For field hockey umpires, by field hockey umpires
The difficulty in detecting third-party obstruction on the penalty corner attack is that you’re concerned with whether the ball has left the circle and defenders being struck with the initial shot, …
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After a ball is turned over in the midfield on an aerial interception, the receiver feeds a terrific through ball into space and gets clattered from behind by a dangerous and physical tackle. …
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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 …
The initial decision on this play was a 23m restart, bringing a video referral from the attacking team for a penalty corner for intentionally playing the ball off the back line. The criterion to …
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Before getting the pass away, a defender is able to successfully poke the ball away from the attacker, who swings through anyway. Although there is a loud clash of sticks, the contact is created by …
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This green card for a 5m infringement has two interesting aspects. First, note the frustration of the NED player when he doesn’t earn the call he believes he’s entitled to on the immediately preceding …
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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 …
Accepting the pass inside the circle, the BEL attacker picks the ball up to make a 3D manoeuvre but in mid-air takes the ball very close to a defender. Had the ball been taken away from the defender, …
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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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As the ball is being switched across the circle through the defenders, a reception is bobbled to a small height. The nearest pressing attacker is far enough away that she is not disadvantaged or …
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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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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 …
After a free hit is awarded, the player on the ball cutely moves it slightly but pretends it hasn’t been played. The umpire audibly calls “play on” when an opponent closes and attempts to tackle. …
This clip shows better anticipation and protection of the mission-critical area of the circle. Even as the ball is moving around behind the centre-line, the umpire is already deep in his attacking …
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A lengthy advantage is played after a collision between two players. Although this is clearly a 50/50 ball that the IND captain wins the battle for, there is a little extra afterwards that shows a …
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The free hit is taken quickly close to where the foot occurred but without any overt stopping motion. In this case, the only player potentially caught was the defender who committed the foul, but the …
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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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 foul is upgraded just outside the circle to a penalty corner when the defender clearly uses his shoulder to push the ball carrier. Look for defenders who actively try to prevent attackers from …
This video referral gives us the opportunity to examine a decision we aren’t faced with often, which is whether a player intentionally uses their foot to play the ball. The giveaway here is the …
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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 …
A shot taken on the penalty corner goes between the post player’s legs, strikes the post and on its way out, hits his back heel. The correct decision here is another penalty corner rather than a …
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 umpire awards an upgrade to a penalty corner after the defender subtly interferes with the taking of this free hit. After the ball contacts his foot, he pivots and moves his leg in front of the …
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A green card is given for this intentional use of the foot after the defender moves his back foot towards the ball after being beaten on the dribble. Watch for the player moving their foot into the …
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An attacker who fails to stop the motion of their shot after a whistle has been blown needs to be cautioned with a green card. As all other players will relax immediately after they hear the call, it …
A defender is beaten to the ball and as she is beginning to fall off the pace, throws her stick in from behind and breaks down the play. This is a clear green card. To access this content, …
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The ball is struck with a hit from the top of the circle flat on the ground. A deflection, whether it came from the defender or attacker’s stick, raises the ball over the height of the backboard as …
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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 …
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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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 …
The first strike on this penalty corner is a hit, which sails undeflected over the logged goalkeeper and crosses the goal line higher than the backboard height. To access this content, you …
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 …
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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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 …
This collision on the penalty corner is worth examining, for a variety of reasons. For context, there was a significant incident at last year’s Pro League Finals during the semi-final between these …
An upgraded team penalty is given after this breaking tackle in a dangerous position just outside the circle. At this point in the game with the physical play and previous cards that have been given, …
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The defending team requests a video referral after a penalty corner is awarded after a foot is given just inside the circle on the basis that there was a foot by an attacker immediately before. 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 …
This is the third breakdown foul by this team so far in the game, and the two previous had been met with green cards. However, the reason this seemingly innocuous stick tackle is penalized this …
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 …
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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This tackle comes in from behind and the stick hits the ball carrier on the leg. An advantage is played to the out of bounds play at the far end, and the umpire from the near side stops play and …
For a goal to be scored, an attacker must touch the ball inside the circle before it crosses the goal line. There was no touch by an attacker here, and also no defender, so the correct decision is a …
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Note the exact spot where the BEL defender commits the initial foul, which is around 1m outside the 5m dotted line. She stands vertically to take up as little passing space as possible and picks up …
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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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A stick obstruction is called and the fouling team attempts to take the free hit quickly. The umpire whistles the correction, and an attacker takes the self-pass quickly from the point of the initial …
After a series of turnovers, the attacking team moves away at speed with the ball. A chasing defender clips the heels of the ball carrier, who is maintaining a straight line in his run (although there …
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This tackle is upgraded to a penalty corner as a second defender comes in to bail out his teammate after a dangerous turnover. The extra shove off the ball with the elbow is spotted and the …
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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