Penalty kick

From ArticleWorld

A penalty kick is awarded in the sport of football when a foul is committed within the perimeters of the penalty area. The kick is taken by a single player from the penalty spot, with only the goalkeeper to defend the goal.

The Basics

The Penalty kick was invented in Ireland during the 1891-92 season and was credited to a goalkeeper named William McCrum. Penalty kicks were designed to be awarded for foul play within the penalty area. Because a penalty is taken by a player without hindrance against the goalkeeper the attacking side is very much at an advantage. The penalty sport is situated in line with the centre of the goal set 11 yards or 12 metres from the goal line. It is marked by a white spot, on which the ball must be placed otherwise the penalty must be retaken or the ball simply replaced. The penalty taker is free to kick the ball once the referee has indicated he is ready usually by blowing the whistle.

Rules

There are some rules that must be abided in order to take a legal penalty. All of the players must remain outside of the penalty until after the kick has been taken, if encroachment of players occurs the referee may be liable to ask for it to be retaken. The goalkeeper is not allowed to move from his line at any point during the penalty process, if he saves it (and in some cases even if not) and he has moved forward by a substantial margin the referee may also be able to demand a retake. The goalkeeper is however allowed to move anywhere along his line, meaning that many professionals move around to distract the penalty takers attention and to make themselves appear larger. The penalty taker is only allowed to strike the ball once in the process of taking the kick, if the player should accidentally or purposefully hit the ball on a second occasion the defending team will receive a free kick.

Penalty Shootouts

Penalties are also a method of deciding a tournament style match that has completed regulation and extra time. The match may then progress to a penalty shootout to decide a victor. The two teams take 5 kicks each, with the penalties taken alternately. If the score remains even after this initial round of kicks the teams move into a sudden death situation, in which the first team to miss a spot kick when the other converts is defeated. This system for concluding a match is often highly controversial as it is more of a lottery than a true test of footballing skills.