Question Number: 23698

Kicks From The Penalty mark 7/24/2010

RE: mls u17 Under 18

alex of sugarland, tx usa asks...

A pk is taken, and scored in a shoot out. Directly after, the ref realizes his shinguards were not on during the kick. I know it is a yellow card but do you retake the pk as well?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Alex
This IMO would be a trifling matter and as such I would simply allow the goal to stand. Prevention is always better than cure and the AR in the centre circle should be alert to this. Certainly I would not allow the player to have his socks down clearly showing he has no shinpads. But if it is missed by the AR and referee before the kick then why make a problem and one can argue that the referee allowed the kick to proceed. The shinguards are protection in a match situation and while they are required under the Law I would not make a problem for the game in KFTPM by cautioning, ordering a retake which will require a significant delay by getting the shinpads etc. It will also cause ill feeling among the teams which is never helpful when it can be avoided.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The referee team should catch this before the kicks are taken, and a warning from the senior assistant referee at the center circle will usually suffice to ensure full compliance with law 4.

The kick is not retaken since this is not an infringement of Law 14 or the rules governing kicks from the penalty mark.

IMO, a caution is overkill (unless the player ignored a warning) and adds unnecessary delay to the kicks phase. The referee has the power to caution a player, but the wise referee may simply ask all the players to return their shinguards under the socks.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

I have to disagree. The LOTG and Advice To Referees are quite clear that during KFTPM ALL the Laws are in play.

Advice particularly points out Law 4 here:

19.1 LAWS GOVERNING KICKS FROM THE PENALTY MARK
All Laws of the Game, except for those clearly modified in the separate section of the Laws dealing
with kicks from the penalty mark, are in effect during this procedure. In particular, this means that the
player uniform requirements in Law 4 must be enforced.

Why would a player take off his shinguards to shoot? Because it's more comfortable and easier to kick a soccer ball when they are off. IMO this gives the kicker an unfair advantage and I'd make them rekick

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

I can't imagine why a caution is in order here, unless the player had ignored a specific order to keep them on or put them back on. The referee and AR should have seen to these matters BEFORE the kicks were taken.

While Law 4 is still in force during KFTPM, so is the referee's authority to choose how to best deal with any infractions during the course of the game and any further periods required to decide outcome of the game. The kick does not need to be retaken, and the player (unless there is something more to the story) does not require being cautioned.

The lesson for the referee crew is to always be alert in these situations, and to fix problems before they become an issue, and if that isn't possible, to use common sense to find the most reasonable solution within the powers granted to the referee under the LOTG.