Question Number: 34820

Mechanics 12/29/2022

RE: Amateur Adult

Mühenned Elseyho of Onikisubat, Kahramanmara? Turkey asks...

When the referee announces a penalty kick, when is the yellow card shown and when is it not?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Mühenned,
First off, a caution, show a yellow card is not an automatic add on to a PK foul.
However, if a caution WAS warranted it would be shown prior to the PK occurring. If it was a 2nd caution then a red card would be displayed next and a send off would occur reducing them by a player .

A PK is the restart for a DFK offence in the attacker's favour that occurs inside the oppositions penalty area.

The circumstances and reasoning as well as the nature of that foul, all play apart in whether a caution, show a yellow card will be necessary.
A careless foul with no DOGSO inside the penalty area is a PK only.
A reckless foul with no DOGSO inside the penalty area is a PK plus a caution.
A careless foul or reckless foul with DOGSO inside the penalty area is a PK plus a caution if it was a legitimate tackle to stop attacking play.

Interestingly if the FOUL was deemed OUTSIDE the PA and the 4 criteria for DOGSO were met then the RED CARD would apply as there is no PK to make up for the lost opportunity only the DFK.

An excessive foul SFP or VC with or without DOGSO inside the penalty area is a PK plus a red card send off reduce them a player!

The fact is when all 4 criteria that designate a red card DOGSO send off foul are met it can be downgraded to just a caution IF, in the opinion of the referee, the tackle was a legitimate attempt to win the ball to stop the promising attack and was NOT excessive in nature.
The reasoning is the PK will make up for the lost opportunity.

This reasoning to ONLY caution would apply to a just a tad late trip or perhaps an improper fair charge BUT it would not apply to a blatant offence like shirt pull holding as the BALL is NOT being challenged, the PLAYER is being targeted DIRECTLY. In this case the red card send off reduce them by a player would apply.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

HI Mühenned,

Thanks for the question.

The penalty kick award has got somewhat complicated in recent years with changes to the Law.
Now a foul that denies an obvious goal scoring opportunity that is a genuine attempt to play the ball in a penalty kick award is no longer a red card yet a caution. If however a foul that is not a genuine attempt such as a pull, push, deliberate handling, no possibility to play the ball etc in the same DOGSO situations it is still a red card,

In addition if the foul is a reckless challenge it is still a caution even with a penalty award.

So really the only time that there is no yellow card is a genuine careless attempt to play the ball when there is no possible DOGSO. Many penalty kicks can fit into this category where a player tries to play the ball and say carelessly trips an opponent with multiple defenders nearby.

The thinking behind this is that the same careless offence elsewhere on the field of play might not be a caution with a few exceptions such as stopping a promising attack so the penalty kick is sufficient sanction. When it is a DOGSO situation the penalty kick returns the goal scoring opportunity so it is a caution only in genuine plays for the ball.

I hope that helps