Polo Rules

If the game is affected, call a real penalty.

A warning is not a punishment, and should never be used that way. Otherwise it'll just spiral, and people will get the idea "i'll just get warned, no big deal".

There is a MIGHT in my statement accompanied with PETTY, so please do not reword what I said. I never said a warning is a punishment and not everyone is thick and ignores the ref. Warning = caution = if you repeat that you're off = red card in football. Maybe it's time for players to respect the ref more - placing the onus on the players themselves rather than on the ref? Re: gamesmenship v. sportsmenship? One of the prime reason IMO people hate to ref is because most players dont give a hoot about what the ref says.

In my dolphin slap example, i meant situations where it's just luck that the other player was not slapped--perhaps they hopped or steered out of the way, or perhaps a reckless endo where the player was clearly out of control just happened to land short. The ref should be able to recognize the difference... anyway i don't think warnings are important, i was just trying to give an example of one of the times i'd consider warning someone. i find yelling at players on the court is generally not useful.

I disagree with you kev, you are trying to judge/call based on players intention, you sure there is anyone who can be 100% sure about this? Even professional refs in mainstream sports can't eliminate cheating through sportsmenship, what's the chance that we make a wrong call? Time for ref badges and certification? Also, why you should penalise a player when it's lady luck which avoided slapping a player?

The whole issue came up because the rules were changed too close to the tournament. Rules should always be given time to bed-in and not at a short notice.

I said it and I will say it again, I am happy the rules were not used at the UK qualifying tournament.