Question Number: 26141

Kicks From The Penalty mark 4/5/2012

RE: high school Adult

donald lee of savannah, ga. u.s. asks...

a player places ball for pk shoot out goes back ref blows whisle player runs a kicks ball in to goal after ref blow whisle say ball moved before he kicked it makes player kick over never seen this it decided game player missed second kick have you ever seen or heard of this must have move a blade of grass

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

I'm not sure I follow what happened.

The ball must be stationary at a penalty kick or kicks from the penalty mark (as with all free kicks). But, most referees will not signal for the kick to be taken if the ball is still moving.

A retake of the penalty kick is the proper restart where: (a) there is an infringement by the kicker, (b) after the whistle, (c) before the ball is kicked, and (d) the result of the penalty kick is a goal.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

If the ball was moving before the kick was taken, the referee should have stopped the taking of the kick, made sure the ball was stationary and then proceeded with the kick.

Letting the kick proceed when the ref knew the ball was moving beforehand isn't right. It is conceivable that the ball was still moving and the referee couldn't announce it fast enough, in which case the kick is retaken.

If the ball's movement wasn't the result of the action of the player, and wasn't significant - since apparently it wasn't even observable, it could be considered trivial and allowed to continue.

Hard to know what exactly happened...I'd like to think it was that the ball was moving and the ref couldn't stop play fast enough.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Donald
I suspect what happened here is that the player placed the ball on the penalty mark probably on a raised piece of turf. Most kickers look for a raised area on the mark to 'tee up' the ball as it were to assist in good contact on the ball particularly on poor ground that has a 'rough' penalty mark.
After the signal to take the penalty kick was given and as the player ran up to kick I assume the ball moved from its position perhaps off the penalty mark. The player probably was comfortable enough to continue with the kick and scored.
Now the referee has to consider whether the ball was moving when it was kicked and whether the ball had completely moved off the mark. If the answer is yes to one or both of those questions the penalty kick was not taken properly and it must be retaken.
There is no requirement for the penalty taker to have taken the first kick, after the whistle, had either happened and he would simply ask the referee to allow the repositioning of the ball.
I have never seen this at a penalty kick although I have seen it many times at say a corner kick where the player places the ball on a raised piece of turf on the line and the ball then moves outside the quadrant before the kick is taken which means it must be replaced. Most times it is replaced to the satisfaction of the kicker and as an AR I have seen players struggle to get the ball to rest in a favourable kicking position.