Question Number: 17119

Law 14 - Penalty kick 10/5/2007

RE: competitive Under 9

John of Lincoln, NE USA asks...

At a recent match we were awarded a PK. My players all stood at least 10 yards behind the ball and behind the player taking the kick. The other team's coach had his players line up on all sides of the penalty area and told them that as soon as my player touched the ball, they were to crash the net to clear any possible rebounds. I told the ref that the other team had to be behind the ball like my players were. Both the ref and other coach said they could line up anywhere as long as they were outside the penalty area. We made the PK and after the game I got out my rule book and looked up Law 14 to where it says other players must be behind penalty mark.

Am I right in the fact that all players must be behind the ball and can't be lined up on the sides? Would it be considered encroachment by the defending team if they crashed the net after the kick providing the ball did not cross the goal line?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Ah Ha,
Another coach who could get the referee certificate if he so chose! You are spot on to know the positions allowed, but you are not allowed to tell the referee you know more than him during the match. ;o) As my colleague suggests please report this to your association you are then assisting in the proper development of a referee!
While certain fundementals require some experiance to get it right a referee really needs to be aware that on a pk they must be behind the ball. It is his job to ensure all players are properly positioned at the taking of the PK . It is possible that if you missed your pk and one of the illegally placed defenders cleared out the rebound that otherwise one of your team might have gotten too the match result could be protested as it is a misapplication of the laws.

I will add this to help clarify a point brought up by another questioner as to possible confusion where players can stand on a pk outside the area . The opposition or attacking team can line up along the side of the penalty area provided they are 12.1 yards away from the goal line to qualify as being behind the penalty mark which is located at 12 yards out. I will add another piece, the penalty arc is actually the 10 yard radius of a free kick from the penalty spot and no one is allowed in there either.

Law 14 ? The Penalty Kick

Position of the Ball and the Players
The players other than the kicker are located:

inside the field of play;

outside the penalty area;

********behind the penalty mark;*********

at least 9.15 m (10 yds) from the penalty mark.

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

John, what we have here is a referee in need of further education. Please be sure to call his assignor and tell her what you told us. That is probably the only way this referee will get the help he needs. Having been an assignor myself for many years, I can tell you I always appreciated getting these calls, because it gave me a chance to help "my" referees become the best in the area. Without this type of information, instructors and assignors and assessors often work in the dark, trying to find those areas where the referees are weak and need support. Once I had a coach call me and tell me what seemed a fantastic story: the referee had called a foul/offense at mid field, but gave a penalty kick as the punishment! When I checked with the referee, who turned out to be a brand new referee, he agreed with the coach and told me he felt the offense was so bad, it deserved a penalty kick! Imagine my consternation! We did some re-education and this referee eventually went on to earn his grade 7 certification. So, when you call and report this kind of error, it can and should make the referee better, which helps the game, and the players and even the coaches! ;-)

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 17190