What Is Intimidation in Netball?
The intimidation rule in netball explained: behaviour meant to distract an opponent for an unfair advantage, the official examples and how it's penalised.
Intimidation is using behaviour designed to distract an opponent — including verbal comments — to gain an unfair advantage. The rulebook's examples include covering an opponent's eyes, swiping the ball at their face, sudden loud noises, stomping, waving arms erratically and sledging. It's a form of unfair play, penalised with an advanced penalty pass.
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Written for
- Player, umpire
- Rule group
- Defence
Intimidation covers behaviour that tries to put an opponent off rather than beat them with legal skill. It sits alongside contact and obstruction as one of the ways players can unfairly affect an opponent's play.
The rule in plain English
A player, with or without the ball, must not intimidate an opponent by using behaviour designed to distract them — including verbal comments — to gain an unfair advantage (Rule 19.6). It applies to attackers as well as defenders.
The rulebook gives these examples (the list isn't exhaustive):
- covering an opponent's eyes;
- swiping the ball directly at an opponent's face;
- making unnecessary loud or sudden noises;
- stomping the ground;
- waving arms erratically;
- sledging — deliberately insulting or verbally intimidating an opponent.
A simple example
A Goal Keeper stands a legal 0.9m from the Goal Shooter but, as the shooter lines up, stamps the floor and shouts suddenly to break their concentration. Even with no contact and no distance breach, that's intimidation.
Legal vs illegal
| Legal | Illegal |
|---|---|
| Arms up to contest a shot from 0.9m | Waving arms erratically in the shooter's face |
| Calling to teammates to organise the defence | Making sudden loud noises aimed at an opponent |
| Tight, legal marking | Sledging an opponent |
What the umpire is looking for
The umpire is judging whether the behaviour was a genuine attempt to play or defend the ball, or was designed to distract an opponent to gain an unfair advantage.
How it's penalised
Intimidation is one of the forms of unfair play (Rule 19.1), so it's penalised with a penalty pass that is advanced — moved up to half a third towards the non-infringing team's goal. Umpires also use game management actions as needed: proactive advice, a warning, a two-minute suspension, and ordering a player off for persistent offending — see netball sanctions explained.
Because it's unfair play, advantage can't be applied to intimidation. The umpire's hand signal is a hand tracing a small arc in front of the face — the same signal used for interference with a shot.
Common misunderstandings
- "Loud defending is just intensity." Calling and organising your own team is fine; noise aimed at distracting an opponent isn't.
- "Intimidation is only about aggression." The rule is about distraction for an unfair advantage — erratic arm-waving or covering someone's eyes counts even if nobody is angry.
Player tips
- Channel defensive intensity into legal technique — footwork, position, timing and arms raised from the correct distance.
Umpire tips
- Deal with early signs promptly — intimidation often builds over a match.
- Use the specific terminology ("intimidation") so the player knows exactly what was penalised.
Related rules
Intimidation sits alongside contact and obstruction as one of the main ways a player can unfairly affect an opponent — the first two through physical interference and distance, this one through distraction.
Common mistakes
- Waving arms erratically or making sudden loud noises to put off a shooter or passer.
- Sledging — deliberately insulting or verbally intimidating an opponent.
- Thinking intimidation only applies to defenders — attackers, with or without the ball, can intimidate too.
Official source: checked against the World Netball Rules 2024, published by World Netball. Last checked 10 October 2026.
Always check the official World Netball rulebook for the definitive, current wording. This site explains and illustrates the rules; it does not replace them.