Red Card

A Red Card is issued for an offence or other misconduct committed during a match and may be issued to any person participating in the match, including players on the pitch, substitutes and team officials (which includes managers, coaches, physiotherapists and doctors who are part of a team’s squad).

A Matchday Misconduct Offence (MMO) is committed when: 

• at any time on the day of a match, but excluding the time from the start to the end of the match, a person due to participate or who has participated in the match misconducts themselves in such a way that one of the match umpires decides would have warranted the issue of a Red Card had such misconduct occurred during the match; and
• on the day of the match the umpire informs the offender or the team captain, a team official or Club Disciplinary Officer of the club for which the offender is to participate or has participated on the day of the relevant match that the offender’s misconduct is to be reported as an MMO.

You must use the up-to-date regulations and forms when reporting a Red Card or MMO.  You can find the forms and advice on how to complete them on the England Hockey Website here.

Please note, if the correct procedure for issuing a red card or MMO is not followed this may have an adverse impact on the outcome of the disciplinary process.

Any Red Card or MMO should be reported to the Area Disciplinary Administrator as soon as possible and in any event the fully completed form must be sent within  72 hours of the match.  (It is always useful to forewarn your Area Disciplinary Administrator by message, phone or email that a red card has been issued and the report form is on its way.)

You can find guidance on how to complete the Red Card/ MMO Report Form on the England Hockey website which you can access with the link to the regulations and forms. 

We recommend that all umpires familiarise themselves with these documents. Your report should be factual and should avoid any recommendations on sanction or category of offence as the Area Disciplinary Panel will decide this. Please contact the Area Disciplinary Administrator if you have questions regarding your responsibilities.

You should also check that any Red Cards (and Yellow Cards) have been correctly reported by clubs through the Game Management System (GMS).

If you are issued with a Red Card or you or a team official is informed that you have committed an MMO, you should:

• immediately leave the pitch and the surrounding area and stay away from that area for the rest of the match and any warm-down period. If you do not do this, it may result in you receiving an increased sanction for the offence.
• Cooperate with the umpire by providing any information that they need to report the Red Card or MMO.  To avoid any potential confrontation with the umpire it is a good idea to use your captain or other club official to provide this information.

The Regulations prescribe mandatory minimum periods of suspension for offences in different categories. The mandatory minimum period of suspension for non-violent offences is 16 days. This sanction is imposed automatically and applies immediately on the day of the match. There is no right of appeal against the first 16 days of any suspension.

The suspension prevents you from:

• Playing
• Umpiring
• or acting, either from the sides of the pitch or on the pitch, as a team coach, a team official or any match official during any hockey match or event, which falls within the jurisdiction of England Hockey.
• You are not automatically excluded from other hockey activity (for example internal club training). If you are in any doubt as to whether you are permitted to take part in an activity, you should speak with your Club Disciplinary Officer who can contact the Area Disciplinary Administrator for further advice if this is required.

The Area Disciplinary Panel has the power to impose more serious sanctions. The Regulations provide that in cases of premeditated or serious offences, including in particular but not exclusively:

• personal insults to an umpire or match official
• the use of a stick
• punching or kicking
• group violence

you can expect to receive a substantially more serious sanction than the mandatory minimum suspension periods that are prescribed by the Regulations.

If the Area Disciplinary Panel is considering a greater sanction than 16 days your Club Disciplinary Officer will be contacted and asked to provide representations regarding the misconduct before the final sanction is agreed. Any representations are usually coordinated by your club and submitted on your behalf.

Every club must appoint a Club Disciplinary Officer. These contact details need to be kept up to date via the Club Portal so that the Area Disciplinary Panel knows who to contact if a disciplinary issue arises in relation to a player at your club. 

The Club Disciplinary Officer is the first point of contact for the Area Disciplinary Panel. They are responsible for ensuring that the officers of their club and any individual who is the subject of any disciplinary procedure are kept fully informed of any steps taken in the disciplinary process and any sanction imposed on the individual.

In some cases, the Club Disciplinary Officer will receive requests for representations from the offender and/or the club involved. These will require coordination of responses within prescribed deadlines.  It is important that you meet these deadlines as failure to do so may result in a decision being made without these representations being considered.

Clubs and team captains/managers/coaches are required to cooperate with umpires if a Red Card or MMO is issued. This includes providing any information that the umpire may require to report the offence.

Teams must enter on GMS the player/offender details for any Red or Yellow Cards awarded. This must be done within the timeframes set out for the relevant competition and as soon as possible after the match, in any event.

Clubs are responsible for ensuring that any suspension periods for Red Cards, MMOs or Yellow Cards are observed by their members. Please note that the automatic suspensions provided for under the Red Card and MMO Regulations or the League Regulations take effect automatically whether or not a Penalty Notification has been issued by the Area Disciplinary Panel. 

Suspension breaches are likely to result in a further period of suspension of at least double the period of the original suspension.

Finally, clubs should have their own internal disciplinary processes to deal with misconduct on and off the pitch.  If a club takes disciplinary action in connection with any Red Card or MMO the Club Disciplinary Officer should confirm the details of any club sanction to the Area Disciplinary Administrator.