playing rules – diving & embellishment

Rule 87. Diving/Embellishment

A Minor penalty for Unsportsmanlike Conduct shall be imposed on a player who attempts to draw a penalty by his/her action (diving). This penalty may be assessed with or without a foul to the opposing team at the discretion of the Referee.

RATIONALE: this rule has been called for a number of years under other sections of the rule book but this now allows for it to be a specific rule.

Note: This rule covers two different types of actions, both of which are penalized with a minor penalty which is recorded as “Unsportsmanlike Conduct”. “Diving” refers to the act of attempting to draw a penalty when no infraction has occurred. This will result in only a penalty for diving being assessed.

The second type of action is often referred to as “embellishment”. This covers a situation where an infraction occurs but the player who is fouled attempts to make the infraction look worse than it really is to “sell” the call or to get the referee to assess more than a minor penalty. In this circumstance, it is appropriate to assess a minor penalty for the initial infraction and a coincidental minor for unsportsmanlike conduct for the embellishment.