How do cards work indoors?

Under the FIH Rules of Indoor Hockey (Rule 14.1), a player may be:

• cautioned (spoken words);
• given a green card: temporarily suspended for 1 minute of playing time;
• given a yellow card: a longer temporary suspension;
• given a red card: permanently suspended from the match.

Your team plays one player short for the length of every green or yellow card suspension, and for the rest of the match after a red card.

The 2027 FIH indoor edition (effective internationally from 1 November 2026) sets a yellow card at 2 or 4 minutes. It also says the same player shouldn't get two green or two yellow cards in a match; a repeat offence gets the next card up. The 2023 edition set a minimum of 2 minutes for a yellow. The exact yellow card length therefore depends on which edition your competition is using.