Question Number: 32919

Law 14 - The Penalty kick 12/16/2018

RE: Competitive Adult

John of Altanta, Georgia USA asks...

Law 13 states that if the offensive team commits an offense (and not one of the three more serious offenses) and a goal is scored, the penalty kick is retaken.

However, if both the offensive team and the defensive team commit an offense (again not one of the three more serious offenses) and a goal is scored, then there is an IDFK.

Why is it that the defense committing an offense removes the possibility of a re-take of the kick?

Doesn't this encourage the defense to violate the laws (by entering the penalty area, say) if the offense has entered first, just to make the kick even more in their favor?

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi John,
The law relating to penalty kicks is Law 14 and I think you have misread it. Law 14 states that, no matter what the outcome, if:

''a player of both teams offends the Laws of the Game, the kick is retaken unless a player commits a more serious offence''

I think perhaps you are confusing this with one of the following provisions. One is the provision that if the attacking team commits one of the more serious offences there is an indirect free kick to the defending team.

Then there is the separate provision that if a goal is scored where:

''both the goalkeeper and kicker commit an offence at the same time: [...] the goal is disallowed, the kicker is cautioned and play restarts with an indirect free kick to the defending team''

The reason for this was given in the 'Details of all Law changes' section in 2017 when this change was introduced, as follows:

''if a goal is scored the goalkeeper has not committed a cautionable (YC) offence but as the kicker's offence is cautionable (YC) it is 'more serious' (see Law 5) and is therefore penalised.''

In other words, the provision in Law 5 applies, that says the referee punishes the more serious offence ''in terms of sanction, restart, physical severity and tactical impact, when more than one offence occurs at the same time.''

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi John
When the major Laws rewrite happened in 2016 there were a number of fundamental changes to Law 14. Those have been outlined by Referee Grove.
In essence the genesis of the changes is that the more serious offence is punished when two offences happen at the same time.
So if the kicker and the goalkeeper offend at the same time with a goal scored then obviously the kicker has benefited with a goal scored which must be disallowed, the kicker cautioned and an IDFK to the defending team. If the goalkeeper saved the penalty kick then he is cautioned and the kick is retaken.
On regular encroachment by both teams not including the goalkeeper the kick is retaken as there is no more serious offence to be considered.
So there is no benefit whatsoever for the defending team to infringe Law 14 provided of course it is picked up by the referee. If the offending team infringe only and a goal is not scred it is a retake.