FIH has decided today to make it mandatory for all players when defending penalty corners to wear a face mask. This measure has been taken in order to further protect players when defending during this very special moment of the game of hockey.
FIH President Tayyab Ikram said: “Athletes’ welfare is on top of our priorities. Therefore, it goes without saying that their safety cannot be compromised. I’m convinced that this decision, that I’ve strongly encouraged, is the right thing to do! Of course, we respect the fact that this measure might not always be possible to implement in some non-FIH events. Nevertheless, I can only encourage the global hockey community to include this measure in their own competitions or, at least, to implement alternative solutions to protect players during this phase of the game.”
In addition, and to allow all defending players to be properly protected, the FIH Regulations will be adjusted to provide some flexibility to umpires in applying the 40 seconds between the award of a penalty corner and the taking of it.
The FIH decision applies with immediate effect for all FIH events.
See Appendix 1 - Regulation 5: https://www.fih.hockey/static-assets/pdf/fih-top-tier-tournament-regulations-january-2025.pdf?v=1.3
