Perhaps the most curious aspect of (field) hockey – for those vaguely familiar and very familiar with the game alike – is the penalty corner.
Origin
Originally any corners in hockey – awarded for defensive offences and for ball played behind the back-line in most cases – took a similar form; a certain number of defenders stood behind the line while the ball was played roughly from the corner out to a player on the edge of the shooting circle (known as the ‘D’). Exactly how this was done and what rules applied varied through time.
“Long” corner
Eventually, a clear distinction developed between a “long” corner and a “short” corner. The long corner was awarded for the ball being played unintentionally behind the back-line by a defender, and was not dissimilar to a corner in soccer; the ball was placed close to the corner of the field and play simply re-started from there.
This was changed recently so that when the ball is unintentionally played behind the back-line play no longer re-starts from the corner, but rather from the attacking quarter-line (typically known as ‘the 23 metre line’ in English) in line with where the ball went out of play. This is formally known as a ’23 metre restart’ but is still almost universally referred to as a “long”. (Coincidentally, this restart has similarities with GAA.)
As the restart is from the line and the line constitutes part of the attacking quarter of the field (typically known as ‘the 23’), the rules for an attacking free-hit in ‘the 23’ apply; as distinct from a regular free-hit, all players must be five metres from the ball (not just those on the same team) and the ball must travel five metres before being played into the ‘D’. Therefore, although the attack gets the ball, the benefit to it of this restart is not particularly marked.
Penalty corner
Still, for historical reasons, occasionally referred to as a ‘short (corner)’, the penalty corner (or ‘PC’) is now unrecognisably different from a ‘long’ (23m restart). It is also the most curious and identifiable aspect of the game, as it is a type of power play from which goals result somewhere between 20-25% of the time (so it is a significant benefit to the attack).
Award
A ‘PC’ is awarded for one of four reasons (most common first): 1) an offence in the ‘D’ by a defender which does not result in a penalty stroke; 2) an intentional offence in the defending ’23’ by a defender; 3) the intentional playing of the ball behind the back-line by a defender (in practice excluding an intentional deflection by the keeper); or 4) the ball becoming lodged in the goalkeeper’s equipment. Also, during a PC, certain incidents which would ordinarily lead to a restart via a ‘bully’ (hockey’s equivalent of the dropped ball in soccer) result instead in a retake of the PC.
Note that, just like anywhere else on the field, an offence is only penalised if it causes a disadvantage to an opposing player or team. This applies to offences by defenders in their own ‘D’; the assessment is not whether the attack would rather have a PC than play on, but rather whether they were actually disadvantaged by the offence. For example, a ball hitting a foot but going out of play as it would have done anyway does not result in a PC, as there was no disadvantage. Of course, exactly how this is judged comes down in part to the opinion of the umpire.
It should be emphasised that the last two of these do not constitute an offence; no further sanctions may be applied. It is simply the case that the restart in such instances is a PC.
Start/End
The PC starts upon its award (indicated by an umpire pointing both arms, extended, towards the goal) and ‘is completed’: 1) when the ball goes more than 5m outside the circle; 2) when the ball goes out of play and another PC is not awarded; 3) upon an offence by an attacker.
This is important because: 1) no substitutions may take place during a PC (other than for an injured keeper); and 2) time is extended at the end of a quarter for a PC to be completed.
Umpiring
The playing of a PC may be best observed from an umpire’s perspective (though I am biased, of course).
The ball must be 10m from the goal post on the back-line and in the ‘D’; in practice it is almost always placed on the 10m dash on the far side of the goal from the umpire, but this is neither compulsory nor absolutely universal. As with any attacking free-hit in the ’23’, all players must be five metres from the ball. The ‘power play’ aspect of the PC derives from the fact that the defence may have only five players defending, with the remaining players all beyond the centre-line.
The taker (known in the rules by the rather fancy title of ‘injector’) must have one foot outside the field; everyone else must be fully outside the ‘D’, which means that defenders must be fully behind the back-line. In practice, they are usually all behind the goal-line specifically, but again this is neither compulsory nor universal.
The ‘injector’ may not feint (sanction, in practice if done intentionally: free hit to the defence) and, having taken the PC, may not approach within playing distance of the ball until someone else has played it (sanction: free hit to the defence).
If any defender crosses the back-line before the ball is played, the PC is retaken and the defence defends with one fewer player (the player who crosses must go beyond the centre-line until the PC is retaken unless it is the keeper, in which case an outfield defender is nominated to go). This disadvantage applies until the PC is completed – i.e. it also applies to any further PC awarded before completion.
If any attacker enters the ‘D’ before the ball is played, the PC is stopped and retaken by someone else: the original ‘injector’ must go beyond the ‘centre-line’ until the PC is retaken.
It is not an offence for a player other than the ‘injector’ to play the ball before it has left the ‘D’! The only issue here is that a goal may not be scored at a PC until the ball has left the ‘D’. If the ball is played by another player without having left the ‘D’, play simply continues; however, if the ball goes into the goal, play restarts as if it had been put there from outside the ‘D’ in regular play. Also, a stroke cannot be awarded for a ‘probable goal’ (although it can for an intentional offence in the ‘D’ against a player with an opportunity to play the ball) as no goal can be ‘probable’ until the ball has left the circle.
If the first shot at a PC is a hit, it may not be ‘high’ (defined as on track to cross the goal-line higher than the height of the back-board). This is an offence; as soon as a first shot which is a hit is on track to go higher, a free-hit is awarded to the defence. Note, however, that if the first shot is not a hit, or if a later shot is a hit, it may go high.
Defenders are not compelled to wear masks, but they certainly should; they must not, however, play on while wearing them beyond their defensive ’23’, nor for longer than necessary.
There is no longer any requirement for the attack to stop the ball dead at a PC.
Conclusion
That, I hope, is a fairly clear journey through the apparent complexities and curiosities of the ‘PC’! Its use, given the obvious safety issues, remains someone controversial, but some form of curious power play will surely always form part of the game.
Ian James Parsley 