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Rule of the Week - Shot on Goal (Danger or not)

Published Fri 07 Aug 2026

One rule that always gets some questioning, is then is a high shot on goal dangerous and when is it not?

The rule:

RULE 9.8 / 9.9 — DANGEROUS PLAY
Players must not play the ball dangerously, or intentionally raise it from a hit except for a shot at goal. A ball is dangerous when it causes legitimate evasive action. A flick or scoop towards an opponent within 5m is considered dangerous.

SHOTS AT GOAL — SAME RULES APPLY
A raised shot (above knee height) that hits or forces legitimate evasion from an opponent within 5m is dangerous. But a high shot is legitimate if the opponent is on the goal line or clearly running into its path — if struck there, the appropriate penalty goes to the attack.

HE ONE-LINE TEST
Was the struck opponent legitimately positioned — on the goal line, or running into the shot's path?
If no, and they were forced to evade — dangerous play, free hit to defence. If yes, and they're  struck anyway — penalty to the attack.

GUARDRAIL — POSITION AND ROLE DECIDE IT, NOT JUST HEIGHT
A raised shot is not automatically dangerous, and a defender being struck is not automatically a foul on the attacker. The question is always where the struck player was and what they were doing there. Inside 5m and forced to genuinely evade — dangerous play. On the goal line or clearly playing the ball — legitimate, and any resulting penalty runs the other way. Don't default to "high ball, penalise the shooter" without checking the defender's position first

One-Pager with some examples - umpires-corner-week13

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Files for download
umpires-corner-week13

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