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Penalty KICKS

A penalty kick is awarded is any of a number of offenses are committed by a player inside his own penalty area, irrespective of the position of the ball, provided it is in play.

BEST PRACTICE – Penalties are extremely serious awards as they usually result in a goal. The referee should be very careful in awarding them, although he should not shy away from giving a penalty if the offense attracts the award. Referees should seek the advice of the nearest assistant referee if appropriate.

Indirect Free Kick
In addition to the serious offenses we have just considered, there are also some offenses that are of a more technical nature. These are against the Law but are less serious in their potential for putting opponents in danger. They are penalized with an indirect free kick, which means that they cannot result in a goal to either team directly from the kick.

Offenses Committed by the Goalkeeper

An indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a goalkeeper, inside his own penalty area, commits any of the following four offenses.

• Takes more than six seconds while controlling the ball with his hands before releasing it from his possession. The counting of seconds only begins when the goalkeeper is fully in control of the ball and his movements. However, if a goalkeeper jumps for the ball and takes steps on landing whilst regaining his balance, this time does not count. If a goalkeeper does not catch the ball but controls it with some other part of his body and dribbles the ball out to the edge of his area, this time does not count and he can pick the ball up in the area.

• Touches the ball again with his hands after it has been released from his possession and has not touched any other player. If the goalkeeper takes, say, two paces and put the ball down to dribble it out, he cannot pick it up again until another player has touched it.

• Touches the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a teammate. This is often wrongly referred to as “the back-pass.” The deliberate kick could actually be in any direction and would be penalized regardless of whether it was kicked “back” to the goalkeeper. Non-deliberate kicks to the goalkeeper are not penalized. Sometimes a ball deflects from the defender to the goalkeeper, which is not an offense. On other occasions, the kick goes back in the direction of the goal but the kick is not a deliberate one to the goalkeeper.

• Touches the ball with his hands after he has received it directly from a throw-in taken by a teammate.

• Next time you watch a match, study how the rule above affects the players and put pressure on the goalkeeper. Does the goalkeeper make mistakes because of this?

 

Offenses committed by players other than the goalkeeper

Players, other than the goalkeeper, can also be guilty of offenses for which an indirect free kick is awarded. An indirect free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if a player, in the opinion of the referee.

• Plays in a dangerous manner. This puts other players in danger but does not usually involve direct contact. It could mean an overhead kick in a crowded goalmouth, or a player going into a challenge with his feet higher than is safe for an opponent.

• Impedes the progress of an opponent. A player who is not attempting to play the ball blocks the path of an opponent by standing in his way or running between the opponent and the ball.

QUOTE: “Do not confuse this with the player who keeps the ball in playing distance, i.e. at any time the player could put his foot on the ball and play it, and he shields the ball from his opponent in order for it to run out of play. That is not an offense!

You must remember that if the player makes physical contact in order to stop his opponent getting to the ball, this is “holding” or “body checking,” which is penalized with a direct free kick.

• Prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from his hands. The goalkeeper is punished for not releasing the ball quickly – but it is unfair to allow an attacker to delay the goalkeeper in releasing the ball.

• Commits any other offense, not previously mentioned, for which play is stopped to caution or dismiss a player. If the referee has to stop play to caution a player, for example, dissenting from the referee’s decision, the restart would be an indirect free kick.

 

Infringements and Sanctions

The indirect free kick is taken from where the offense occurred. If the award is to the attacking team in the defenders’ goal area, the kick is taken from the nearest point on the goal area line that runs parallel to the goal line. The defending team would be allowed to line up on the goal line between the goalposts. If the award was to the defending team in their own goal area, the kick can be taken from anywhere within the goal area.