Question Number: 19155

Law 14 - Penalty kick 5/20/2008

RE: Adult

Warren of Sydney, NSW Australia asks...

This question is a follow up to question 19122

Hi all and thanks for your answers.

Michelle I am sorry that you have assumed that I am having a shot at you .. Yes I did use the FIFA website for my research before asking the question, and FYI, when you go to the "Laws of he Game" link on the FIFA website it encourages you to click the pictorial "link on the right" to check the laws... where it shows all the basic text of the laws including the FIFA Decisions, but it does NOT show the "Additional advice and guidelines for refrees".. it turns out that extra material is only included in the PDF version of the document obtainable via the separate (and very diminuitive) link below.

In any case, having now read the US version and the FIFA version of the "Additional guidance for referees" section, I still have the same question - it is the phrase "If the ball will not *REMAIN* on the mark.. (the match is abandoned)" that perplexed me.

The answers given by the panelists so far agree with my understanding of the laws and my comments in the precious question :

a) if the field is "patchy" where the Penalty mark is (original question in 19055) then tough, you go with it, but you don't choose some other spot

b) if the penalty mark is in a hole or under water, then tough, you place the ball there, and don't move it somewhere else

c) If in the case of a) or b) you decide the pitch is unplayable then you abandon the match according to the powers in Law 5

My question fundamentally related to the word "REMAIN" and I'm sorry if I did not make that clear enough intitially.

I'm trying to imagine a pitch condition (that could not be fairly readily rectified) that could result in a ball not remaining on the penalty spot.

So just to make it clear :

* I was never suggesting that you could move the ball somewhere else

* In a search of US and FIFA guidelines for referees I could find no mention of the ball not remaining on the penalty spot.

So I am assuming that the original comment was made based on a specific experience and that's what I am asking about.

Thanks for your time on this ! :-)

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Warren to understand remain on the mark there must be modern thinking involved. For us old gummers that's a stretch but I'll assume you're still free thinking and have a ready supply of CRS pills at hand. Law 1 is the starting place and it is specifically International FA Board Decision 7 where we first begin to formulate an answer to "why won't it remain on the mark?" The key is an artificial surface and specifically those having shorter turf. Perhaps they are peculiar to the American gridiron football/soccer dual use field. Next hurdle in the path of new belief is weather, again we'll get specific and say windy; no WINDY!!! Is the picture forming, short turf and wind out of the ordinary. The ball is going to be affected by the wind and if the friction generated by the turf is insufficient to keep it stationary we'll have a problem with Law 14's requirement the ball be ON the penalty mark.

I hope that's a bit clearer...

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

I assumed nothing, Warren. I simply read your posts and responded to the assumptions you were making about our qualifications and responses. I am happy to find you are simply updating your knowledge, and encourage you to continue. We all have things to learn about the Beautiful Game as it, too, grows and changes.