SportsMaze

What gets a player sent off in lacrosse sixes?

A · Advanced · Fouls and penalties · 2 of 3
Checked 14 October 2026

Contact to an opponent's head or neck, fighting and flagrant misconduct. In the women's game a dangerous shot or pass that strikes a field player above the knee is one too. The player is out for the rest of the game, and the team plays a player short for two minutes while its In-Home sits in the penalty area.

How it works

  • The penalty: the player is suspended "for the remainder of game and the In-Home to serve two minutes".
  • Red card: the official's signal.
  • Head and neck: no direct or indirect contact to an opponent's head or neck with a cross-check or any part of the body.
  • Follow-through: a follow-through that reaches the head or neck is included.
  • Spearing: using the head to block an opponent or make head-to-head contact. It applies to the ball carrier too.
  • Fighting: striking or trying to strike anyone maliciously.
  • Leaving the bench: coming off the bench or out of the coaches' area during an altercation counts as fighting.
  • Flagrant misconduct: an extreme breach of safety or sportsmanship, refusing an official's authority, or threatening and abusive language.
  • Dangerous propel: in the women's game, a shot or pass thrown without regard to where players are.
  • Coaches: may be expelled. The In-Home serves the time.
  • Afterwards: the expelled player stays under the supervision of the team's coaches until the end.
  • Reported: every expulsion goes into the officials' report.

The glossary has the expulsion foul, fouling out, the foul cards, the in-home, penalty time served and the illegal body check.

Tricky cases

A defender's cross-check rides up and catches the attacker's neck. Major or expulsion?

Expulsion. Contact with the head or neck using a cross-check is an expulsion foul, direct or indirect.

A scuffle starts and a substitute runs from the bench to join in but throws no punch. What is the call?

Fighting. Leaving the bench or coaches' area during an altercation is within the definition.

In a women's game a hard shot hits a defender on the thigh. Is that always an expulsion?

Only if it was a dangerous propel: taken without regard to the positioning of field players. It applies when the ball directly strikes a player above the knee.

A player is expelled. Does the team play short for the rest of the game?

No. It plays short for two minutes, served by the In-Home. The expelled player takes no further part.

Why the rule exists

Head and neck injuries are the ones a sport cannot accept, and a stick makes them easy to cause. Putting a cross-check or a body part to the head or neck in the top category tells players that there is no acceptable version of it: contact there ends the player's game.

Where it differs

WhereWhat changesSource
Expulsion foulOut of the game, two minutes served by the In-HomeWL Sixes Rule 8.4.2
Three major foulsOut of the game, with a substitute allowed once the minute is servedWL Sixes Rule 8.2.1
Women's gameDangerous propel is an expulsion foulWL Sixes Rule 8.5.2
Coincidental foulsAn expulsion counts as two minutes when totals are comparedWL Sixes Rule 9.3.3

From the rule book

World Lacrosse, 2026-2028 Sixes Lacrosse Official Playing Rules (version 2.0, May 2026), Rules 4.1.4, 8.2, 8.4 and 8.5. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: World Lacrosse Sixes Rule Book 2026-2028 (PDF).

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