Question Number: 20867

Kicks From The Penalty mark 2/19/2009

RE: competitive adult Adult

kjeld brodsgaard of victoria, bc canada asks...

This question is a follow up to question 20851

Let me add a bit to the scenario. The referee walked away and proceed to record that the penalty was missed without being aware that the ball had not stopped and it entered the net very slowly. Next shooter stepped up. This continued until the score ended 5-4. The result was protested.
Question re when is play considered to be finished in penalty kicks? I have never heard a referee blow the whistle to indicate that the a penalty is completed when it comes to penalties to declare a winner. How do you indicate that the play is over in that scenario? Is the referee considered to have decided that the play is dead when he marks his scoresheet?

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

No. The referee should just wait and see what happens. If it goes in, count it, if not don't.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

When the referee decides it is so.
If the referee let the next kicker pick up the ball then the kick is over.
If the referee felt the kick was not over he could caution the player for usb for interfering with the result and order the kick retaken!
Generally it is easily recognized when the opportunity has passed. The referee by turning away and marking it as a miss then it is a miss. As you can tell by the responses from our panel members we all felt the referee needed to pay further attention to the possible outcome but who is to say the keeper, by seeing the referee turn away indicating in his mind the kick was over, simply chose not to pursue the ball?
While in many situations it is OBVIOUSLY over, the whistle should be used as it allows for no interpretation other than it is a done deal! Although I doubt your protest will come to anything, we would be very interested, so let us know what they say!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

If the referee let the next kicker take his kick then the previous kick is obviously over. The LOTG do not require the referee to use the whistle to signal that a goal has been scored nor for the ending of a penalty kick or kick from the penalty mark. The only thing the Laws tell us as to when a penalty kick or kick from the penalty mark is completed is found on page 42 of current LOTG:


The referee decides when a penalty kick has been completed.


While this guidance is not explicitly stated under Kicks From The Penalty Mark, it is likewise true that a KFTPM is over when the referee decides it is. However, a whistle is NOT required to signal the end of the kick. From page 76 of LOTG we find:


The whistle is needed to:
? start play (1st, 2nd half), after a goal
? stop play:
? for a free kick or penalty kick
? if the match is suspended or abandoned
? when a period of play has ended due to the expiration of time
? restart play at:
? free kicks when the wall is ordered back the appropriate distance
? penalty kicks
? restart play after it has been stopped due to:
? the issue of a yellow or red card for misconduct
? injury
? substitution
The whistle is NOT needed to:
? stop play for:
? a goal kick, corner kick or throw-in
? a goal
? restart play from:
? a free kick, goal kick, corner kick, throw-in.


So, while a whistle is required to start the kick, it's not required to end it. The mechanics of this referee are terrible. What Ref Dawson postulates is entirely reasonable: the keeper saw the referee turn away and mark a miss so he didn't bother stopping the ball. He's also correct that many referees do use the whistle to announce the end of the kick from the penalty mark. If they are going to, they should make this clear to all concerned before the kick is taken. The few times I have had to officiate at KFTPM I have instructed the players that I will verbally signal when the ball is out of play and to continue play until I say otherwise or the ball has obviously gone out of play and to NOT take a kick until I have whistled for it. Regardless, some obvious signal should be made. The signal this referee used was to turn away and mark the kick in his book and then allow the next kick to take place. He should have been watching what was a live ball.