Cards and discipline
What a yellow or a red costs a player during the game and afterwards, how cards add up over a season, and who reviews conduct, as each rulebook sets it. The HPA calls them flags; the AAP and the USPA call them cards.
16 of 18 rows differ
| Fact | HPA UK | AAP Argentina | USPA USA |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the umpires can give Differs | Yellow and red flags, and a technical foul The HPA says flag where the other rulebooks say card. | Technical foul, yellow card and red card | Yellow and red cards |
| Unsportsmanlike conduct Differs | A technical penalty, a yellow flag or a red flag, at the umpires' choice, on top of any penalty | A warning or a sanction at the umpire's discretion: technical foul, yellow or red card | An immediate yellow card, which also brings a penalty Each card may also make an existing penalty more or less severe. |
| Who decides Differs | Both umpires must agree; if they do not, the referee decides A single or double yellow needs the umpires and the referee to agree. The player and captain must acknowledge the flag. | The umpire | The umpire The umpires may give two or three yellows, or a red, for a first, second or third offence. |
| Technical foul Differs | Once a player has a yellow, the officials may give a technical foul instead of a second yellow | A player's second technical foul in a match is an automatic yellow card | Not specified USPA 2026 r.33b(1)checked |
| Second yellow | Same in HPA, AAP, and USPA 2 minutes of playing time off the field HPA: Called the sin bin. Two yellows can be given at once for one offence, sending the player straight there. USPA: In the penalty box, with no substitute. | ||
| Where the player waits Differs | In the sin bin set by the host club, or the pony lines if the umpires allow A flag is flown for the 2 minutes; once it comes down the player rejoins from an onside position. | At the team's pony lines; the referee times the return After a minute and a half the player rides outside the field to the referee at the centre, who lets them back in. | Where the umpire or the host tournament committee says Leaving the penalty box early gives away a penalty and adds another 2 minutes. |
| Penalty time left at the end of a chukka or game Differs | It runs on into the next chukka and, in a VL tournament only, into the team's next match Time still left when the tournament ends: a £150 fine the first time, £500 the second, then referral to the Disciplinary Review Panel. | It is finished in the next chukka; if the last chukka ends first, it counts as served | The player starts their next game of equal or higher handicap for the same team in the box for the time left |
| Third yellow in a game Differs | Another sin bin: a player can be sin-binned more than once in a chukka or game | It counts as a red card | Another 2 minutes off, or a red card if serious enough; a fourth offence is always a red |
| Red card or flag | Same in HPA, AAP, and USPA Sent off for the rest of the game HPA: A red can come for a first offence or after the last chukka, and counts as two yellows. HPA 2026 r.50aAAP 2026 r.51.1AAP 2026 r.51.2USPA 2026 r.33b(2) | ||
| Substitute after a red Differs | Allowed after 2 minutes of playing time No substitute if the red was for leaving the game without permission. | Within 5 minutes of the sending-off, of equal or lower handicap Without one, play goes on short; if only two players are left, the match is stopped and lost. | Allowed after the next 4 minutes of play |
| Suspension after a red Differs | The next 2 matches in the tournament, subject to the Disciplinary Review Panel, which may change it Up to 3 matches or a disciplinary hearing are possible. With no VL matches left, a panel review and a fine of at least £2,000. | A straight red: suspended until the discipline sub-committee decides. A red from three yellows: also the next match | The player's next game of equal or higher handicap for the same team; the committee or the USPA may add to it Every red card also brings an automatic Conduct Violation Complaint. |
| Leaving the game without permission Differs | Always a red flag, with no substitute | Not specified Further sanctions are in the AAP's Código de Faltas, a separate document. AAP 2026 r.51checked | A penalty chosen by the umpires, possibly with yellow or red cards |
| Cards after the game Differs | A red may come after the last chukka; a double yellow up to 30 minutes after means starting the next game of the tournament on a yellow If that was the player's last game of the tournament: a £150 fine, then £500, then referral to the panel. | Cards may be shown up to 30 minutes after the match; after that, a report to the discipline sub-committee is up to the officials | Two yellows, three yellows or a red, each costing time in the player's next game Two yellows: out for the first 2 minutes. Three: the first 4 minutes. Red: the whole game. No substitute meanwhile. |
| Yellows adding up over time Differs | 4 yellows: the next 4 VL matches start on a yellow. 6 across VL matches, or 4 in one 22-goal VL tournament: panel review A red counts as two yellows. In 22-goal VL tournaments, 3 yellows in one tournament mean starting its remaining matches on a yellow. | 4 yellows in a calendar year: suspended for the next match. Yellows lapse on 31 December Yellows already served as two minutes in the same match do not count. Category A and B tournaments are counted apart. | 5, 8, 10, 11 or 12 yellows in one tier within two months, or 8 across all tiers: suspended for the next game Over a calendar year: 12 in one tier or 16 across all tiers. Tiers: 8 goals and below, 9 to 15, 16 and up, and the Gauntlet of Polo. |
| Repeated fouls Differs | Flags are usually given for dangerous play, unsportsmanlike conduct or persistent rule-breaking | Repeated or serious indiscipline or dangerous play earns a yellow card | A more severe penalty each time, until the team plays properly again One team's repeated fouling does not make the penalties against the other team heavier. |
| A card on top of a penalty Differs | A flag for unsportsmanlike conduct after a foul moves the penalty further up the field How far it moves is not stated. | A technical foul after a Penalty 2 is given: the umpire picks a second penalty, taken straight after the first | A yellow to the fouling team for or during a Penalty 2 turns it into a Penalty 1 |
| Who reviews conduct after the game Differs | The Disciplinary Review Panel: five people appointed by the HPA Chief Executive It reviews conduct in 22-goal and in VL tournaments of 4 goals and above. | The AAP's discipline sub-committee | The USPA Executive Committee, on a Conduct Violation Complaint After a red card the chief operating officer files the complaint automatically. |
| Appeals Differs | Only against a panel suspension that was increased or came from adding up yellows: to an HPA Board, then an Appeal Board | Not specified Further sanctions are in the AAP's Código de Faltas, a separate document. AAP 2026 r.51checked | Protests about discipline follow the USPA's sport protest procedures, never handled by the game officials |
≈ marks a figure we converted; the rulebook gives only the other unit.