Question Number: 29792

Law 14 - Penalty kick 10/7/2015

RE: Adult

George of Thessaloniki, Greece asks...

Hi, my question is about penalties and when a goal is valid or not. Imagine the situations:

A player shoots a penalty in:
A)The course of a normal game.
B)In a penalty shoot-out, of a competition after the regulation time, e.g in a world cup game where normal time and regulation ended a draw.

Then the ball is being deflected by the goalkeeper or the crossbar or the goalposts and it's not a goal BUT after a little while(2-4 seconds for example) because of its spin or the wind, it directs to the goal-line and gets inside.

So is it a valid goal or not? In both A) and B) cases.
I've seen contradicting (real game) decisions by some referees about that.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi George,

A: In regulation time play continues once a PK shot has been taken, so if the ball is saved, deflected off the wood work but stays on the field of play, unless there is an infringement by the team scoring the goal it would be a valid goal as long as time does not expire before the ball has completely crossed the goal line under the cross bar and between the posts. It would not make a difference if the ball crossed into the goal under its own power or wind assisted it could be a legal goal!

B: is a bit different because on a PK in what is referred to as EXTENDED time PK (regulation time has expired but the last second foul causes a PK situation) or in KFTPM(kicks from the penalty mark) which are used to decide matches. Both the extended PK and kick from the penalty mark have NO time past the kick itself for play to continue EXCEPT to see if the ENERGY imparted to the ball by the PK kicker causes the ball to enter the goal. If the ball is saved by the keeper in he blocks it but does not catch the ball and thus kill it's momentum or if it hits the wood work and bounces up into the air then back to the ground or off the keeper as long as the ball is MOVING the PK is STILL live. No one but the keeper is able to participate at this time . The momentum of the ball is one of dissipating energy, if that energy subsides, the PK is then over! If the ball goes out of play the PK is over! Now if in the opinion of the referee the ball is headed out into the field away from goal, no backspin or tricky bounces he can legally decide to blow the whistle and end the PK. The tiny difference here lies within the opinion of a referee if the ball is moving into towards the goal under its own power. A Funky backspin and crummy bounces can push a ball towards goal instead of of out and away. It is crucial the keeper controls that momentum. Once the ball's momentum is killed, the PK is over. If the ball stopped, the referee can blow the whistle, end the PK, a wind pushed ball would not count IF the ball was not already moving in that direction nor would a ball caught and held by the keeper who then tosses it up or towards the goal . The key is in the opinion of the referee, the keeper must completely have control of the ball and or the ball's momentum is effectively dissipated and or the ball is off the field of play and or the ball has ricocheted well out and away from goal with zero chance of it coming back.
Here are some videos of good goals created by inattentive keepers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DaqOUTcN8Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbVgvgjIbs0

https://youtu.be/xfLmmRS7eiY

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi George
Law 14 is probably one of the Laws that referees get some part of incorrect. One FIFA WC qualifying game had to be replayed because the referee made an error in law at a penalty kick. In a recent UEFA Under-19 Womens game the England Women's team was afforded a replay of the final seconds of their European Championship qualifier against Norway after UEFA admitted the referee made a mistake in the original encounter. She awarded an IDFK to Norway instead of a retake of the penalty kick.
In both your examples the goals are valid and awarded.
In the Kicks from the Penalty Mark decision we have to look at the history of KFTPM.
In 1986 a French player hit the crossbar with his kick and the rebound hit the goalkeeper and went into the goal in a penalty shoot out in a WC game between Brazil and France. The Referee allowed the goal to count and France went on to win 4-3 on penalties.
There was a lot of controversy about the French penalty kick at the time due to an ambiguity in the law on when a penalty was completed. The Scottish Football Association sought clarification, and the current wording in the Laws has its origins in a law change at that time. It was agreed at the time that it should be allowed and the wording changed to reflect that. In the great rewrite of 97/98 all that was all expunged and the current wording and I quote
'* 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'*
Note that there is no mention of time just that the ball crosses the line from the original kick.
Any referee that decides otherwise is incorrect in law and believe me these do happen. I know of at least two recent incorrect decision in tournaments where referees disallowed rebounds. Unfortunately myths abound and do affect referees who spend little time on gaining a complete knowledge of the Laws.

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