Soccer Law 14: Penalty Kick

A penalty kick is a type of free kick in association football (soccer), taken from twelve yards (approximately eleven metres) out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.

A penalty kick is performed during normal play. Similar kicks are made in a penalty shootout to determine who progresses after a tied match; though similar in procedure these are not penalty kicks and are governed by different rules.

Award

A penalty kick may be awarded when a defending player commits a foul punishable by a direct free kick (a so-called penal foul) against an opponent, within their own penalty area (commonly known as "the box" or "18 yard box"). Note that it is the location of the offence — and not the position of the ball — that defines whether a foul is punishable by a penalty kick or direct free kick, provided the ball is in play. Fouls in the Penalty area are supposed to be on the same scale of strictness as those outside of it, ie if something were to happen outside the penalty area and then the exact same thing happen inside it, then the awards should be a free kick and a penalty respectively. However, referees are often reluctant to give penalties away as they know the severity of the decision, usually a foul has to be much more severe for it to be a penalty. Players are often more likely to dive in the penalty area as a penalty is much more beneficial to the team than a free kick or a corner.

Procedure

The penalty kick is taken from the penalty mark, which is a midline spot 12 yards (10.8 metres) from the goal. The penalty kick taker must be clearly identified to the referee.

All players other than the defending goalkeeper and the penalty taker must be outside the penalty area, behind the penalty mark, behind the ball, and at least ten yards from the ball (i.e. outside the penalty arc) until the ball is kicked. The goalkeeper must remain between the goalposts on the goal-line facing the ball until the ball is kicked, but may move from side to side along the goal-line.

After the referee signals for the kick to be taken, the kicker must kick the ball in a forward direction (not necessarily at the goal, however this is almost always the case). The ball is in play once it has been kicked and moved, and from this point other players may enter the penalty area and play continues as normal, however most often a goal has already been scored.

The penalty kick is a form of direct free kick, meaning that a goal may be scored directly from it. If a goal is not scored, play continues as usual. As with all free kicks, the kicker may not play the ball a second time, until it has been touched by another player, even after a rebound from the posts. However, a penalty kick is unusual in that, unlike general play, external interference directly after the kick has been taken may result in the kick being retaken, rather than the usual dropped-ball.

An own goal may not be scored by the kicking team, although this would be almost impossible since the ball has to be kicked in a forward direction to be a valid penalty kick. If the ball were to wind up in the kicking team's goal (for example, if the kick were to ricochet off the defending team's goalpost, travel the length of the pitch, and go into the opposite goal), a corner kick would be awarded to the defending team. An own goal can result off a penalty if the defending goalkeeper (or another member of the defending side) were to deflect a stopped or errant shot into the defending team's goal.

Infringement

Infringements of the penalty kick law by either team are dealt with using an advantage concept.

Generally:

• For infringements by the defending team, before the kick is taken, should a goal be scored it stands, otherwise the kick is retaken.
• For infringements by the kicking team, should a goal be scored the kick is retaken, otherwise an indirect free kick is awarded against his side where the infringement occurred.
• For infringements by both teams, the kick is retaken.
• If the kicker plays the ball twice (including following up a rebound off the goalpost not touched by the goalkeeper), an indirect free kick is awarded against his side, from where the offence occurred as is usual for free kicks (Subject to Law 8)

The referee may also caution (yellow card) players for infringements of the penalty kick law, e.g. repeated encroaching into the penalty area. Note that in practice, most minor penalty kick infringements are not penalised.

Note that all offences before kick are dealt with in this manner. For example if a defender impedes the progress of an opponent (either towards or away from the penalty area) before the kick is taken (even if the offence is not in the penalty area) then should the kicker not sccore, the kick will be retaken. Other offences by either the defending or attacking team before the kick regardless of their nature are dealt with subject to the four main requirements above.

Strategy

Defending against a penalty kick is one of the most difficult tasks a goalkeeper can face. Due to the short distance between the penalty spot and the goal, there is very little time to react to the shot to try to make the save. Because of this, the goalkeeper will usually start his dive before the ball is actually struck. In effect, the goalkeeper must act on his best prediction about where the shot will be aimed.

As the shooter makes his approach to the ball, the keeper has only a few seconds to "read" the shooter's motions and decide where the ball will go. A goalkeeper may also rely on knowledge of the shooter's past behavior to inform his decision. However, especially in amateur football, the goalkeeper is often forced to guess.

Even if the keeper does manage to block the shot, the ball may rebound back to the shooter or one of his teammates for another shot, with the keeper often in poor position to make a second save. This is not a concern in penalty shoot-outs, where just a single shot is permitted.

In practice, the majority of penalty kicks result in success for the shooter. Of 78 penalty kicks taken during FA Premier League 2005-06 season, 57 (about 73%) resulted in a goal. A German professor who has been studying penalty statistics in the German Bundesliga for 16 years found that 76% of all the penalties during those 16 years went in, and 99% of the shots in the higher half of the goal went in, although the higher half of the goal is generally a more risky target to aim at.

History

The invention of the penalty kick is credited to the goalkeeper and businessman William McCrum in 1890 in Milford, County Armagh, Ireland. The Irish Football Association presented the idea to the International Football Association Board and finally after much debate, the board approved the idea on 2 June 1891. It was introduced in the 1891-92 season. It was originally known as "the kick of death.

Source: Wikipedia