Personal & Technical FoulsRick Catalano

NILOA, EMLOA official, MBYLL Metro West Referee Coordinator

What is a personal foul?

• Personal fouls are those fouls of a serious nature.

• The penalty for a personal foul shall be a time serving penalty.

• Penalties shall be either one, two or three minutes depending on severity and intent of the foul.

Cross Check

• A player may not check an opponent with the crosse.

• Handle will be exposed between the hands and player will utilize a punching or thrusting motion to deliver check.

• Look for broken sticks!

Illegal Body Check

• A check above the shoulders or below the waist is illegal.

• A check from behind is illegal.• A check delivered to a player while he is laying

or kneeling down is illegal.• Spearing – leading with the top of the helmet

– is at a minimum a one-minute, non-releasable foul.

Illegal Body Check (cont.)

• If a player turns his back to, jumps or ducks as a check is coming in an attempt to draw illegal contact, no foul has been committed.

Slashing• Swinging a crosse at an opponent’s crosse or body with

viciousness or reckless abandon, regardless of whether the opponent’s crosse or body is struck.

• Striking an opponent on any part of the body in an attempt to dislodge the ball.

• Checks must be stick on stick.• If player is shooting, passing or scooping ball, no slash occurs

unless unnatural follow-through.• MBYLL: No one-handed checks!

Tripping

• May not trip opposing player with any part of body or crosse.

• Can sell as a push when player makes contact with player from behind.

Unnecessary Roughness

• Excessive in nature.• Running through screen/pick.• Late hit (illegal body check).• Good to use when players are pushing and

shoving each other before fight breaks out.• Defenseless players• MBYLL: mandatory locked-in penalty, 2-3 min.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct

• Arguing with official.• Profanity (especially F-Bombs).• Calling undue attention to oneself.• Hiding player in special substitution area.• First three are non-releasable fouls.

Illegal Crosse/Equipment• Deep pocket – one minute non-releasable. Stick can

return to game if fixed.• Stick must be between 40-42 inches long and 6 ½

inches at widest point of head (inside measurement). Penalty is three minutes, non-releasable and stick is removed from game and placed on table.

• Illegal gloves or shoulder pads are one-minute, non-releasable fouls.

• Be proactive before game to notice equipment violations!

TECHNICAL FOULS

What is a technical foul?• Technical fouls are those of a less serious nature than

personal fouls.• Include all violations of the rules of lacrosse except

those specifically listed under personal fouls.• Time serving, 30 second penalty if ball was in

possession of team that was offended.• Turnover if team with possession commits technical

foul.• Award possession to offended team if ball was loose

at time of foul (Play-on situation).

Crease ViolationGoalkeeper Interference

• Interfering with goalie while defensive team possesses ball outside of crease (flag down, slow whistle).

• Attack runs through crease while defensive team possesses ball outside of crease (flag down, slow whistle).

• Interference with goalie while ball is in crease.• Possession – play on – ball awarded at midfield if pass not

completed• No possession – play on – ball awarded 20 yards lateral if

no possession gained.

Holding• A player may not hold an opponent with his crosse.• A player may not step on the crosse of opponent.• A player may not hold with the free hand.• A player man not hold with the shaft of his stick and

hands apart (cross-check hold)• Reminders:• Equal pressure from rear is not a hold.• Crosse against crosse is not a hold unless player is pinning

crosse of his opponent against his opponent’s body.• Both hands must remain on stick when checking.

Illegal Offensive Screen

• Player must be stationary when setting picks.• Stick should be straight up and down and

within his body.• No leaning or stepping into player.

Conduct Foul

• Coach/player entering field without permission or reason to do so.

• Use of artificial aids (electronic devices, megaphones) to communicate with players.

• Argue with officials.• Swearing• Taunting other players.

Interference

• Interfering with the free movement of an opponent except when that opponent has the ball, or both players are within 5 yards (3 for most youth) of a loose ball or a ball in flight.

• Occurs on loose balls when one player scoops ball and other player still engages opponent

• Also occurs in front of crease in settled situations.

Offsides

• No more than 6 players in a team’s offensive end or 7 in its defensive end, including players in the penalty area

• Team in possession is offsides: Turnover.• Team without possession offsides: Flag down,

slow whistle. • B1 goes offsides and returns to proper half of field,

then goes offsides again. RULING – Same player going offsides twice is only one technical foul.

Pushing

• Player will not shove or thrust opponent from rear.

• Not a violent blow.• Permitted from front or side as long as within

5 yards of loose ball (3 yards in youth) or opponent has possession.

• Both hands must be on crosse.

Stalling

• Team is ahead with under 2 minutes in game.• Team is obviously keeping ball from play.• Only occurs in offensive attack box.• Violation is called when ball exits attack area or

player steps out of attack area with ball.• Either team is entitled to retrieve ball if pass is

deflected off defensive stick and ball exits attack area. Offensive team regains possession – they have 10 seconds to get it back in and stalling warning continues.

Warding Off

• A player may not use his free hand, arm or any part of his body to gain advantage, push or control the direction of the movement of the crosse or body of the player applying the check.

• A player may protect his crosse with his free hand provided he does not attempt to engage the crosse with his free hand.

Withholding Ball From Play

• When a loose ball is on the ground, a player may not lie on the ball or trap it with his crosse longer than is necessary to pick it up.

Illegal Procedure

• Section 6-5 (Page 39-40 of NFHS) covers most technical fouls

Remaining subjects

• Failure to advance – 20 seconds from defensive zone to zone 3 and 10 seconds from zone 3 to zone 4.

• Substitution violation – players entering field early.

• Delay of game – after goal scored or upon turnover, rolling/throwing ball away (falls under illegal procedure).