Question Number: 22386

Kicks From The Penalty mark 10/28/2009

RE: Rec Under 11

Marv of Bowmanville, Ontario Canada asks...

PENALTY KICKS TO DECIDE THE OUTCOME OF A MATCH


The field was not marked with a penalty spot at either end. Prior to the start of penalty kicks to decide the outcome of the match the referee pressed a coin into the ground to mark the penalty spot location. Prior to each kick the player would place the ball and the referee would confirm the placement was satisfactory prior to blowing the whistle and allowing the kick to proceed.

On one kick it appeared that the edge of the ball was about 2 feet (60 cm) from the coin after the ball was placed. The referee allowed the kick to proceed and a goal was scored.

Is there a standard diameter/size for a penalty spot? If there is no actual spot to place the ball on, what is the maximum distance from the 'centre' of the spot that a referee should tolerate?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
When I ask teams as part of my prematch pitch inspection to put something right such as no/poor penalty mark I sometimes encounter indifference and a blank stare. Anyway its for this very reason that the penalty mark needs to be marked correctly and indeed other pitch markings.
First off there is no set diameter for the penalty mark. It just has to be 12 yards from the goal line. It is accepted under implicit knowledge that it is big enough to place a ball on it and not so big that the ball can be significantly nearer/further from the goal than 12 yards. It can be a spot, a ring, crossed line etc. The most widely used is the spot.
Secondly the ball can be placed on any part of the mark as long as the ball is touching the paint, much in the same way that the ball is in play until all of the ball is over the outer edge of a line.
Now in this instance all the referee can do is choose an end, pace out twelve yards, mark the spot as best he can and then try to ensure that both teams take the penalties from roughly that same spot. Clearly it is not satisfactory for the referee to have to manage this type of situation but he makes the best of it.
As regards measurements here I would question how it was possible to determine a 2 feet difference on one kick as the only person present at the ball should be the player and the referee. The team should be at the half way line and the coaching staff on the sideline with the keeper on the goal line. I hope that at U11 the goalkeeper is not involved in gamesmanship on ball placement!!. It was also agreed that the referee would be sole judge of the placement of the kicks and therefore his decision was final on this matter.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

By tradition, the mark is a circle nine inches in diameter. But, we are happy when a field has any line or mark.

When, as on your field, there is no mark, the referee needs to indicate where the kick should take place. I find it helpful to place a marker 12 yards from the goal line, but not where the ball should be (otherwise, the marker might interfere with the ball.) I then can use the marker to point to the general area where the ball should be placed by the kicker, usually a foot or two from the spot.

I believe that so long as both teams are placing the ball at roughly the same location on the field, the kicks are fair.