Question Number: 32524

Law 14 - The Penalty kick 6/18/2018

RE: Adult

Nik of Moscow, Moscow Russia asks...

Law 14 says:

'if both the goalkeeper and kicker commit an offence at the same time:
¢if the kick is missed or saved, the kick is retaken and both players cautioned
¢if the kick is scored, the goal is disallowed, the kicker is cautioned and play restarts with an indirect free kick to the defending team'

So, for kicker it is better to miss the penalty?
Where is the logic?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Nik
IFAB & FIFA try hard to cover the more unusual possibilities as best they can.
NO team who infringes the LOTG can be permitted to score a goal
The reason we RETAKE on the MISS is BECAUSE the CHEATING by the DEFENDER worked no goal was scored! Hence the retake!
The reason we do not retake after the PK taker scored is BECAUSE his cheating did work and that can not be permitted hence no retake no chance at another goal instead loss of ball possession .
cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Nik
The logic is in the fact that an offence has been successful and IFAB desire to punish the more serious offence throughout the Laws.
In the goalkeepers case on a save the obvious blatant encroachment has been successful which has denied a goal. The retake addresses that miss and both players are cautioned.
In the case of the goal the goalkeeper has not been successful so it is seen that the kickers illegal action were successful which is a caution and an IDFK.
Also behind this Law is the fact that there are probably really only two main offences that will be committed at a penalty kick by the kicker and a goalkeeper. One is blatant encroachment by the goalkeeper and the other is the kicker stopping illegally at the moment of the kick. Both are now cautions under the Laws. When both happen together and a miss neither team has benefitted so it is two cautions and a retake. On the stopping at the ball offence with the kicker slotting the ball into the other side of the goal uncontested after an early move by the goalkeeper that offence has been successful for the kicker only so it is a caution and an IDFK.
The real message is to not infringe on the penalty kick and then it does not arise.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Nik,
It is not better for the attacker to miss, it is better for them to commit no offence in the first place and score the penalty. Where there would be no logic, would be in deliberately missing a penalty kick, committing an offence yourself and then hoping (because there would be no way of knowing whether it would happen) that the goalkeeper will also commit an offence at the same time so you can retake the penalty.

In any event, it is highly unlikely that a penalty kicker and the goalkeeper would both commit an offence at the same time ( I have never seen it happen) but the IFAB is just covering all eventualities, just in case.