Question Number: 33238

Law 14 - The Penalty kick 4/13/2019

RE: Competitive Adult

shaun of Melbourne , NSW Australia asks...

Law 14. Procedure for the penalty kick:
The ball must be stationary on the penalty mark.
My question is that can ball be in any place on the penalty mark or has to be exactly in the center?
Thank you

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Shaun
If any part of the ball is touching any part of the penslty mark or the plane of the mark that is acceptable.
Many penalty marks can be worn with perhaps a depression and the player may wish to place the ball on the side of the mark. That is in order provided the ball is touching part of the mark. It does not have to be exactly in the center.
It is a good idea as part of the order match pitch inspection to view the marks to ebsure they are properly marked and to see if any repairs can be sorted before kick off.

Answer provided by Referee Peter Grove

Hi Shaun,
There is nothing in the law saying the ball has to be exactly in the centre of whatever mark is used to indicate the place a penalty must be taken from. As with many other things, it is up to the referee to decide if the procedure is being properly followed and I would have to say that I have seen on several occasions where a referee has requested the penalty kicker to move the ball slightly because it was (in the opinion of the referee) too far from the optimal position.