What do the green, yellow and red cards mean?

Question

Accepted Answer

Cards are personal penalties under the 2026 FIH Rules of Hockey (Rule 14.1):

Card	What it means	Team effect
Green	Warning plus a 2-minute suspension of playing time	Plays one player short for 2 minutes
Yellow	Temporary suspension of at least 5 minutes of playing time	Plays one player short for the suspension
Red	Permanent suspension from the match	Plays one player short for the rest of the match

A repeated offense can't get the same card again; it must get a more severe one.

Extra rules at USA Field Hockey events:

Suspended players sit at the technical bench chairs (or stand at the midfield line if there are no chairs). Umpires time suspensions.
If a suspension ends after a penalty corner is awarded, the player waits off the field until the corner is completed.
A red-carded player also misses the team's next game in that division (the team doesn't play short in that next game). Players 19 or younger stay with their team until the match ends. Two red cards in one tournament means suspension for the rest of the tournament.