Question Number: 15236

Law 14 - Penalty kick 4/21/2007

RE: REC and Select Under 15

John of Fenton, Michigan USA asks...

At a U14 Boys game today, the center referee awarded a PK (Penalty Kick) for a Handball in the Penalty Area. The Center Referee set up the teams for the PK, placed the ball for the PK, and blew his whistle to take the Kick. The kick went above the Goal post and there was no score. There were no infringements to LAW 14 by either team. The Referee then re-set up the PK because he determined the ball was not placed at the correct distance away from the goal line. The second PK resulted in a goal. The defending team is upset because they lost the game by one goal, rather than a tie. The referee explained after the game that the attacking team disputed the placement of the ball only after the first PK was missed. Was the second PK kick justified?

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi John ,
there is no pk awarded for handball only for handles the ball deliberately!
on a restart which a Pk is one of it has a set of proceedures that in law must be followed
The ball:
is placed on the penalty mark.
If a Pk occurs and the ball is NOT placed on this mark the PK is not taken legally.
If there is a PK mark on the field and it is set an incorrect distance the referee has failed in his duty to inspect the field and ensure it is setup to play. If the mark is not distinguishable and the referee paces the 12 yards and remarks the spot by his allowing play to continue it should be at his discretion when the PK has been completed.
Everything I hear from this situation I like it less and less. How could the referee be unaware? A referee MUST not place the ball he ensures the ball is placed on the spot by the team taking the kick?
If he quessed at the spot and thought 10 yards was good then the shot is taken it remains a fact of play. How did he suddenly see the PK as incorrect?
Could be protested but would need to know more as to why the referee wanted a retake from the referee's perspective!
Plain ugly as sin all the way around.
Referee dug a hole and then digged it deeper!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

You don't say how far off the mark the ball was - or if there even was a mark. (I seldom see them on the fields here in Metro Detroit - the field managers say having a mark means that area of the field will be worn out in practice.) But if the ball wasn't properly placed, then the kick wasn't properly taken, so the rekick was necessary.

Long ago, in my first season of reffing, a ref told my sons' team that he was kind of rusty, so please bear with him. He gave them a penalty kick from the 18! It was missed, and then retaken from the proper mark. Had it been missed again, it would have required another retake as he allowed opponents to line up outside the penalty area less than 12 yards from the goal line.

The better thing to have happened would be for the ref to notice the ball was placed improperly before the kick was taken. If he didn't notice, why didn't the kicker? In my sons' game, the better thing would be for a "rusty" ref to put in some study and not be rusty anymore.

Answer provided by Referee Steve Montanino

The referee made a mistake in not ensuring the ball was properly placed before the first kick was taken. If the kick came from the wrong place, it would have been correct to retake the kick. However, the referee should never have allowed the possibility of this being a problem.

It's such a simple thing to do and an easy problem to prevent.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Many fields in America don't have penalty marks for whatever reason. The do have a goal area, a penalty area and a goal. The penalty mark is centered on the goal midway between the goal area and penalty area. Teach your players this little tidbit of information. Saves matches for them...

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

I guess I'll play Devil's Advocate. First, why was the referee listening to the attacking team AFTER the PK was taken and they missed? So what? They had no problem taking the kick. Were they certain the ball was not placed properly, the time to say something was BEFORE the shot. Second, why was the spot incorrect? Was the ball too close to the goal or too far? How far off was it? If the ball was too close, no way this team gets a second shot from me. Unless I did something like place the ball 15 or 16 yards away, I ignore the attackers.