Making a decision early as to whether advantage exists is a crucial element of timing and, in turn, your management of a game. The umpire is able to assess very quickly that although a defender …
AUSvBEL Video referral for off-ball incident inside circle
A video referral is requested for a push inside the circle. The rushing defender and the drag flicker get slightly tangled, resulting in some reflexive actions pushing each other away. Although the …
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ARGvNED PC dragflick strikes below knee for foot
On the penalty corner, if the ball strikes a defender who has closed to within 5m and that ball is under the height of the knee, that ball is not considered dangerous and another penalty corner should …
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AUSvBEL 5m Aerial Ball
A defender attempts to cut out the aerial but can only do so legally by intercepting outside the 5m zone that the attacker was occupying. To access this content, you must purchase FHU3T …
AUSvBEL Penalty stroke
A penalty stroke is given for this tackle. What factors do you see present to support this decision, and what factors would be contrary? To access this content, you must purchase FHU3T …
AUSvNED Interior positioning for sideline play
Notice the umpire’s positioning and movement as the ball moves around his deep and near sideline area. Instead of moving too quickly outside the play from the preferred interior position, he moves …
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ARGvESP VR for foot after arm
A video referral for a foot is not normally noteworthy, but what is interesting about this is the communication between the pitch umpires and the video umpire. It’s incredibly refreshing for the …
BELvAUS PS controlling umpire positioning
There's been a lot of talk recently about determining if a player is dragging the ball on penalty strokes. Foot position is key to understanding if the ball has been pulled from behind the player, …
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ARGvNED Infringing 5m from behind
The defender runs through the 5m zone as the attacker was taking the free hit. In making an estimate based on the less than 2s and only 2 steps from the taking of the self-pass and the point of …
NZLvUSA GC reckless stick
On this attempted tackle, the defender recklessly uses her stick and strikes that of the ball carrier. A green card is awarded. To access this content, you must purchase FHU3T Green, FHU3T …
UKRvAUS Deflected shot raised but no disadvantage
This passage of play shows how raised balls are handled inside the circle. The first is a save made by a defender where she stops the ball legally in mid-air, deflecting it back towards an attacker, …
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NZLvBEL Mobility in the circle
After the umpire gets caught a little close to the play on this penalty corner rebound, she makes an excellent adjustment and moves 5m off the end line in order to give herself a broader view of a …
ESPvNED Ball placement on the sideline
After a sideline ball is given to the attack, the player tries to take the self-pass quickly with a rolling ball, too far from where the ball exited the pitch. Be prepared for players trying to take …
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GBRvAUS 3D skills
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 …
AUSvBEL VR breakdown foul outside the circle
A team video referral is requested to review the umpire’s decision that a foul outside the circle constituted a breakdown. A pursuing defender may not change his line but if that line cuts across the …
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INDvARG Raising a ball with a hit out of the air
As we are seeing more frequently, players have the skill to hit the ball out of the air and raise it and do so safely. However, there are real questions to ask whether we should be allowing it. In …
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ARGvNED Triple advantage goal
Three consecutive advantages are well-given, clearly signalled with the one arm high in the air, and lead to a goal. Read ahead where the ball may fall after a missed reception or a foot foul, and …
NZLvBEL No danger and cooperation
A defender makes a great save on the goal line, hitting away a deflection made by an attacker from her knees. Although the ball could have been seen as dangerous, the attacker had put herself in that …
AUSvGBR 15m FH ball placement
A ball goes out off the endline, touched last by an attacker. The defending team attempts to set up a 15m free hit in the middle of the circle, and the opposition is reasonably close in their …
ARGvNED PS VR for stick shield denied
A penalty stroke is called on this tackle, and the defending goalkeeper requests a review on the basis that the attacker shielded the ball with his stick. There is a turn made but at real speed, …
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AUSvBEL Stop-time management with captain
The umpire uses a lightning interruption as an opportunity to have a word with the captain about her players tapping the ball away after the whistle. This is an excellent management step and should …
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AUSvARG Breakdown stick tackle and ball placement
The second warning whistle of the game comes from this clear and unnecessary breakdown stick obstruction, 5’ after the first warning whistle of the game. On the ensuing free hit, the umpire …
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BLRvNED GC for tripping
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 …
BELvAUS breakdown tackle not penalized
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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ARGvNED Breakaway positioning and GK outside circle
When an attacker breaks away via the through pass, the goalkeeper leaves his circle and plays the ball away legally with his stick. Given that goalkeepers are a bigger, more heavily-equipped player, …
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NZLvBEL Attempt to cut out aerial pass
The attacking aerial is heading for a NZL player, who is clearly occupying the receiving zone and is the intial receiver. The BEL defender attempts to cut out the pass but in doing so, encroaches in …
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ARGvBEL Breakdown tackle just outside 23m
As soon as the ball popped past the planted defender near the centre line there was always going to be a breakdown tackle to stop this threatening run down the middle of the field. Note the exact spot …
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NZLvGBR Aerial pressure from behind
An aerial ball is sent to a space occupied by an opposing player. A teammate of the passer starts behind the initial receiver and begins to close. At this level, is it a disadvantage for a receiver to …
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INDvAUS 2 GCs breakdown and danger
The first two green cards of the game come in quick succession after first, a chasing defender pushes the ball carrier from behind just outside the 23m. The perfectly-timed and well-weighted nudge is …
USAvNED Positioning on turnover
The umpire here gets caught supporting too high and then watching the turnover with planted feet rather than getting on her bike immediately. Often when we realize we’ve made a mistake we get caught …
AUSvNED No foul push in circle
At the end of matches, you’ll be called upon to make split-second decisions that could have an outsized impact on the perception of the weight of that call on the result of the game. It’s …
BLRvNED Back-line play no trap
Here’s an alternate view on the trapped ball and how long to wait until calling the bully when the trap has occurred unintentionally. One approach is to jump quickly on the obstruction as soon …
CHNvBEL Body shield on left circle top
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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ESPvNED Sliding tackle YC
A slide tackle brings down the ball carrier running freely through an extremely dangerous area of the pitch as the time in the quarter is winding down. The 10-minute yellow card must be issued in …
AUSvBEL Clarity on the self-pass
The importance of establishing where the self-pass is taken from is shown in this clip. The foul occurs ~2m behind the 15m line, and from a dead stop, the AUS player puts the ball in motion. He then …
ARGvBEL GC playing ball away but no PC
A professional foul is committed right around the 23m line as several defenders converge around the ball carrier and put their bodies in his path. After the whistle is blown, a defender casually taps …
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GERvAUT Trapping into stick for foul
This trapping obstruction is an example of where the ball carrier is intentionally pushing the ball into their opponent's stick, which is seen as he turns his body and changes his stick angle to push …
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ARGvBEL Non-obstruction going to end line
In many parts of the playing field, this tackle may well be deemed a body obstruction as the defender steps in with his shoulder and blocks the path of the attacker. However, when you take into …
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ARGvBEL Attack positioning with space
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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ESPvNED Goal on potential GK obstruction
The fine line between the onrushing goalkeeper putting himself into the attacker and the attacker receiving to back into the goalkeeper is in question here. Expanding your vision so you can perceive …
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AUSvGBR Stick obstruction or not
This clean tackle is misread by the umpire. Notice the front-on positioning, lack of movement by the defender’s stick, the path of travel of the ball after contact, and the attacker’s …
NZLvARG VR not available
One for the video referral nerds out there: after ARG concedes a goal, they attempt to refer a free hit decision outside their attacking circle at the other end. This decision isn’t referrable because …
ESPvARG Extreme set of quick decisions and shots on the penalty corner and management
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 …
NZLvBEL Positioning – alternative movement pattern
This is a fairly standard movement pattern, keeping in mind that NZL is at the moment pressing BEL very intensely. What if at the moment when the ball is played backwards to the deepest defender, …
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NZLvESP Aerial attacker no control
On the aerial reception, the initial receiver isn’t given 5m to control a difficult aerial coming from overhead. The defender infringes the 5m immediately after the first touch, resulting in a quick …
NEDvAUS VR self on goal stick interference by attack
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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CHNvNED Stick shield
The ball carrier receives the ball on the turn and moves to her left. Her dribble continues in that direction while she places her stick in between the ball at the tackler’s stick in a non-momentary …
NZLvBEL GC playing ball after whistle
Right at the 23m line (and arguably over it), the attacker plays the ball into the feet of the defender, who then clearly pushes the ball away in order to prevent the attacker from taking a quick …
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NZLvGBR 5m from free hit
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 …
AUSvBEL Reversal of free hit for time-wasting
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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