(and Why the FIH Still Holds Responsibility and the Rules Should Be Reverted)
TLDR: Swinging at lifted/elevated balls is inherently dangerous, and relying on umpire judgment to manage that danger is neither realistic nor safe.
Summary
The danger in modern field hockey begins the moment the ball leaves the ground, because a lifted ball—whether intentional or accidental—can be struck with a full swing and becomes a high-velocity projectile that no defender can evade and no umpire can stop in time. The current FIH rule wrongly relies on subjective, split-second umpire judgments that are physically impossible to make, while assuming that attackers can control their swing, avoid defenders, and respond instantly to a whistle. These assumptions contradict the biomechanics of hitting, human reaction time, auditory processing, and the chaotic nature of the circle. The result is an unpreventable, systemic safety hazard that places players at risk, forces umpires into impossible decisions, and exposes the sport to foreseeable liability. The only responsible solution is to revert to a strict non-lifting standard inside the circle to protect athletes, officials, and the integrity of the game.
Summarized Points
- Danger begins the moment the ball leaves the ground inside the D. A lifted ball—intentional or accidental—can be struck with a full swing and becomes a high-velocity projectile.
Umpires cannot prevent injury once the ball is airborne. By the time they see the ball lift in the D, it has already traveled at lethal speed and is impossible to stop.
Relying on umpire judgment is unrealistic. The rule asks umpires to make instant decisions about intention, distance, danger, and evasion that contradict human reaction time.
Players cannot check their swing. Once the striking motion begins, modern biomechanics make it physically impossible to stop, redirect, or decelerate.
Attackers cannot guarantee safe outcomes. Even elite players mishit, misjudge elevation, clip the ball, or strike toward defenders under pressure.
Defenders cannot protect themselves. In crowded circles with obstructed visibility, defenders have no ability to evade a 70–100 mph airborne ball.
The rule assumes impossible conditions. It assumes umpires can recognize danger instantly, blow the whistle before the swing, and that attackers can hear and respond in time.
The danger is systemic, not isolated. Modern hockey has more congestion, more chaos, and more unpredictable ricochets—amplifying the danger from hitting a lifted-ball .
Umpires are set up to fail. They are unfairly blamed for injuries they have no physical ability to prevent.
The sport faces foreseeable liability. The FIH knows lifted balls are unsafe, knows umpires can’t control them, and risks negligence claims for failing to fix the rule.
A strict prohibition on swinging at any ball with two hands together like a baseball swing that has left the ground rule is the only solution. The only effective remedy is a strict standard, including a complete prohibition on swinging at any ball that has left the ground, because only this approach can safeguard players, officials, and the long-term integrity of the game.
1. Hitting Lifted Balls Creates Extreme and Immediate Danger
The hazard is not created by the initial lift itself, but the danger is already present the moment the ball leaves the ground. Once airborne—whether lifted deliberately or by accident—the ball can be struck with a full swing and becomes a high-velocity projectile. At that point, the umpire should not be placed in the impossible position of judging whether the lift was “dangerous,” because the genie is already out of the bottle: a lifted ball is inherently dangerous, and any judgment required after it is airborne comes far too late to protect players.
A ball struck in this state becomes:
a zero-reaction-time projectile,
traveling at 70–100 mph (112–160 km/h),
aimed directly at heads, faces, throats, and temples,
with multiple bodies obstructing the line of sight,
giving defenders no ability to track, evade, or protect themselves.
A direct strike to these areas can cause skull fractures, intracranial bleeding, shattered facial bones, carotid damage, airway collapse, or instantaneous fatality.
By the time the umpire sees the swing, the danger is already unavoidable. Umpires can only intervene after injury occurs. They cannot prevent it.
2. The rule relies on judgment that is impossible to apply once the ball has been lifted
Because danger exists the moment the ball leaves the ground, the rule’s reliance on subjective, after-the-fact judgment is fundamentally flawed. The FIH forces umpires to evaluate terms like:
“dangerous play,”
“unduly dangerous,”
“legitimate evasive action,”
“defender must have time,”
“no players within playing distance,”
even though the danger has already been created by the lift itself.
Umpires cannot determine:
whether defenders could evade,
whether attackers intended the lift,
whether any “safe space” existed,
or whether the ball trajectory is avoidable.
At game speed, human judgment cannot compute these variables. A lifted ball leaves no margin for safety and no opportunity for fair assessment.
3. Defensive players cannot protect themselves once the ball is airborne
Once the ball has been lifted:
defenders cannot track it through traffic,
bodies and sticks obscure sightlines,
players stand at extremely close distances,
defenders are often flat-footed or unsighted,
and no protective gear is required in open play.
A defender cannot:
look up fast enough,
gauge elevation,
predict bounce,
or get out of the way.
Expecting “evasive action” is physiologically impossible when the ball is airborne and struck at high speed.
4. The danger is systemic because the lift itself creates the risk
This issue is not isolated. Modern circle play increasingly features:
more congestion,
more bodies blocking vision,
more unpredictable ricochets,
more defenders crowded directly in front of attackers,
and more pressure situations where the ball elevates easily.
These conditions amplify the danger created the moment the ball leaves the ground.
Every nation has witnessed dangerous incidents.
Every umpire sees near-misses weekly.
Every player has seen teammates struck.
This is a rule-design failure, not a player or umpire failure.
5. The FIH Has Placed Umpires in an Impossible Position
Because danger is created the moment the ball is lifted, the rule should prevent the lift—not rely on an umpire’s interpretation after the hazard already exists. Yet the current framework forces umpires into a role no human being can fulfill safely, demanding instantaneous, subjective assessments under conditions where catastrophic danger is already unavoidable.
The system incorrectly assumes that umpires can:
recognize danger instantaneously,
interpret intent and trajectory the moment the ball leaves the ground,
blow the whistle before the attacker begins the swing,
and that the attacker will hear the whistle, process it, and stop their action in time to prevent injury.
Every one of these assumptions is factually and physically impossible. The moment the ball lifts, the hazard already exists, and by the time an umpire perceives it, the player may already be swinging. Human reaction time makes timely intervention impossible.
Umpires are not able—uniformly or reliably—to judge danger in every instance once the ball is airborne, nor can they blow the whistle in time to prevent a catastrophic injury. The decision-making required—distance, proximity, trajectory, defender visibility, attacker control—cannot be executed in the split seconds available. By the time an umpire sees a lifted ball and processes its trajectory, it is too late.
Compounding this, a player who has begun the attacking swing cannot check, stop, or redirect that swing once the motion is initiated. Modern hitting biomechanics commit the entire body—hips, torso, shoulders, and wrists—in a way that makes last-second restraint physically impossible. The rule incorrectly assumes attackers can alter direction, reduce power, or avoid defenders once the swing begins. They cannot. Even elite players lose control of the ball when crowded or under pressure. Directional control over a 2D/XY/ball on the ground. Hitting a ball in the air/on the Z axis introduces too many variables which can result in the ball not traveling along the intended line. The player swinging at the ball is also focused on the ball and may not be aware of the players between the ball they are swinging at and the goal. Furthermore, even though there are players on the target line they may swing at the ball with no regard for player safety. Scoring may be paramount in their mind.
The system further assumes that attackers will:
hit the ball accurately,
Be aware of all player sin front of them,
avoid all players in front of them,
adjust swing mechanics under pressure,
respond instantly to auditory cues (i.e. the umpires whistle),
and exercise restraint when presented with a scoring opportunity.
These assumptions are demonstrably false. Even the world’s best players mishit, misjudge elevation, clip the top of the ball, or unintentionally strike toward defenders when physically off-balance. In a crowded circle, attackers often cannot hear the whistle at all—let alone process it and stop a biomechanical motion that cannot be stopped mid-execution.
Expecting umpires to judge intention, control, space, and danger in fractions of a second, while expecting players to perfectly manage biomechanics they physically cannot adjust once committed, is unrealistic, unsafe, and disconnected from the realities of the modern game.
Subjective judgments of this nature are not merely difficult—they are structurally impossible. They contradict:
human reaction time limits,
the biomechanics of the hitting action,
auditory processing delays under stress,
chaotic circle traffic and visual obstruction,
and the speed and unpredictability of modern lifted play.
This rule system places umpires in a position where failure is guaranteed, danger is unavoidable, and responsibility is placed on the only people on the field who have no physical ability to prevent the outcome once the hazard has been created. Umpires are being asked to perform superhuman tasks that defy physics, physiology, neuroscience, and the chaotic nature of the circle.
The result is a rule structure where danger is inevitable and unpreventable, and umpires are unfairly set up to take the blame for injuries they had no ability to stop.
6. Players cannot reliably control airborne balls or exercise restraint
Once the ball is airborne:
mishits happen,
swings slip or deflect,
crowded pressure alters angles,
attackers misjudge elevation,
and defenders stand in the firing line.
Even elite players lose control of rising balls when crowded.
A rule that depends on “player judgment” after the ball is airborne is inherently unsafe.
7. Umpires should not be left with life-changing responsibility for unpreventable danger
If a player suffers a fatal or permanently disabling injury from a lifted ball, the umpire who allowed play seconds earlier may carry that trauma for life—despite having no physical ability to prevent the outcome. Officials should never be required to make impossible, morally crushing safety judgments after danger has already occurred.
8. The danger created by lifted balls is driving people out of the sport
Coaches, parents, and players report walking away from hockey because:
lifted balls create unacceptable risk,
collisions and injuries are increasing,
umpires cannot protect players,
and rules no longer ensure safety.
When participation declines because the sport feels unsafe, rule design—not officiating—is the cause.
9. The FIH faces a foreseeable and escalating liability crisis
Because danger exists the moment the ball is lifted, lawyers will argue that the FIH:
knew that baseball like swings at lifted balls are inherently dangerous,
knew umpires cannot enforce safety post-lift,
knew the standard is unfit for modern play,
and failed to prevent the creation of the hazard.
This is negligence in rule design and a violation of the duty of care. Even with jurisdictional protections, the combination of:
known danger,
rule inadequacy,
impossible enforcement,
foreseeable catastrophic harm
creates serious governance, insurance, and reputational risk.
10. Conclusion: The rule must prevent play when the ball is lifted—not judge danger after it occurs
Because:
the danger is created when the ball leaves the ground,
attackers can instantly turn an airborne ball into a deadly projectile,
defenders cannot protect themselves,
umpires cannot intervene in time,
and the FIH has full knowledge of these facts,
the only responsible solution is to:
Revert to a strict non-lifting standard inside the circle.
This protects:
players,
umpires,
federations,
insurers,
and the future integrity and safety of the sport.