Section 8: Safety Considerations
Mandatory Head Protection - Rule 4.2(i): Every player must wear a helmet with a facial guard meeting the IS:355 standard (or its NSAI-determined replacement) in all Hurling Games and Hurling Practice Sessions, and the helmet must not be modified from its original manufactured state. A Referee is empowered to order a bleeding or seriously injured player off the field for medical attention (Rules of Control, Rule 1.1(iii)), and injuries involving blood or a suspected head injury are addressed through the Temporary Substitution provisions referenced at Rule 1.5(b) of the Rules of Control.
Contact Limits - Rule 1.9: Shoulder-to-shoulder charging is restricted to players with at least one foot on the ground who are in possession of the ball, playing the ball, or moving toward the ball to play it; charging outside these conditions is itself an Aggressive Foul under Rule 5.11. The goalkeeper receives specific additional protection from charges while within the small rectangle (Rule 1.9).
Dangerous-Play Sanctions - Rule 5: The graded Aggressive Fouls framework specifically targets dangerous conduct: throwing the hurley in a manner constituting a danger to another player (5.7), careless use of the hurley (5.6), striking or attempting to strike with force or causing injury (5.24-5.29), stamping on an opponent (5.30), and reckless infliction of injury by other means (5.31) all carry an immediate order-off and, at Inter-County and equivalent levels, multi-match or multi-week suspensions that scale sharply with severity and repetition, up to 96-192-week suspensions and team disqualification for the most serious (Category VI-VII) conduct.
Injury Stoppage Procedure - Rule 2.9: Where the Referee stops play in exceptional circumstances to allow a seriously injured player to be treated or removed from the field, play resumes with a free puck to the team in possession at the point of stoppage (or a throw-in if neither team was in possession); a score may not be made directly from a free puck awarded under this provision (Rule 3.5), which removes any incentive to feign or exploit an injury stoppage for scoring advantage.