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 …
GERvAUT Flashing circle positioning
Just as in outdoor, flashing to the penalty spot or even higher inside your circle can give you a terrific view around and away from the goalkeeper when the ball is on the far side and low in the …
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NEDvAUS GC for breakdown play along sideline
After a turnover, a defender tracks the ball carrier up the near sideline and presumbly trips her up. Note that the side-on camera angle doesn’t show what we need to see, but from the umpire’s angle …
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NZLvBEL GC for reckless tackle from behind
The attacker makes a good reception under tight marking and releases down the sideline. Her defender chases from the left side but is significantly behind. The ball is being carried well out in front …
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ESPvBEL Aerial to attacker 5m infringement before control
Attacker is occupying the space and is the intended receiver of this aerial. Before the attacker can control the ball to the ground, the defender infringes on the 5m space. As the play …
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INDvNED SO Retake ball trapped in GK
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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ARGvNED No stick block
A defender claims a stick block occurs on this attacking play. As he’s chasing the ball carrier from behind, the ball carrier changes his direction from cutting to the right to going straight at the …
UKRvAUS Rebound played in the air and drilling
A goalkeeper save rebounds towards a waiting attacker. The player is only allowed to let the ball hit the stick but not actively play it out of the air, and it appears from the umpire’s signal that …
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ESPvARG 5m not shadowing and 3rd party obstruction
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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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 …
ARGvNED 5m before entering circle
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 …
NZLvESP GC for 5m infringement
After a NZL player is judged to have deflected an attempted interception up into himself, he plays the ball after the whistle has gone against him. As the ESP attacker taps the ball in his self-pass, …
INDvNED Green card for 5m infringement
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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NZLvGBR Ball played into circle before 5m
After a couple of free hits are awarded around the circle, the attacker fails to move the ball 5m before carrying the ball into the circle. To access this content, you must purchase FHU3T …
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ARGvNED GC for breakdown stick
Green card given for a tackle occurring before a long advantage is played. Note the timing of the tackle, which is immediately after a turnover is earned with the opposing player in a good space. …
INDvAUS Advantage outside circle leads to PC
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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ESPvBEL Warning for arm on back breakdown
After a vigorous challenge comes in from ESP #14, you can hear the umpires talking over the radio to confirm who it was and how they agreed they would deal with it, which was by a verbal warning. The …
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NZLvBEL Stick over head foul
The ball carrier executes a dodge and lifts his stick over the defender’s head, slightly striking him on the way down. The defender confronts the attacker after the ball is turned over (on that foul …
GBRvAUS PC upgrade playing ball after whistle
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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AUSvBEL VR SO goalkeeper obstruction
A video referral is sought when the goalkeeper ends up with the ball underneath her body after a save. The important things to look for are whether the goalkeeper actively moved for that purpose or …
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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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ESPvNED Aerial to undetermined receiver
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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CHNvNED Stick obstruction no advantage
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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AUSvNED 15m watch the players
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 …
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 …
NZLvGBR Stick obstruction
The defender attempts a tackle from behind the ball carrier. He misses the ball and strikes the attacker’s stick, but the attacker is able to retain possession of the ball and has an opportunity to …
AUSvBEL 3rd Party Obstruction
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 …
NZLvGBR Breakdown missed
A subtle but physical breakdown foul is missed on the near sideline in front of the 23m line. The umpire is running the outside line with her head turned, making it difficult to see the push in the …
GERvKAZ Ball placement on free push
Not every free push taken away from the spot of the foul requires intervention in indoor. However, when the team in possession gains an unfair advantage by cutting out non-fouling defenders as happens …
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BLRvNED Head injury bully
A player misplays her pass and, when she steps to follow-up, an opposing player inadvertently collides with her and strikes her head. Head injuries should be tended to immediately and so, if the play …
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 …
AUSvNED Verbal warning to leave the ball
After an unsuccessful tackle leading to a clear and obvious body obstruction, a teammate follows through on the clearance perilously close to after the whistle. The controlling umpire uses a very …
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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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GERvKAZ No goal for hit
Although this doesn’t appear to be a swinging motion, the stick is not in contact with the court at any point before making contact, which doesn’t result in a pushing motion of the ball. …
NZLvGBR Free hit clearly taken
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 …
BELvNZL Two green cards in succession
Here two green cards are given in quick succession from two different ends of the spectrum. In the first instance, the defender was solidly in front of the ball carrier, attempted a vigorous poke …
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BLRvNED 3m self-pass centre line and not intentionally off back-line
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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NZLvESP PC for intentional foul attacker not in possession
An intentional foul is committed by a defender inside the circle but the ball had yet to reach the attacker when it occurred. The question was asked by the attacking team’s captain as to whether it …
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NEDvAUS VR for backstick on SO goal
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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INDvBEL Anticipation and no foul signalling
Two points on this clip. First, on the sideline ball, it’s crucial to read ahead whenever possible and protect your mission-critical area first when there is a possibility of a quick transition into …
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ARGvESP PC upgrade playing ball away
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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ESPvARG Stick obstruction after turnover
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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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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ARGvNED Verbal warning to captain to calm players
After a minor collision, two players have some “afters”. The umpire stops time, brings over the captain of the initiator and presumably asks for her assistance in controlling her players. Taking care …
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AUSvGBR Shot after whistle
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 …
GERvAUT Shot before 3pts of contact
This is an example of what is sometimes a difficult call to make regarding 3 points of contact. Accompanying the advent of the prohibition against “drilling” as a specifically-described piece of …
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ARGvNED VR body contact on the tackle
The umpire awards a penalty corner for body contact made on this tackle, and the defending team refers this to the video umpire. Although the defender gets the ball, they are behind the attacker at …
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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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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. …
ARGvNED GC playing ball after whistle
Although the green card was given for playing the ball after the whistle, it could well have been given for the breakdown foul that brought on the free hit. This is the second green card for NED, and …
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