Warnings and suspensions

• The penalty cards
• 

  green card (warning)
  
• 

  yellow card (temporary suspension)
  
• 

  red card (permanent suspension)
  

Hockey uses a three-tier penalty card system of warnings and suspensions:

• A green card is fairly similar to an association-football yellow card: the player does not have to leave the pitch (although at international standard the player has to leave the field for two minutes), but any further infractions will result in a yellow or red card.
• A yellow card is an official suspension similar to the penalty box in ice hockey. The duration is decided by the umpire issuing the card and the player must go to a pre-defined area of the pitch as chosen by the umpires at the beginning of the match. Most umpires will opt for a minimum of five minutes' duration without substitution; the maximum time is at the discretion of the umpire, depending on the seriousness of the offence, for example the second yellow to the same player or the first for danger might be given ten minutes. It is possible to yellow-card a player for the entirety of a game. (In some modes, including indoor, shorter periods of suspension are applied, dependent on local rules).
• A red card, just like in association football, is a permanent exclusion from the rest of the game, without substitution, and it usually results in the player being banned for a certain period of time or number of matches (this is governed by local playing conditions, rather than the rules of field hockey). The player must also leave the pitch and surrounding area.

In addition to their colours, field hockey penalty cards are often shaped differently, so they can be recognized easily. Green cards are normally triangular, yellow cards rectangular and red cards circular.
Unlike football, a player may receive more than one green or yellow card. However, they cannot receive the same card for the same offence (for example two yellows for dangerous play), and the second must always be a more serious card. In the case of a second yellow card for a different breach of the rules (for example a yellow for deliberate foot, and a second later in the game for dangerous play) the temporary suspension would be expected to be of considerably longer duration than the first. However, local playing conditions may mandate that cards are awarded only progressively, and not allow any second awards.
Referees may also advance a free-hit by up to 10 m for dissent or other misconduct after a penalty has been awarded; or, if the free-hit would have been in the attacking 23 m area, upgrade the penalty to a penalty corner.