The penalty for the above infractions is loss of possession of the ball, unless one of the two referees deems it to be a serious offense, in which case they can then issue one of three coloured cards. A green card issues a warning, a yellow card suspends the offending player for at least five minutes, and a red card ejects the offending player.

Field of play

The pitch measures 91.4 meters long by 55 meters wide. It is divided in half by a center line. The goal circle is an arc that comes out 14.6 meters from each goal.

The nets measure 2.14 meters high by 3.66 meters wide and 1.22 meters deep. Since the 1976 Games in Montreal, all Olympic contests have been played on artificial turf.