Neutral Call
Overview
A neutral call is a referee declaration that temporarily stops interaction with a specific player to allow inspection, ruling, or safety intervention without affecting the fairness of gameplay.
Key Points
- Initiated by referees to resolve disputes or confirm hits.
- Forbids shooting at or from the neutral designated player.
- Used during paint checks, equipment issues, or interference.
- Critical for ensuring impartial rulings in ambiguous scenarios.
- Ends only when the referee signals return to live status.
Details
A neutral call is a formal referee procedure used to temporarily isolate a player from active engagement. Once called, both teams must treat the affected player as non targetable and non threatening. The referee may physically block lines of fire, inspect gear, check for breaks, or address safety concerns.
Neutral calls maintain competitive integrity by preventing unfair eliminations during subjective or complex rulings. They are particularly important during close range engagements where splatter, rubbing, or bounce confusion may obscure the true outcome.
Referees clearly announce neutral calls using hand signals or verbal declarations. Once the check is completed, the referee announces that the player is live again or calls them out if the hit is confirmed.
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