Rule 49. Penalty 9b - Player Sent Off for Equipment

In plain English

Penalty 9b: player off until the equipment problem is fixed.

• The player goes off, and may not play again until whatever was wrong with their equipment has been put right. A helmet or a whip is the usual cause.
• The game restarts as soon as they have left the field - it does not wait for them.

The published wording of this one runs to a couple of sentences, so rather than reprint it: read rule 49 in the Blue Book 2026.

According to Penalty 9B, what happens when a player is sent off for equipment violation?

• The player is allowed to continue playing but must rectify the equipment violation during the next break in play
• The player is given a 2-minute penalty
• The player is sent off the field and the game resumes immediately after the player has left the field. The player is not allowed to play again until the violation has been rectified ✓
• The player and the pony are both sent off for the rest of the match

A player is sent off for an equipment violation. When may they return?

• At the start of the next chukka
• Once the cause of the violation has been rectified ✓
• Only with the referee’s permission
• They may not return during that game

Test yourself

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