TO National Association person in charge of Rules and Officials
We are informing you of a clarification on the guidance note of Rule 14.1d of Indoor Hockey.
In order to make it clear for technical officials when to allow suspended players to re-enter the pitch, the following text (in bold and underlined) was added to R 14.1d guidance note:
As time is stopped from the award of a penalty corner to the recommencement of play no offending player will be permitted to re-enter the pitch until play has restarted, after the penalty corner is completed.
This add-on wishes to make it clear that suspended player are not allowed to take part on a penalty corner (PC) unless their suspension time ends before the award of the PC.
If the awarding of a PC and the end of suspension time happen at the same time, the player cannot re-enter the match before the end of the PC.
The rational for this is as follows:
- Players go behind the goal line to defend PC;
- At PC players have to be level with far circle if they are not behind the goal line – hence players cannot re-enter the field legally between those points from the substitution/returning suspended players area;
- In indoor the circle is much closer to the half way line that in outdoor, so returning players could interfere with the taking of a PC.
