Question Number: 25094

Kicks From The Penalty mark 6/11/2011

JDS of NYC, NY USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 25081

In fact the post-game ruling was correct, at least by Italian rules. The situation is explicitly represented in the Italian referee rule-book: during a penalty shoot-out, if the ball hits wood and then bounces backwards, the play is over. See Regola 14, articolo 12(c), also discussed here: http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/10-06-2011/termeno-dro-rigore-beffa-801549173997.shtml

I think the comments on this site were a bit careless.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
Indeed not.
FIFA has constantly stated that no interpretation or competition rule by any Association or Federation can change the Laws of the Game. The fact is that the Laws states that ''The referee decides when a penalty kick has been completed.''
I might add that there is little difference in this penalty kick which was also allowed by the referee and it was not protested. The only difference is the ball took 4 seconds to cross the goal line in this one while it took 7 secs in the disputed one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UeHJtRqCtM
Addendum
The Italian FA Referee Technical Committee AIA ruling on the 13th June on this penalty kick can be viewed here and it fully supports our view that the referee was correct to award a goal.
http://www.aia-figc.it/download//13_06_2011caso.pdf

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Your reference is to the opinion in a newspaper column written by a former referee. The laws provide only that the kick must be "completed." When the penalty kick has been completed is a judgment call for the referee. I'm not sure of the procedures for a "protest" in the minor (seventh) division of Italian football; but my experience is that a decision of a protest committee is not the same as a formal interpretation by the federation.

While the Italian federation is permitted by FIFA to issue interpretations of the laws (so long as they do not conflict with IFAB), the answer in the United States in clear (Advice to Referees 14.13):


'The penalty kick or kick from the penalty mark is completed only when the referee declares it so, and the referee should not declare the kick to be completed if there is any possibility that the ball is still in play. In other words: So long as the ball is in motion and contacting any combination of the ground, crossbar, goalposts, and goalkeeper, a goal can still be scored.'

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

I can't read Italian. Does it say exactly as you quote "If the ball hits wood and then bounces backwards"? Or does it say hits wood lands on the field and bounces backwards? Since everyone wants to defend the decision based on what's written, the ball didn't hit wood and bounce backwards. If it had, it would have gone out of play.

Regardless, This is not an allowed modification. Member associations are to follow the Laws and the Law is clear that all relevant Laws are to be followed at Kicks and Law 14 says a penalty kick is completed when the referee says it is