Question Number: 16279

Kicks From The Penalty mark 8/11/2007

RE: Rec Adult

Al of Sarnia, Ontario CANADA asks...

Kicks from the mark situation, ball kicked before signal is given. Two questions (one hypothetical).

Situation: Ball set, player told quietly to wait for whistle (may not have heard me), I'm moved to my spot, check keeper, and look over to player to blow whistle. Before I can bring it up, player begins run. I decide not to intervene and ball enters goal after kick. Retake, of course. Kicker frustrated...of course. Boots ball 10 yards over goal on retake.

1. Would it be useful to intervene verbally here or blow whistle as he is running up? My thinking was, if he blows kick...hmmm I better use the other whistle.
2. Hypothetical. Can another player take retake or must same player take it?

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

I've done enough of these things to know some little tricks to prevent what happened to you from happening again. Any procedure you use that allows the kicker to think he may kick when he is ready is wrong, pure and simple.

So the questions and then the tricks.

1. Stop the kick, use your whistle as loud and long as necessary to convey the message STOP!

2. Any other may take the kick, so long as he hasn't kicked before.

In getting ready for the kick have the ball in your hands standing near the penalty mark. When the kicker approaches make small talk, when he answers he is listening! Hand him the ball and tell him to put it where he wants it then tell you he is ready. You stand between him and the goal. When he tells you he's ready you tell him you have to make sure the keeper is ready so you'll whistle for him to kick. If he doesn't say OK, don't move from in front of the ball and tell him again. Do this until he says OK.

Back towards your spot and ask the keeper if he is ready. He, invariably, will nod his head. Check your assistant and make sure he is ready.

Blow for the kick.

It is really easy if you do it that way and there are NO mistrakes.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Gil Weber

Al, here's my opinion, and I emphasize it's only my opinion.

1) I absolutely would intervene to stop the player from taking the kick if he moves prior to the signal. A strong whistle is required. Using the voice to try to stop the player is not sufficient. In the emotion of the moment it might not be heard or might not be understood (especially if not in the language of the player).

If after the kick has been ordered retaken the kicker dissents what then? If the referee feels it necessary to display yellow card (or red, if really nasty language), who created the problem to trigger the outburst? The referee.

Of course the player should not have dissented, but the referee has a responsibility to make it clear "Do not kick until my whistle." If it is made clear and player still goes too early, then that is the player's fault in full, and he deserves whatever discipline the referee feels is necessary in that situation. But I opine that in a majority of cases the referee has not made it clear enough.

So the kick should be retaken.

2) Now, as to the issue of who takes the kick. Here it gets interesting.

Remember that at KFTPM all of the Laws of the Game still apply, including the provisions of Law 14 -- penalty kicks.

At the taking of KFTPM the teams do NOT have to give the referee a list of the first 5 kickers. They can send up anyone they want, and they can change the order at any time. The only requirement for the referee is to assure that **upon the completion of a kick,** (and I emphasize UPON COMPLETION) that kicker cannot kick again until all teammates including the GK have taken a kick.

So let's say the second kicker at KFTPM does as described in your scearnio, and the kick is ordered retaken. Since the ball was not put into play properly in the first place, the kick was never completed and, in fact, never took place. That player can take his kick under the authority of the referee (upon a signal) or he go back to the center circle, and a different player can take the kick as the second kicker in the rotation.

And the guy who went back to the center circle could then take the very next
kick in the rotation (#3) or wait until the second round if it went past the first five.

Let me say again: The kicker who had the "false start" has not completed his kick and, therefore, he is still eligible to take any of the kicks. In actual fact he has not taken a kick at all. It never happened; it was a non-event since the ball was kicked before the referee's signal and, therefore, was never properly put into play.

Remember also that during KFTPM an injured player may be excused (replaced) by another kicker even if the injured player has made an attempt to take a kick.

In the PDL championship match (the lowest "pro" division in the US) played 8/11/07 KFTPM were necessary. A player took a kick and it was saved by the GK. However, the referee ordered it retaken when the GK moved forward off the goal line too early.

The kicker had such horrible leg cramps that he was unable to retake the kick. He was replaced in the rotation by another player. The team could have used that "injured" player at anytime later in the rotation since his kick was not completed -- it did not score, he did not miss, and it was not successfully saved. Rather, it was ordered retaken and, therefore, was a non-event as far as determining when that player was eligible to take a kick.

Hope this helps.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Al,
in the thirty odd years I have actively refereed no pk kicker has ever gone early on me.

"The Referee
does not signal for a penalty kick to be taken until the players have taken up position in accordance with the Law;"

This states it is a NON event UNLESS a signal HAS been given!
We only have one option, to retake!

"Infringements/Sanctions
If the referee gives the signal for a penalty kick to be taken and, before the ball is in play, one of the following situations occurs: "

This states the misconduct that occurs after a whistle (signal) has been given we have various options at our disposal

I agree 100% with the stated mechanics of my colleague Ref Fleischer!

I too recommend eye contact and when you say "Please wait for my whistle, do you understand? It should be loud enough for all players to hear it! The pk kicker responds directly because you are looking into the eyes of the kicker and do not walk away until you are assured they understand by a clear YES or an affirmative nod or grunt. You can point to the whistle and hold it up if there is a language barrier.
I also tell the rest of the players if a regular PK that *NO ONE* enters the penalty area until the ball is KICKED!

If the competition is into KFTPM or extended time I add, "You understand no one including you can play this ball after the kick! Only the keeper!

If the pk kicker jumps the gun before the whistle signal and scores the pk will be retaken! I will caution, show a yellow card to the pk kicker for USB, if it is his second he will be sent off for receiving two cautions and shown the red card!

First: the possibility of a keeper being injured on a non event!
Second: the disregard of VERY explicit referee instructions!
Third: the animosity these events create needs to be dealt with!
Fourth: because FIFA says this is not allowed!

If he misses some referees will see it as justice and pretend they did signal! This could be accepted by both teams and be a non issue except to the assessor watching you!

It is better to STOP a stupid thing then allow a stupid thing to occur! First by correctly following procedures it makes it only an obtuse player of the 1st magnitude who could not follow your instructions.
Now a PK signal should be a short hard quip, once you confirm kicker, keeper and players are ready in their proper positions.
SO a long loud series of tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet ...as you run closer to the pk kicker pretty much declares what kind of crap is this???

If you STOP the event you could rip a strip and ask what in thunderation do you think you are doing? You COULD caution the kicker if he gets that shot away especially if the keeper catches a ball in the face because he was not prepared and mayhem abounds!

Now if the PK kicker is upset, injured or even sent off the FACT is no shot has yet occurred. The pk kicker can be replaced by a teammate if not already restricted by having shot earlier or the PK kicker can choose to go again.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

Mr. Fleischer offers great advice here. If you do everything in the correct order...then nothing can go wrong - BOTTOM LINE. Make it clear that the kicker needs to wait for the whistle. In your case, you absolutly need to blow the whistle to stop this. What you did by not blowing whistle is you created a contravercy and got players angry at you. This could have been avoided by hitting the whistle loudly.