Delay of Game Penalty
Comments about this discussion:
Started
In line with the discussion on time outs.
Do we think teams should be able to hit the ball out of the field on purpose to slow a game down? I have seen it (and used it) as a tactic before. But should this be encouraged?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delay_of_game_(ice_hockey)
Comment
As of now we have the „intentional delay of the game“ as a reason for a 2-min send off and i am very much in favor, of leaving this as is. Allowing for hitting the ball out of the field on purpose would hinder the flow, lower the actual playtime, and would just be a overall very frustrating thing in my opinion.
I also think it's generally unsportsmanlike behavior, but opinions probably differ here.
Comment
Currently "intentional delay of game" does not cover hitting the ball out on purpose. I think we should penalise for hitting the ball out on purpose, currently we do not do this. I have seen it used at unicons many many times.
I believe the intentional delay of game rules that we currently have are interpreted by referees more as if the referee is trying to start the game and someone hits the ball away from them on purpose or refuses to start or something. No referee is penalising players for hitting the ball out on purpose
Comment
Penalise for hitting the ball out
Is there a difference between "to slow a game down" and "intentional delay of game" - I think YES.
Let's start with other examples for "to slow a game down" for tactical reasons (frustrating but legal play and not unsportsmanlike):
Hitting the ball as far away on the playing field and
waiting with the ball behind the goal (occasionally some referees judge this behaviar as "intentional delay of game").
It may be a little bit tricky with shooting the ball out over the corners or the side lines:
If this happens with aggression by the opponent team I have no problems with this behaviar. (A good referee has for such situations a spare ball with him and is able to restart the game within seconds!)
If this happens without aggression by the opponent team at least two times in short time I am close to "intentional delay of game" and I would give a 2-min punishment.
Comment
Thanks for raising this discussion.
I think it would be beneficial to clarify the rules in this regard and potentially also more generally what "delay of game" is considered.
I have currently no strong opinion whether hitting the ball out of bounds should be penalised or not. A good referee would restart the game very quickly and thus the time lost would be minimal and ball possession would change, so no large benefit for hitting the ball out.
Comment
A good referee starts a game back up reasonably quickly, but we were discussing using stop clock rules to ensure that time is not wasted at the end of a match when it matters. If that was seen as important I would think that stopping either team from repeatedly hitting the ball out of bounds would be important
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I would say on a 55m long court the game does not restart within seconds regardless of whether a referee has a ball with them.
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Let's assume we want to discourage hitting the ball out. What would the penalty be? A free shot is anyway already given, so we would need to add an additional penalty. I think there is only a 2min penalty left as an option. This is in my opinion with the current rules too harsh and not in relation to the other fouls that lead to a 2min.
Comment
hmm. I take your point. That is quite true.
I guess when we have our first UNICON final with a 1 point lead and 2 minutes to go, and a team repeatedly hits the ball out on the full to run the time down, that will be the point where we will likely follow ice hockey and implement the rule. And at that point I feel a 2 minute penalty will feel like it is warranted.
Comment
I was thinking a penalty where the ball was hit, not where it eventually went out could be a better result for the team who is fouled. I.e. if a defender wacks the ball down field and over the sideline, the ball is restarted where he hit it, not where it went out. But even then, you could probably get your forwards to hit it out instead. In ice hockey if you are penalised for anything the faceoff starts in your defending zone, So the puck is automatically brought back near your goal
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it should definitely not be encouraged. We could add that to the list of 2min penalty causes.