Penalty kick (association football)

A penalty kick (often abbreviated to penalty) is a method of restarting play in association football, taken from 11 metres (approximately 12 yards) out from the goal, on the penalty mark.

Penalty kicks are performed during normal play. They are awarded when a foul that is punishable by a direct free kick is committed within the offending player's own penalty area. Similar kicks are made in a penalty shootout in some tournaments to determine which team is victorious after a drawn match; these are governed by slightly different rules.

In practice, penalties are converted to goals more often than not, even against world class goalkeepers. This means that penalty awards are often decisive, especially in low-scoring games. Missed penalty kicks are often demoralising to players because it is an easy opportunity to score.

The referee gives the ball to the non-offending team. All players except the goalkeeper and the opposing kick taker should be within the field of play, but outside the penalty area and at least 10 yards from and behind the penalty mark until the ball is kicked.

The goalkeeper must stand on the goal line between the post until the ball is kicked. Lateral movement is allowed, but the goal keeper is not permitted to come off the goal line by stepping or lunging forward until the ball is in play. When the goalkeeper indicates to the referee that they are ready, the referee blows the whistle to indicate that the shooter may kick.

Once the shooter has started their approach to the ball, they are not permitted to interrupt it. The ball must be stationary before the kick, and must be struck forwards. Violation of these rules will result in a re-kick. After the penalty is taken properly, the ball may be played by any other player except the one who executed the penalty kick. The kicker may not play the ball again until it has been touched or played by another player on either team.

For penalties taken near the end of normal time, play may be extended so that the penalty kick may be taken. The try ends when the ball goes out-of-bounds or the momentum of the ball is spent, the exception to this rule being that if time is added on for a late penalty, the try ends when the kicker replays the ball.

A two-man penalty, or "tap" penalty, occurs when the penalty-taker, instead of shooting for goal, taps the ball slightly forward so that a team-mate can run on to it and shoot. The team-mate, like all other players, must be at least ten yards from the penalty mark when the ball is initially kicked. This strategy depends on the element of surprise, so that the team-mate can reach the ball ahead of any defenders. There is no requirement for the penalty taker to shoot for goal; he is only required to kick the ball forward.

...
Wikipedia