Question Number: 34975

Kicks From The Penalty mark 5/9/2023

RE: Development Under 11

Steve of Cannock, Staffs England asks...

Penalty shootout

If the penalty taker strikes the ball onto the post and it hits the keeper and crosses the goal line is it a goal or not

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

hi Steve
It is without doubt a goal.

Law 14 states and I quote ** The penalty kick is completed when the ball stops moving, goes out of play or the referee stops play for any offence.**. Law 14 rules apply to KFTPM with an obvious exception that a 2nd kick is not permitted by the kicker.

There is nothing new in this and the current law wording as quoted has had many wordings over the years since it was updated in the Laws as a Decision after a clarification going back to the World Cup of 1986 in a game between Brazil and France that went to KFTPM.
See 4.00 minutes in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nhvqIjgQ04

At 4.00 in the video #16 France - Bruno Bellone takes the penalty and it hits the post and rebounds off the post and hits the goalkeeper before entering the goal. Romanian Referee Igna correctly awarded the goal. This did cause a fuss at the time and afterwards by a miffed Brazil team.

As you can see Brazilian players questioning the referee yet IFAB ruled later that the referee was 100% correct and improved the Law 14 wording so that there could be no ambiguity or uncertainty. It was referred to at the time as the Igna Rule.
The BBC English commentary team at the time of the late John Motson who passed away in February this year and the late Jimmy Hill did not help the viewing public. The commentator John Motson got it correct by saying it was a goal while Jimmy Hill, highly respected in the game and having a good knowledge of the Laws, was less convincing talking about a miss and having to go into the goal directly. Such comments start myths as no one bothers to follow up when the correct decision is actually confirmed.

The goal was good then and it is still a good goal today.

Answer provided by Referee Jason Wright

Hi Steve,

This is a goal. There are a few clips you see around where the ball strikes the crossbar, bounces out high for some distance, then slowly bounces back over the line while the keeper is celebrating, and these are goals.

Some people believe that once the ball stops moving FORWARDS the kick is dead, but this is incorrect - it's a misunderstanding of the law. Once the ball stops moving, the kick is over.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 34983