Editing Bandy (section)

==Rules==
{{Main|Bandy Playing Rules}}
[[File:Hammarby vs GAIS 2012-02-11 (14).jpg|thumb|Referee]]

There are eighteen rules in official play, designed to apply to all levels of bandy, although certain modifications for groups such as juniors, veterans or women are permitted. The rules are often framed in broad terms, which allow flexibility in their application depending on the nature of the game.<ref name="worldbandy"/> A game is officiated by a referee, the authority and enforcer of the rules, whose decisions are final. The referee may have one or two assistant referees. A secretary outside of the field often takes care of the match protocol.<ref name="worldbandy"/>

The [[Bandy Playing Rules]] can be found on the official website of the [[Federation of International Bandy]],<ref name="worldbandy"/> and are overseen by the Rules and Referee Committee.

===Players===
[[Image:Emil Paulin Ström 2012b.jpg|thumb|right|The goalkeeper has no stick.]]

Each team consists of a maximum of 11 players (excluding substitutes), one of whom must be the goalkeeper. A team of fewer than eight players may not start a game. Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to play the ball with their hands or arms, and they are only allowed to do so within the penalty area in front of their own goal.<ref name=Ninh>[http://player.mashpedia.com/player.php?ref=mashpedia&q=yIl9B_L9y6I Ninh.co.uk: "The Rules of Bandy - EXPLAINED!"], retrieved 14 October 2017</ref>

Though there are a variety of [[Position (team sports)|positions]] in which the outfield (non-goalkeeper) players are strategically placed by a coach, these positions are not defined or required by the rules of the game.<ref name="worldbandy"/>

The positions and formations of the players in bandy are virtually the same as the common [[association football positions]] and the same terms are used for the different positions of the players. A team usually consists of defenders, midfielders and forwards. The defenders can play in the form of centre-backs, full-backs and sometimes wing-backs, midfielders playing in the centre, attacking or defensive, and forwards in the form of centre forward, second strikers and sometimes a winger. Sometimes one player is also taking up the role of a libero.

Any number of players may be replaced by substitutes during the course of the game. Substitutions can be performed without notifying the referee and can be performed while the ball is in play. However, the substitute must leave the ice before the teammate enters it. A team can bring at the most four substitutes to the game, five if one of these is an extra goalkeeper.<ref name=Ninh/>

===Formation===
[[File:3-4-3.jpg|thumb|Bandy positions in 3–4–3 formation]]
Formation in bandy describes how the players in a team generally position themselves on the [[bandy field|rink]] and is often comparable to the [[Formation (association football)|formation in association football]]. The team's manager(s) define the team's formation while tactics are usually their prerogative as well.

Bandy is a fluid and fast-moving game, and (with the exception of the [[goalkeeper (bandy)|goalkeeper]]) a player's position in a formation defines their role less rigidly than — for instance — for a [[rugby football|rugby]] player, nor are there episodes in play where players must expressly line up in formation (as in [[gridiron football]]). The bandy games are more similar to [[association football]] in this regard. Nevertheless, a player's position in a formation generally defines whether a player has a mostly defensive or attacking role, and whether they tend to play towards one side of the pitch or centrally.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.bandyinolympics.com/rules/ |website= Bandy in Olympics|title= Rules|access-date= 2021-10-18}}</ref>

===Duration and tie-breaking measures===
A standard adult bandy match consists of two periods of 45 minutes each, known as halves. Each half runs continuously, meaning the clock is not stopped when the ball is out of play; the referee can, however, make allowance for time lost through significant stoppages as described below. There is usually a 15-minute [[half-time]] break. The end of the match is known as full-time.<ref name="worldbandy"/>

The referee is the official timekeeper for the match and may make an allowance for time lost through substitutions, injured players requiring attention, or other stoppages. This added time is commonly referred to as ''stoppage time'' or ''injury-time'', and must be reported to the match secretary and the two captains. The referee alone signals the end of the match.<ref name="worldbandy"/>

If it is very cold or if it is snowing, the match can be broken into thirds of 30 minutes each. At the extremely cold [[1999 Bandy World Championship|1999 World Championship]] some matches were played in four periods of 15 minutes each and with extra long breaks in between. In the World Championships the two halves can be 30 minutes each for the nations in the B division.

In league competitions, games may end in a draw, but in some knockout competitions if a game is tied at the end of regulation time it may go into extra time, which usually consists of two further 10-minute periods. If the score is still tied after extra time, the game will be decided on penalties. The teams shoot five penalties each and if this doesn't settle the game, the teams shoot one more penalty each until one of them misses and the other scores.

===Ball in and out of play===
{{Main|Playing the ball in bandy}}
[[File:Swedish bandyplayer.JPG|thumb|upright=0.8|Swedish U17 player on a corner stroke]]
Under the rules, the two basic states of play during a game are ''ball in play'' and ''ball out of play''. From the beginning of each [[playing period]] with a stroke-off (a set strike from the centre-spot by one team) until the end of the playing period, the ball is in play at all times, except when either the ball leaves the field of play, or play is stopped by the referee. When the ball becomes out of play, play is restarted by one of six restart methods depending on how it went out of play:

* Stroke-off
* Goal-throw
* Corner stroke
* Free-stroke
* [[Penalty shot]]
* [[Face-off#Other sports|Face-off]]

If the time runs out while a team is preparing for a free-stroke or penalty, the strike should still be made but it must go into the goal by one shot to count as a goal. Similarly, a goal made via a corner stroke should be allowed, but it must be executed using only one shot in addition to the strike needed to put the ball in play.<ref name="worldbandy"/>

===Free-strokes and penalty shots===
Free-strokes can be awarded to a team if a player of the opposite team breaks any rule, for example, by hitting with the stick against the opponent's stick or skates. Free-strokes can also be awarded upon incorrect execution of corner-strikes, free-strikes, goal-throws, and so on, or the use of incorrect equipment, such as a broken stick.<ref name="worldbandy"/>

Rather than stopping play, the [[referee]] may allow play to continue when its continuation will benefit the team against which an offence has been committed. This is known as "playing an advantage". The referee may "call back" play and penalise the original offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue within a short period of time, typically taken to be four to five seconds. Even if an offence is not penalised because the referee plays an advantage, the offender may still be sanctioned (see below) for any associated misconduct at the next stoppage of play.<ref name="worldbandy"/>

If a defender violently attacks an opponent within the penalty area, a penalty shot is awarded. Certain other offences, when carried out within the penalty area, for instance a defender holding or hooking an attacker, or blocking a goal situation with a lifted skate, thrown stick or glove and so on result in a penalty shot. Also, the defenders (with the exception of the goal-keeper) are not allowed to kneel or lie on the ice. The final offences that might mandate a penalty shot are those of hitting or blocking an opponent's stick or touching the ball with the hands, arms, stick or head. A 10-minute penalty or a red card may be issued to the offending player as well.

===Warnings and penalties===
{{multiple image
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| image1 = Yellow card.svg
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| image2 = White card.svg
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| image3 = Blue card.svg
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| footer = Yellow: warning, White: 5 minutes penalty, Blue: 10 minutes penalty, Red: [[match penalty]]
}}

A yellow card indicates a warning given to an entire team for technical fouls such as errors in the execution of goal-throws or free strokes, or the obstruction of a player without ball. Subsequent technical fouls by the same team result in a five-minute penalty indicated by a white card. A five-minute penalty is indicated through the use of a white card, which is half of the time of the blue card and can be caused by trying to hinder opponents from executing a free-stroke, illegal substitution or repeated illegal but non-violent attacks on an opponent. A ten-minute penalty is indicated by use of a blue card and can be caused by protesting or behaving incorrectly, attacking an opponent violently or stopping the ball incorrectly to get an advantage.

The third time a player receives a time penalty, it will be a personal penalty, meaning he or she will miss the remainder of the match. A substitute can enter the field after five or ten minutes, depending on the type of time penalty received. A full game penalty can be received upon using abusive language or directly attacking an opponent and means that the player can neither play nor be substituted for the remainder of the game. A [[match penalty]] is indicated through the use of a red card.

===Offside===
{{Main|Offside (bandy)}}
The [[offside (bandy)|offside]] rule effectively limits the ability to attack players to remain forward (i.e. closer to the opponent's goal-line) of the ball, the second-to-last defending player (which can include the goalkeeper), and the half-way line. This rule is in general similar to [[Offside (association football)|that of soccer]].<ref name="worldbandy"/>