A third party is missed along the sideline when the red player screens a yellow player from attempting to make a tackle that was within reach. Sidelines are congested areas and our positioning is …
NZLvESP Obstructions around GK
The ball is stopped by the goalkeeper splayed on the ground and rests against his kicker. The attacker makes no effort to bring the ball away and traps the ball there, other hand raised to demand the …
ARGvESP Late whistle on 5m aerial
This aerial is mistrapped but the opposition wasn’t 5 metres. Advantage didn’t accrue so the whistle was blown a little on the later side by the trailing umpire. Knowing your responsibilities is …
AUSvARG Fair block tackle
A defender moves early into tackling position and makes a block tackle from a stationary position. As she’s deflecting the ball out of bounds, the attacker is unable to adjust her running path and …
NZLvUSA VR PS for intentional stick obstruction
This penalty stroke decision is referred to the video umpire to downgrade it to a penalty corner. The defender reached in from behind and obstructed by briefly hooking the attacker’s stick, preventing …
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AUSvBEL Tackling a turned player
The ball carrier turns her back to the defender while keeping the ball mostly moving. Twice, the defender attempts to tackle, the first around the attacker’s legs and the second between them. On the …
NZLvESP Fair tackle leads to non-bully
Watching this tackle in slow motion, it’s very clear the attacker went straight at the defender, who had to make no movement at all to meet the ball. The action of standing up and lifting the attacker …
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AUSvNED Breakdown from the 23m on upgrade PC
A dangerous run down the left sideline leaves a defender chasing hard, and starting around the 23m starts to lean in too much with his shoulder, taking the ball carrier to ground and breaking down the …
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AUSvARG Missed YC for breakdown from behind
What would have been the second yellow card of the game to ARG is missed on this breaking tackle involving a push on the back that takes the ball carrier to ground. These can be difficult to spot if …
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CHNvBEL SO obstruction by attacker
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 …
ARGvNED Obstruction kicking stick away
This is an excellent pick by the umpire of an obstruction that goes unpenalized too often. As the attacker carries the ball towards the baseline, she kicks the stick of the defender away from the only …
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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 …
AUSvNED stick block
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 …
INDvBEL Proactive ball placement inside dotted line
The umpire does a great job here making a quick decision on a free hit inside the dotted 5m line, and immediately “double-tweeting” to get the players’ attention and verbally signal the correct ball …
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ESPvARG GC 5m aerial infringement breakdown
The initial receiver of the ball is an attacker in navy, standing just in front of the 23-metre line. He is sandwiched by two defenders. One defender possibly unintentionally infringes by coming from …
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BLRvNED GC 3m infringement
The BLR defender commits a stick obstruction along the side-boards and, within hearing distance of the whistle, clearly puts her stick down in the way of the NED attacker’s self-pass, breaking down …
BLRvNED Goal disallowed for hit
Big decisions require clarity, timing and a strong presentation. In disallowing this goal, the umpire is looking at the size of the backswing of this hit. Although the stick remains on the court …
ESPvARG 15m free hit taken close to end line
The ball leaves the pitch after being deflected by an attacker. The defender picks up the ball out of bounds and then plays it in line with where it went out, ~5-7m away from the end line. The rule …
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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 …
GERvKAZ Hit out of mid-air
A crossing pass is deflected slightly into the air on the attempted interception. It bounces once but before it settles onto the court the oncoming attacker hits is out of mid-air into the goal. The …
NEDvAUS Turnover drill
It’s a small detail but makes a mammoth difference in the end positioning result. When the ball is turned over in the midfield, the umpire immediately turns to sprint hard towards her own circle. When …
BLRvNED Body obstruction interfering with stick
As the attacker attempts to avoid the tackle from a defender, the defender is able to get her stick on the ball as the attacker’s legs block and interfere with the defender’s stick. A free …
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BLRvNED Drilling on cross pass
The attacker receives a ball in the bottom left corner and attempts to send a hard pass across the circle to a teammate. A defender is set at a close and near to 3m distance, and the ball is sent …
ARGvNED YC breakdown tackle
A yellow card is awarded for this breakdown of play that comes, as it frequently does, after a turnover in possession. This was the second card to ARG for a breakdown, and the 4th card overall. …
AUSvNED YC breakdown second card
This is the second card of the game for this player, who badly misses on this tackle and ensures his body stops the potential progress of the attacker to resume his run with the ball. Normally …
AUSvNED Playing ball after whistle warning
This is the first time a player has played the ball after the whistle in this game but, given the number of seconds left in the half, the effectiveness of this misconduct to prevent any last-second …
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NZLvUSA GC for double breakdown and advantage
After a turnover, the intercepted (now) defender breaks play down with a failed tackle from behind. The umpire indicates she’s going to come back to the breakdown by continuing to signal the …
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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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AUSvBEL Fitness and footwork
When using the new positioning, umpires need to have the fitness and footwork required to backpedal at sufficient pace to stay well ahead of the play. Another crucial component is committing to …
NZLvGBR Attacking free hit directly into circle
A free hit is taken just inside the 23m area. It travels towards the circle and hits the edge of the circle line, which constitutes inside the circle. A free hit is given for the defence, taken where …
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INDvBEL Green card playing ball after whistle
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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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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ESPvGER VR late stages in the circle
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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NZLvBEL Short aerial into crowd
Off the centre pass, a short aerial ball is sent into a crowded area. Although the opposing player is allowed to take it cleanly, the passer’s teammates don’t allow the ball to be controlled before …
GERvAUT No advantage ball placement
Early in a match is a great time to set your standards for ball placement. When advantage doesn’t accrue after this stick obstruction foul, the umpire steps in with a clear double-whistle and …
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ARGvUSA PC injector goes before whistle
The injector is sent to the centre line for a feint (rule 13.6(a)) because she did not wait for the whistle to restart time and the penalty corner to proceed. The penalty corner is reset with a …
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ESPvGER Difference between a PC and PS
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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ARGvNED Aerial no control
An aerial ball falls to two opposing players, and the attacking teammate attempts an unsuccessful interception 5m away from the defender, after which the latter is permitted to initially receive the …
NZLvESP GC for breakdown stick tackle
The third green card of the game and the first to ESP is given when the defender breaks down play with this attempted tackle, which catches the ball carrier’s stick after the initial attempt and …
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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 …
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 …
NZLvARG Playing ball after whistle
An early instance where the defending team taps the ball away has the intended effect of allowing the defenders to get back in front of the ball in numbers. Although this particular moment may not …
CHNvNED FHD taken too far away
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 …
AUSvARG GC x2 and retaliation
This study in managing off-ball situations is fascinating. The Argentinian attacker slips on his own after he’s entered the circle. As he’s regaining his footing, the Australian defender …
CHNvBEL No danger and no intent off end line
There are two events in quick succession in this clip. The first save by the goalkeeper rebounds high and quickly towards an attacker, who confidently reached up and receives the ball, and is able to …
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USAvNED VR no goal 5m before entering circle
This goal is referred by USA for not going 5m before it enters the circle. It’s difficult to see from the limited angles and resolution available to us, but here are some considerations to have in …
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AUSvNED When the ball is played on a free hit
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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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 …
AUSvNED PC upgrade for not 5m
A free hit is taken 2-3m from the circle edge with multiple defenders in play. One defender who had worked to back pedal doesn’t back off the full 5m and heads back towards the ball to attempt a …
GBRvNZL Call for stick shield for tackle coming from behind in the other direction
This is a fascinating and unusual call. The player in possession of the ball is stationary and somewhat facing up the field in the direction of his team’s attack when a defender attempts to make …
