What is being questioned about the penalty kick?
Every question in this scenario
The Penalty kick investigation scenario asks 17 questions and can reach 29 decisions. A walk answers only the ones its own answers lead to. This is the whole set, for reference and for revision.
1What is being questioned about the penalty kick?
This tree covers the taking of the kick: the positions before it, the kick itself, and what happens after.
Answers: The goalkeeper: off the line, or distracting the kicker · A team-mate of the kicker: position, or another offence · A team-mate of the goalkeeper: position, or another offence · Players from both teams offended · The kick itself: direction, kicker, feinting, or both feet · Something happened after the ball was in play · The kick was taken at the end of a half, in additional time · The set-up, or a kick not taken after the signal
2What happened to the kick?
The goalkeeper's offence is settled by the door you came through. What follows depends only on what the kick produced.
Answers: The ball entered the goal · The goalkeeper prevented the ball entering the goal (saved) · The ball missed, or came back off the crossbar or a post
3Did the goalkeeper's offence clearly impact the kicker?
Early movement is not enough by itself once the kick has missed or come back off the frame. The retake needs the goalkeeper's offence to have clearly impacted the kicker.
Answers: Yes · No
4Did a team-mate of the kicker offend before the kick was taken?
At least 9.15 m from the penalty mark, behind it, inside the field and outside the penalty area, judged by the feet on the ground.
Answers: Yes · No
5Did the encroaching attacker impact the goalkeeper, or go on to play the ball?
Either alone is enough, and the second only counts if it produced a goal, an attempt or a chance. The test is written about encroachment; another offence is not narrowed by it.
Answers: Yes · No
6Did the ball enter the goal?
This asks about the kick itself. A ball that goes in off a rebound after the kick has not entered the goal from the kick.
Answers: Yes · No
7Did a team-mate of the goalkeeper offend before the kick was taken?
At least 9.15 m from the penalty mark, behind it, inside the field and outside the penalty area, judged by the feet on the ground.
Answers: Yes · No
8Did the encroaching defender impact the kicker, or go on to play the ball?
Either alone is enough, and the second only counts if it prevented a goal, an attempt or a chance. The test is written about encroachment; another offence is not narrowed by it.
Answers: Yes · No
9Did the ball enter the goal?
This asks about the kick itself. A ball that goes in off a rebound after the kick has not entered the goal from the kick.
Answers: Yes · No
10What was wrong with the kick itself?
The first three are stopped and restarted with an indirect free kick whether or not a goal is scored. The fourth follows the outcome of the kick.
Answers: The ball was kicked backwards · A team-mate of the identified kicker took the kick · The kicker feinted after completing the run-up · Both feet at once, or the non-kicking foot touched it after
11Did the ball enter the goal?
This one is decided by the outcome rather than by the offence.
Answers: Yes · No
12What happened after the ball was in play?
The ball is in play once it is kicked and clearly moves. Law 14 addresses three things that can happen between that moment and the kick being complete.
Answers: The kicker touched it again before anyone else did · An outside agent touched the ball as it moved forward · An outside agent touched a rebound off the keeper or frame
13Did the kicker deliberately play the ball again?
A rebound from the goalkeeper is a touch by another player, so following that in is not a second touch at all.
Answers: Yes · No
14Was that second touch a handball offence?
The restart depends on it. Law 14 prints an indirect free kick for the deliberate second touch, or a direct free kick where the second touch was a handball offence.
Answers: Yes · No
15Was the ball going into the goal, with the interference not from the attacking team?
One more limb has to hold: the interference must not have prevented the goalkeeper or a defending player from playing the ball. Answer no if any of the three fails.
Answers: Yes · No
16How did the kick end?
At the end of a half the kick is completed on a wider set of events than an ordinary penalty, which is what settles whether anything after the first strike can count.
Answers: The ball rebounded and anyone but the goalkeeper played it · The ball stopped moving or went out of play · A defending player offended and the kick was missed or saved · The ball entered the goal
17Which of these was it?
One of these is settled before the kick and the other is an offence with a sanction of its own.
Answers: The ball or the players were not in the required positions · The referee signalled and the kick was not taken
Every decision it can reach
Each one is where a walk ends, with the reasoning it prints. The clause behind a decision is cited on the decision itself, which you reach by walking to it.
Goal stands: goalkeeper offence does not cancel a scored penalty
The goalkeeper was off the goal line when the ball was kicked, but the ball entered the goal. Where the goalkeeper offends and the ball enters the goal from the kick, a goal is awarded. The offence does not cost the attacking team the goal it just scored.
Retake: the goalkeeper offended and saved the kick
The goalkeeper did not have part of one foot touching, in line with, or behind the goal line when the ball was kicked, and then kept the ball out. Where the ball is prevented from entering the goal by the goalkeeper, the kick is retaken. Law 14 prints no impact test for a save. The goalkeeper is warned for a first offence in the game and cautioned for any subsequent offence.
Retake: the goalkeeper's offence clearly impacted the kicker
The kick missed the goal or came back off the frame, and the goalkeeper's early movement clearly impacted the kicker. That impact is what triggers the retake here. The goalkeeper is warned for a first offence in the game and cautioned for any subsequent offence.
No retake: the miss was not caused by the goalkeeper's offence
The goalkeeper was off the line early, but the ball missed the goal or rebounded from the crossbar or a post, and the offence did not clearly impact the kicker. Where the ball misses the goal or rebounds from the frame, the kick is only retaken if the goalkeeper's offence clearly impacted the kicker. A kicker who missed on their own does not get a second attempt.
Goal cancelled, penalty retaken: attacking offence on a scored kick
The encroachment met the threshold for being penalised, and the ball entered the goal. Where the kicker or a team-mate offends and the ball enters the goal from the kick, the kick is retaken. The attacking team does not keep a goal produced with an offence by its own player.
Indirect free kick to the defending team: attacking offence on a failed kick
The encroachment met the threshold for being penalised, and the ball did not enter the goal. Where the kicker or a team-mate offends and the ball does not enter the goal, the referee stops play and restarts with an indirect free kick. There is no retake, since the offending team gains nothing from its own offence.
Attacking encroachment not penalised: threshold not met
An attacker entered the penalty area before the ball was kicked, but the encroachment did not clearly impact the goalkeeper, and the encroaching player did not play the ball or challenge for it and then score, attempt to score, or create a goal-scoring opportunity. A team-mate of the kicker is penalised for encroachment only where one of those conditions is met, so the outcome of the kick stands as it was.
No offence before the kick: the positions were legal
Law 14 requires every player other than the kicker and the goalkeeper to be at least 9.15 m from the penalty mark, behind it, inside the field of play and outside the penalty area. A player who was all four of those has not offended, so nothing about the kick is affected and the outcome stands as it was. Position is judged by the feet, or the projected position of the feet of a player who is in the air, so a body leaning over the line is not encroachment and the encroachment test is never reached.
Goal stands: defending offence does not cancel a scored penalty
A team-mate of the goalkeeper offended, and the ball entered the goal. Where a team-mate of the goalkeeper offends and the ball enters the goal from the kick, a goal is awarded. The attacking team keeps what it earned, and the defending team gains nothing from the offence.
Retake: defending offence on a kick that did not go in
A team-mate of the goalkeeper offended in a way that met the threshold for being penalised, and the ball did not enter the goal. Where a team-mate of the goalkeeper offends and the ball does not enter the goal from the kick, the kick is retaken.
Defending encroachment not penalised: threshold not met
A defender entered the penalty area before the ball was kicked, but the encroachment did not clearly impact the kicker, and the encroaching player did not play the ball or challenge for it in a way that prevented the opponents from scoring, attempting to score, or creating a goal-scoring opportunity. A team-mate of the goalkeeper is penalised for encroachment only where one of those conditions is met, so a miss or a save stands and there is no retake.
Retake: players of both teams offended
Players from both teams committed offences before the ball was in play. Where a player of both teams offends, the kick is retaken, unless a player commits a more serious offence such as illegal feinting, which is punished on its own terms. Note that an outfield player's encroachment only counts as an offence here if it met the impact or involvement threshold for that player's team.
Indirect free kick to the defending team: the kick went backwards
The kicker must kick the ball forward. Backheeling is permitted, so the part of the body used decides nothing; the direction does. A penalty kicked backwards is stopped and restarted with an indirect free kick whether or not a goal is scored, so this is one of the cases where a goal does not produce a retake. No caution is printed for it.
Indirect free kick and a caution: a team-mate took the identified kicker's penalty
The player taking a penalty kick must be clearly identified, which is what makes this an offence rather than a substitution of one team-mate for another. Play is stopped and restarted with an indirect free kick regardless of whether or not a goal is scored, and the referee cautions the player who took the kick, not the identified kicker.
Indirect free kick and a caution: feinting after the run-up was completed
Feinting in the run-up is permitted, so a stutter, a stop or a change of pace on the way to the ball is legal. Feinting to kick the ball once the run-up has been completed is not: play is stopped and restarted with an indirect free kick regardless of whether or not a goal is scored, and the kicker is cautioned.
Retake: both feet, and the ball entered the goal
Where the kicker accidentally kicks the ball with both feet simultaneously, or the ball touches their non-kicking foot or leg immediately after the kick, and the ball enters the goal, the kick is retaken. The goal does not stand, and Law 14 prints no caution for it.
Indirect free kick to the defending team: both feet, and the ball did not enter the goal
Where the kicker accidentally kicks the ball with both feet simultaneously, or the ball touches their non-kicking foot or leg immediately after the kick, and the ball does not enter the goal, an indirect free kick is awarded. The attacking team does not get the kick again.
Direct free kick to the defending team: the second touch was a handball offence
Law 14 prints the restart for the deliberate second touch as an indirect free kick, or a direct free kick for a handball offence. So the kicker who stops the rebound with a hand or arm gives away more than the kicker who stops it with a foot, and inside the penalty area a direct free kick offence by an attacker is still a direct free kick to the defending team.
Indirect free kick to the defending team: the kicker played the ball twice
The kicker deliberately touched the ball again before it had touched another player, so an indirect free kick is awarded. A rebound from the crossbar or a goalpost does not clear this: neither has touched the ball in the sense the Law means, which is another player.
Play on: the ball struck the kicker without being played again
The kicker must not play the ball again until it has touched another player, and the sanction Law 14 prints is for the kicker who deliberately touches it again. A ball rebounding from the crossbar or a goalpost onto a kicker who does not play it is not that, and Law 14 prints no outcome for it, so play continues. This is Ruleside's reading of the word deliberately rather than a stated rule.
Goal: the interference did not stop a ball that was going in
Where the ball is going into the goal and the interference does not prevent the goalkeeper or a defending player from playing the ball, the goal is awarded if the ball enters the goal, even if contact was made with the ball, unless the interference was by the attacking team. The defending team is not given a second chance to save a kick nobody could have saved.
Retake: an outside agent touched the ball as it moved forward
The kick is retaken. That is the default whenever an outside agent touches the ball as it moves forward, and it is what applies where the ball was not going in, where the interference prevented the goalkeeper or a defending player playing the ball, or where the interference came from the attacking team.
Dropped ball: an outside agent touched a rebound
Where the ball rebounds into the field of play from the goalkeeper, the crossbar or the goalposts and is then touched by an outside agent, the referee stops play and restarts with a dropped ball at the position where it touched the outside agent. There is no retake: the kick was taken and the ball was in open play when the interference happened.
No goal: the kick was already complete when the ball was played again
In additional time at the end of a half, the penalty kick is completed when the ball is played by any player, including the kicker, other than the defending goalkeeper. So a rebound from the crossbar or a goalpost that a player then plays ends the kick at that moment, and anything that follows it does not count. A save by the goalkeeper is the one touch that does not end the kick.
The kick is complete and the half ends
A penalty kick is completed when the ball stops moving, goes out of play or the referee stops play for any offence, and in additional time at the end of a half it is also completed when the ball is played by any player other than the defending goalkeeper, or when the referee stops play for an offence by the kicker or the kicker's team. Once it is complete, the half is over.
Retake: a defending player offended and the kick was missed or saved
If a defending team player, including the goalkeeper, commits an offence and the penalty is missed or saved, the penalty is retaken. Law 14 states this for additional time in its own words, so a half does not end on a kick the defending team spoiled.
The goal counts, the kick is complete and the half ends
Additional time is allowed at the end of a half for a penalty kick to be taken and completed, and a goal scored in it counts exactly as one scored in ordinary time. The completion rule is what makes the rest of it clear: the kick is completed when the ball stops moving, goes out of play, is played by any player other than the defending goalkeeper, or the referee stops play for an offence, so the ball crossing the line ends the kick and ends the half with it. A ball that comes off the crossbar or the post and goes in without anyone touching it has not been played by another player, so the kick was still live when it entered and the goal stands.
The referee signals only once the Law's positions have been taken
The ball must be stationary with part of it touching or overhanging the centre of the penalty mark, and the goalposts, crossbar and goal net must not be moving. The kicker must be clearly identified. The goalkeeper must be on the goal line, facing the kicker, between the goalposts. Every other player must be at least 9.15 m from the penalty mark, behind it, inside the field of play and outside the penalty area. The referee signals after the players have taken those positions. And whether a player is in or out of the penalty area at the moment of the kick is not decided by where their body overhangs. The Glossary settles it: a player's position at a restart is determined by the position of their feet, or any part of the body touching the ground, and if the player is airborne it is the projected position of their feet as if they were touching the ground. So a foot in the air over the line is outside, a foot on the ground inside the line is inside, and a player fully off the ground is wherever their feet would land.
The kick must still be taken, and disciplinary action may come first
Once the referee has signalled for a penalty kick to be taken, the kick must be taken. If it is not, the referee may take disciplinary action before signalling again for the kick to be taken. So refusing to take a penalty does not remove it and does not hand it to the other team: the kick survives whatever the referee does about the delay.