What happens if we have too many players on the field?

FIH Rule 2.1 (2027): no more than eleven players per team on the field at any time.

If a team has too many:

• The umpires stop time to correct it.
• If it materially affected the match, the captain must get a yellow card.
• Decisions made before it was corrected can't be changed once time or play has restarted.
• Play restarts with a free hit to the opponents, unless a penalty had just been awarded against your team, in which case that penalty is taken.

How to avoid it (Rule 2.3): a substitute may only come on after the player being replaced has left the field, and both must use the area within 3 m of the centre-line on the bench side. The captain is responsible for making sure substitutions are done correctly.