Question Number: 23582

Kicks From The Penalty mark 6/29/2010

RE: Select Adult

Anthony Saba of Rochester, New York USA asks...

In a recent game of U13 Girls, the game was tied after regulation and after 2 overtime periods. The kicks were tied 2-2 when the tenth player's turn came. She placed the ball down and kicked the ball over the goal!
The referee said no kick because she did not wait for his whistle! He instructed her to wait for hes whistle and kick again. She placed the ball down and kicked the ball again before his whistle!! No kick!!! The goalie is now rattled!! The kicker's 3rd attempt went in!!! How many (practice) attempts is a kicker allowed in a penalty shoot out??? This seems unfair to the goalie!

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The referee followed the procedures from the US Soccer Federation. If a kick is taken before the referee's whistle, it must be retaken regardless of the outcome.

I agree that it seems unfair to give a player two bites at the apple. But, the notion is if the restart is always the same for kicking before the whistle, the referee is not making a decision based on whether the outcome was favorable to the defending team. When it happens twice during KFTPM, the referee's integrity could be challenged if the first time it happened 'they got to retake' but the second time, 'we didn't.'

The technical answer is that the ball was not properly put into play because the whistle is required, and the referee cannot apply advantage to this type of infringement.

After the first warning, however, the referee could have cautioned the kicker for failing to wait for the whistle.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

The player probably should have been cautioned for kicking early, particularly when it was repeated.

But because the kick was early, it must be redone.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Anthony
The referee's signal is an intergal part of Law 14 because when the referee gives the signal for a penalty kick to be taken and, before the ball is in play, offences can take place which are dealt with in the Laws. According to the Laws of the Game the penalty must be retaken as the referee must give a signal for the penalty kick to be taken. The other side of this is that the GK side can complain if the GK was not ready when the penalty kick is taken before the signal and it is scored. That is also a retake so it works both ways. Also on the 2nd retake after being instructed not to take the penalty until after the signal the player should have been cautioned IMO.
As a final point I would encourage referees to look very closely at the mechanics of KFTPM. I take the GKs aside and I give them clear instructions about what I want from them. One point is to go their position immediately on the goal line when it is their turn and be ready for the penalty. After the player places the ball I give the signal so there is little chance for a retake unless the GK or the player infringes the Laws.
In the recent KFTPM in the WC the referee stepped in front of the ball, while showing the penalty taker the whistle when he wanted to speak with the goalkeeper about moving on to his line. These mechanics clearly showed the player that he was not to take the penalty until the signal was given.

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

See Question: 23613