solitary attacker was making a great cut for the ball. …
After awarding an obstruction foul just outside the circle, the attacker visibly (and presumably audibly) berates the umpire. The umpire immediately communicates back to him, sending a clear message …
A 23m restart is taken with the smallest of dribbles, and although the taker draws it back to a stationary position before resuming his movement, has clearly initiated his self-pass. It’s important to …
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The defensive foot just outside the circle could have been blown but, in this case, that would have disadvantaged the attack who would have had to stop the ball and then move it 5m before heading in …
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Be very careful about the timing of your interventions when you’re not the controlling umpire. Sometimes you can be not focused on the ball enough and lose the fact that the play is underway and an …
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The umpire reverses the free hit as the player on the ball fails to put it in play within a reasonable amount of time according to the tempo established throughout the game. To access this …
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Does the goalkeeper obstruct or is the ball played back into her by the attacker? To access this content, you must purchase FHU3T Green, FHU3T Green 365, FHU3T Yellow 365 or FHU3T Yellow. …
As this penalty corner is being injected, the far right-side attacker breaks early into the circle. The supporting umpire communicates this to the controlling umpire over the radios and the penalty …
Green card for playing the ball after the whistle has gone. There’s a fine line between players honestly mistaking whether the decision has gone their way, and the obvious concession that the fouling …
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Just as breakdowns tend to be committed by defending teams just outside the 23m line in the outdoor game, the centre line is a big marker for players who are looking to avoid the team upgrade penalty …
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A shot rebounds off the boards and is in possession of the attacking team inside the circle when the ball patrol mistakenly throws in a second ball. A bully is called, and the ball is brought back to …
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The ball carrier dribbles towards the left sideboards and as he comes into contact, moves his stick to trap the ball against the boards, actively preventing the defender from playing it. This is a …
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Two points on this play to examine. The first is that the passage begins with a centre-line restart after the ball is played unintentionally off the back-line by a defender. Although initially …
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A yellow card is shown after a long advantage was played. Note the communication between the two umpires as the trail confirms over the radio they should as a team come back for the card. The trail …
A foot foul brings a quick whistle from the umpire. With the ball slightly moving, the attacker takes a self-pass and a third defender comes in to attempt the tackle. This scenario shows the …
A yellow card is given for this tackle, which in real-time appears to be a legitimate attempt on the ball. However, on replay, the stick narrowly misses the ball and goes under the receiver’s foot. …
This passage of play shows not one but two clean tackle attempts between the ball carrier’s legs. In each instance, the attacker was quite stationary and the defender did a good job in coming in low, …
An attacker is awarded a side line ball. Taking it on the roll, she doesn’t quite move it 5m before sending the cross into the circle, and the free hit is given. To access this content, …
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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 …
On the free hit, the attacker pushes the ball from the stationary position and moves it slightly closer to the defender, while the defender is moving backwards away from the free hit. These two …
As the play is moving across the circle away from the controlling umpire, a chasing attacker clips the heels of the defender chasing down the ball. This may well have been blocked from the view of the …
After the goal was awarded, the defending team asked for a video review for danger before the goal was scored. The ball was crossed in from the right side and played towards the goal in a slow, high …
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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 …
The ARG defender comes rushing in at speed, commits one rash stick obstruction and then takes another bite at the ball and breaks the play down by hooking the ball carrier’s stick. The reckless nature …
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The attacker attempts to bring down an overhead but it has exited the pitch. He continues the play and unleashes a hard cross towards goal after the whistle has blown. For the reckless play, the green …
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A defender plays the ball off her foot on a missed trap and after the whistle has sounded, pushes the ball well away from the spot of the foul. The two exacerbating factors are the obviousness of the …
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The attacker on the free hit elects to take a self-pass that moves the ball back and forth—every umpire’s worst nightmare.Let’s do some maths: a stick length is just shy of 1 metre. The free hit …
The umpire on the far side recognises early the potential for an end to end counter and, being aware of the attacker high in the circle, moves quickly to get to his “happy place” behind the base line …
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The ball carrier is called for shielding as she carries the ball on her left side down the left sideline. The first defender isn’t in a front-on position but is parallel, while the ball carrier has …
A breakdown tackle is rewarded with a green card just as the tempers start to rise in this game. It’s difficult to see exactly what occurred due to the players’ body positions and the distant camera …
A defender is blocked from attempting a tackle when a teammate of the ball carrier cuts in front of the defender. However, by running that line she brought the ball carrier right into another …
The umpire here stops time after some shouting and brings the ARG captain in for another chat. The body language here is more positive than the previous attempt, and the captain seems to make an …
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Although this tackle happens early in the game, only 30 seconds into the first quarter, it’s important to be engaged and prepared to provide the correct intervention. This defender reaches in …
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A jab tackle is sent off the end line, and in the view of the umpire, intentionally. Cues to look for in this situation include the body shape of the defender, who is facing directly off the pitch, …
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Here’s an example where positioning choices made 70m away can impact our ability to be in the right spot for our mission-critical calls. As the supporting umpire, we can get very enthusiastic about …
Each time the ball is turned over, it’s important to prepare for the team who gave away possession to attempt to break the play down and allow their teammates a chance to get numbers and structure in …
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A melee in front of the goalkeeper goes on for several seconds, where one attacker, two field defenders and the goalkeeper jockey for the ball. Eventually, the attacker gets his stick on the ball but …
An attacking aerial is thrown beyond and equally between two opposing players and the free hit is awarded to the defending team. One way to interpret this situation is that the ball is receivable in …
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There’s a lot of confusion about the dangerous use of the stick and the so-called “swing and a miss.” This happens when someone swings and misses the ball, creating danger. The speed and path of …
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A good question to ask in this situation is whether, at this level of play, and given that the first warning was clear, should the second instance be met with only a reset, or at this stage in the …
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A reading of this play is that the whistle was blown for the free hit after the defender bumped the ball carrier and ran across his path, but it wasn’t heeded by the ARG attacker who preferred the …
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After playing a quick self-pass, the ball carrier meets a defender and passes the ball over the oncoming defender’s reverse stick. Although his path is blocked by the defender’s body, the ball has …
A penalty corner shot rebounds to an attacker is close proximity to the goalkeeper. The shot is driven straight at the goalkeeper and the follow-through appears to have caught him in the pads. The …
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The attacker receives the ball over her shoulder, angling her stick so the ball lifts in the air. After a second touch, she tries to spin away from the tackling defender who has been able to make a …
A dangerous play emerges when a defender deflects the ball up in the air and the attacker attempts to pick it with their stick, hitting the fouling player in the forehead. The initial danger was still …
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Three incidents happen in quick succession here. A ball hit at pace deflects off a defender’s stick and is only dangerous at that point to his teammate who ducks out of the way, so no foul is awarded. …
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 cynical breakdown of play with two consecutive stick obstructions in the double-team leads to a green card. To access this content, you must purchase FHU3T Green, FHU3T Green 365, FHU3T …
Continue Reading about NZLvESP Two breakdown stick tackles for GC →
