Question Number: 13227

Law 1- The Field 6/29/2006

RE: Competitive Adult

Greg McLeod of Calgary, Alberta Canada asks...

I recently came into the situation where a penalty kick was awarded for our team. The referee placed the ball on the spot which like many rec pitches was in a divot area. The player then moved the ball a couple inches to one side so that it was out of the divot but still had more than half the ball on the spot.

Questions

1. Is this okay? I have read the FAQ on the FIFA website and it says
"On a waterlogged pitch, a player places the ball for a penalty kick to the side of the penalty mark. Is this permitted?"
Answer No

To me this sounds as if the ball is no longer touching the PK spot and therefore the ball should be moved back to be touching the spot.

2. What diameter is the penalty spot supposed to be? I can not find this anywhere?

Thanks.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

1. Absolutely not ok. Must be from the penalty mark. period.2. The LOTG do not specify the diameter of the mark. It's where the referee says it is and once the ball is placed, it's not to be moved

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Greg,
the pk spot has no exact measurement surprisingly so a dot or an x may be present as to width of line, just 12 yards out and in the middle of goal. . You are correct if the spot is a divot that is where the kick occurs. A referee could demand the PK mark be properly fixed prior to a match but you take the rough with the smooth. I could be mistaken but at the world CUP it appears as a rounded area almost the size of the ball? Cheers