Penalty kick

A penalty kick is a type of free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards (approximately eleven metres) out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.

A penalty kick is performed during normal play. Similar kicks are made in a "penalty shootout" to determine who progresses after a tied match; though similar in procedure these are "not" penalty kicks and are governed by different rules.

Award

A penalty kick may be awarded when a defending player commits a foul punishable by a direct free kick (a so-called "penal foul") against an opponent or a handball, within their own penalty area (commonly known as "the box" or "18 yard box"). Note that it is the location of the offense — and not the position of the ball — that defines whether a foul is punishable by a penalty kick or direct free kick, provided the ball is in play.

The referee signals the award of a penalty kick by blowing the whistle and pointing to the penalty mark.

Procedure

The penalty kick is taken from the penalty mark, which is a midline spot convert|12|yd|m|0 from the goal. The penalty kick taker (who does not have to be the player who was fouled) must be clearly identified to the referee.

All players other than the defending goalkeeper and the penalty taker must be outside the penalty area, behind the penalty mark, and at least ten yards (9.15 m) from the ball (i.e. outside the penalty arc) until the ball is kicked. The goalkeeper must remain between the goalposts on the goal-line facing the ball until the ball is kicked, but may move from side to side along the goal-line. If the goalkeeper moves forward before the ball is kicked, then the penalty must be kicked again if a goal is not scored.

After the referee blows his whistle, which is the signal for the kick to be taken, the kicker must kick the ball in a forward direction (not necessarily at the goal, though this is almost always the case). The ball is in play once it has been kicked and moved, and at this point in time other players may enter the penalty area and play continues as normal. However, most often a goal has already been scored, the ball has been kicked behind the goal line, or the keeper has gained possession of the ball.

The penalty kick is a form of direct free kick, meaning that a goal may be scored directly from it. If a goal is not scored, play continues as usual. As with all free kicks, the kicker may not play the ball a second time until it has been touched by another player even if the ball rebounds from the posts. However, a penalty kick is unusual in that, unlike general play, external interference directly after the kick has been taken may result in the kick being retaken, rather than the usual dropped-ball.

An own goal may not be scored by the kicking team, although this would be almost impossible since the ball has to be kicked in a forward direction to be a valid penalty kick. If the ball "were" to wind up in the kicking team's goal (for example, if the kick were to ricochet off the defending team's goalpost, travel the length of the pitch, and go into the opposite goal), a corner kick would be awarded to the defending team. An own goal "can" result off a penalty if the defending goalkeeper (or another member of the defending side) were to deflect a stopped or errant shot into the defending team's goal.

Infringements

Infringements of the penalty kick law by either team are dealt with using an advantage concept.

Generally:
* For infringements by the defending team, before the kick is taken, should a goal be scored it stands, otherwise the kick is retaken.
* For infringements by the kicking team, should a goal be scored the kick is retaken, otherwise an indirect free kick is awarded against his side where the infringement occurred.
* For infringements by both teams, the kick is retaken.
* If the kicker plays the ball twice (including following up a rebound off the goalpost not touched by the goalkeeper), an indirect free kick is awarded against his side, from where the offence occurred as is usual for free kicks (Subject to Law 8)

The referee may also caution (yellow card) players for infringements of the penalty kick law, e.g. repeated encroaching into the penalty area. Note that in practice, most minor penalty kick infringements are not penalised.

Note that "all" offences before kick are dealt with in this manner. For example if a defender impedes the progress of an opponent (either towards or away from the penalty area) before the kick is taken (even if the offence is not in the penalty area) then should the kicker not score, the kick will be retaken. Other offences by either the defending or attacking team before the kick regardless of their nature are dealt with subject to the four main requirements above.

trategy to save a penalty

Defending against a penalty kick is one of the most difficult tasks a goalkeeper can face. Due to the short distance between the penalty spot and the goal, there is very little time to react to the shot to try to make the save. Because of this, the goalkeeper will usually start their dive before the ball is actually struck. In effect, the goalkeeper must act on their best prediction about where the shot will be aimed. Some keepers decide which way they will dive beforehand, thus giving themselves a good chance of diving correctly. Others try to read the kicker's motion pattern. Kickers often feign and prefer a relatively slow shot on the other side in an attempt to foil the keeper. The potentially most fruitful approach, shooting high and center, i.e. in the space that the keeper will evacuate, also carries the highest risk of shooting above the post.

As the shooter makes their approach to the ball, the keeper has only a few seconds to "read" the shooter's motions and decide where the ball will go. A goalkeeper may also rely on knowledge of the shooter's past behavior to inform their decision. An example of this would be by German national team goalkeeper Jens Lehmann in a match against Argentina in the 2006 World Cup, where he saved 2 penalties and came close to saving a third. The match came down to penalties and Lehmann was seen looking at a piece of paper kept in his sock before each Argentinian player would come forward for a penalty kick. It is presumed that information on each kicker's "habits" were written on this paper. This approach may not always be successful. Most times, especially in amateur football, the goalkeeper is often forced to guess. All things considered, a penalty shot is as much, if not more, a mental contest as a match of physical skills.

Even if the keeper does manage to block the shot, the ball may rebound back to the shooter or one of their teammates for another shot, with the keeper often in poor position to make a second save. This makes saving penalty kicks astonishingly difficult, because if the keeper has managed to block the penalty, it will very often rebound to an area near to the penalty taker, who will have an easier shot than the penalty itself (because they are most likely closer to the goal, and the goalkeeper is most likely in a position where he will not be able to make another save) This is not a concern in penalty shoot-outs, where just a single shot is permitted.

These factors would give one the impression that penalty kicks are scored almost 100% of the time. However, missed penalty kicks are not uncommon despite the simple circumstances. For instance, of 78 penalty kicks taken during FA Premier League 2005-06 season, 57 resulted in a goal, meaning almost 30% of the penalties were unsuccessful. [http://stats.premierleague.com]

A German professor who has been studying penalty statistics in the German Bundesliga for 16 years found that 76% of all the penalties during those 16 years went in, and 99% of the shots in the higher half of the goal went inFact|date=June 2007, although the higher half of the goal is generally a more risky target to aim at. During his career Roberto Baggio had two occurrences where his shot hit the upper bar, bounced downwards, rebound off the keeper and past the goal line for a goal.

History

The invention of the penalty kick is credited to the goalkeeper and businessman William McCrum in 1890 in Milford, County Armagh, Northern Ireland [ Daily Telegraph Monday 9th April 2007 p5 ( [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/09/npen09.xml see article on Telegraph online] )] . The Irish Football Association presented the idea to the International Football Association Board and finally after much debate, and after a blantant goal-line handball by a Notts County player in the FA Cup Quarter-Final against Stoke the board approved the idea on 2 June 1891. [The Sunday Times "Illustrated History Of Football" Reed International Books Limited. 1996. p11. ISBN 1-856-13341-9] It was introduced in the 1891-92 season. The first ever penalty kick was awarded to Wolverhampton Wanderers in their game against Accrington at Molineux Stadium on 14 September 1891. The penalty was taken and scored by John Heath [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/funny_old_game/2257279.stm BBC SPORT | Funny Old Game | Happened on this day - 14 September ] ] as Wolves went on to win the game 5-0.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/law/summary.html History of Laws of the Game - From 1863 to the Present Day]