What is the penalty for fighting?

A fight is an incident where at least one player is penalized for throwing a punch, punches or blows at an opposing player; the punches do not need to make contact (Rule 8.18.1). Officials have wide discretion: minor penalties for roughing, or a major penalty for fighting, plus any other appropriate penalties, depending on the degree of violence.

A player deemed to be fighting is assessed (Rule 8.18.2):

• a 5-minute major penalty and a game misconduct;
• an automatic one-game suspension from the team's next game; and
• an automatic referral to the World Lacrosse Event Disciplinary Panel for review and possible sanctions.

An "unwilling combatant" is a player who only tries to protect themselves from incoming blows: they do not drop their gloves or remove their helmet, and do not initially counter with return punches. An instigator is identified by criteria such as travelling a distance to begin fighting, gloves off first, first punch thrown, substituting directly from the bench to start a fight, a menacing attitude or posture, or verbally inciting another player.

Source: https://lacrosse.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/WL-26-28-Box-Rule-Book_Feb26.pdf