Question Number: 26068

Kicks From The Penalty mark 3/14/2012

RE: Adult

calin of Treviso, Treviso Italia asks...

In a penalty shootout (the one that takes place after the 90 minutes and the 30 extra minutes to decide who goes to the next round) if the ball hits the crossbar then touches the ground and then crosses the line is it a valid goal? and if so, does it matter how much time it passes between the moment when the ball touches the ground and the moment it crosses the line of the goal? cause i've seen a video on youtube where the ball hit the crossbar, got high in the air, fell on the ground at about 3 meters from the goal line.. at this moment the keeper left the goal and was celebrating, but then the ball, driven by it's spin, slowly moved towards the goal until it crossed the line. the red validated the goal. this is the vid, so you can see better what happened http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozOnN1AIRCE i would really appreciate an answer, i looked for regulations on the internet but can't find anything that can give a beyond any doubt answer.. thanks!

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Yes, it is a valid score. This can be found in Law 14:
'When a penalty kick is taken during the normal course of play, or time has been extended at half-time or full time to allow a penalty kick to be taken or retaken, a goal is awarded if, before passing between the goalposts and under the crossbar: the ball touches either or both of the goalposts and/or the crossbar and/or the goalkeeper'

And regarding Kicks From The Penalty Mark (the official name for 'shootout'):
'Unless otherwise stated, the relevant Laws of the Game and International F.A. Board Decisions apply when kicks from the penalty mark are being taken'

That means the provisions of scoring a goal in Law 14 still apply.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Calin
This incident was questioned a number of times on our site. The referee in the game made the correct decision to award the goal based on the Laws of the Game. The decision was subsequently appealed by the losing team and the Italian FA ruled, based on its incorrect interpretation of the Italian Referee's body advice to referees, that the goal should not have been allowed and a replay was ordered. The winning team subsequently won the replay.
The Italian Referee Body after the incident changed the wording of its advice to referees to ensure it could not be interpreted incorrectly again.
The AIA Referee Technical Committee of FIGC on the 13th June 2010 stated that, roughly translated ''Greater clarification of the practical guide to the AIA to p. 164, question No 12. (c)), the 'bouncing back in the game' is to be considered as 'bounces on pitch and remains the same. '
The full Italian FA Referee Technical Committee ruling can be viewed here and it fully supports our view at the time that the referee was correct to award a goal.
http://www.aia-figc.it/download//13_06_2011caso.pdf

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Unless the referee indicates the kick has been completed, as long as the ball is still moving, the kick continues.

The video you saw is 2 years old. The referee made the correct decision but was incorrectly overruled by the Italian FA. Since then, the Italian FA has come in line with the rest of the world.

It's a foolish goalkeeper that at the taking of kicks from the penalty mark, starts thumping his chest and walks away from his goal while the ball is still in motion.