The rising blow that is also dangerous

Was the penalty corner in our rule fragment executed dangerously or not? That was the most important question left after watching New Zealand’s short corner. The majority of visitors believed that this corner was indeed unacceptable.

“A rash cutter,” was one reply. “Dangerous game, even if the ball goes below the knee,” said another. Referee Hoofdklasse Lizelotte Wolter explains exactly how it works.

“On that New Zealand penalty corner you see the first offshoot of the Orange put the ball high on their stick and then the ball goes through their stick to their foot,” Wolter said. “Of course you can kick the ball on goal in a penalty corner, although there are a few requirements you have to comply with. For example, the first shot must not be dangerous and the shot must cross the goal line below the height of the board.

And is that the case here? ‘In this situation, the first offspring of Orange is hit quite high on his stick with a so-called upstroke (rising shot† I am confident that the partition would not cross the line below the height of the shelf. Also, the person shooting the target is responsible for not shooting dangerously.

In short? “The right decision in this case is a free kick for the defense based on two arguments: dangerous play and the fact that the ball would not cross the goal line below the height of the board.”