A&H

Penalty kick encroachment

JH

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10 min 39 sec

Why do almost all referees, sunday league to premier league, ignore encroachment? - unless the player is basically level with the ball when it's kicked, same goes for goalkeepers off their goal line.
 
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Probably easier to let it go rather than cause uproar I guess that’s how a lot of referees see it.

In anycase if the keepers off his line and the taker scores which is more often than not then you wouldn’t order a retake anyway.
 
Had this cause a stoppage time abandonment when the defending team walked off the pitch when I ordered a second retake after a defensive encroachment........talk about de ja vue!
It was like a replay....same defender, ball struck to the same bottom corner, same diving save by the keeper......
 
yeah, I'm so sick of seeing this. In our national A-League, there's been numerous penalties scored where the attackers have passed the level of the referee, being almost up to the ball. One, the referee would have been unsighted from the kick because a player was right in front of him! And the ref is only a yard or 2 upfield from the kicker.
It's one of those things that no referee wants to do it for lack of courage. It always causes problems when you do it. But that's no excuse.
But the more referees don't do it, the more of a problem it is for everyone else.

But at the top levels with the top referees, I'm always appalled. There's just no excuse.
 
I would also put a lot of money on it being because a lot of referees don't know the law about encroachment and the specific restarts in each situation.
 
Just last week, i noticed Mike Dean turn his back on the players on the edge of the area as a PK was taken. His attention was solely on the keeper and goal line
Given that this law doesn't get applied consistently, I'd only be inclined to penalise infringements from which an advantage is gained. For example;
i. penalty scored, attacker encroachment - Inclined not to order retake
ii. penalty saved, attacker encroachment - Defensive IDFK & YC
Otherwise, there's a big risk of destabilising the game because players expect what they see on TV
 
In this book two FIFA referees explain that it's better to ignore encroachment unless it has an effect on the outcome.

I don't necessarily agree with them but it's not simply a case of not knowing the laws: some referees deliberately ignore encroachment.

I used to enforce this law to the letter and causes hell. "But BOTH teams encroached! You can't order a retake!" These days I let it go if it's marginal (ie. no more than a yard or two) and makes no difference.
 
And when is encroachment ever going to affect the outcome, unless the ball rebounds to them?
Marginal I think most of us would let it go, but if you're almost level with the kicker....
 
There is a clip somewhere of an GK off his line getting re-took 3-4 times, there is a line between being pedantic and being correct in law. Every penalty gets some form of encroachment!
 
Its treated the same as GK holding the ball for more than 6 seconds, throw ins not taken from exact place ball left fop and (in the PL) GKs wearing same coloured shirt as ref.

None affect the game so many refs ignore - own personal preference if you do the same or strictly apply lotg - valid arguments to both approaches.
 
I'm not sure if it's been discussed on here already but one of the ideas (that is apparently for now, only 'for discussion') on the IFAB's Fair Play website is that since the problems surrounding encroachment have become so bad, it might be better to treat penalty kicks during normal play somewhat more like KFPM such that only two outcomes can occur. The explanation on the site goes as follows:
Penalty kick – same restrictions as a kick from the penalty mark so the only outcomes are a goal or no goal (to stop encroachment etc.) – at most penalty kicks, players from both teams enter the penalty area before the kick which annoys people as referees rarely punish them, often because their focus is on the kicker and goalkeeper.
This problem could be removed by making every penalty kick a ‘kick from the penalty mark’ i.e. the kicker either scores or it is missed/saved. If the kick is not successful, the referee would stop play and award a goal kick.
There would thus be no need for players to crowd on the edge of the penalty area ready to run in early. To discourage them further, if an attacking player enters the penalty area before the penalty kick is taken the kick is ‘missed’; if a defending player does the same and the kick is missed/saved it is retaken.

I can see some possible objections to this idea but I wonder if it might not be better than the current messy situation where we have a part of the law that is almost totally ignored.
 
I don't like it. A large percentage of missed penalties are tapped in by the pen taker. And of the rest some are scored by other attackers.This change heavily favours the defending team (the offenders).

I agree that it makes our job a lot easier though.
 
I don't like it. A large percentage of missed penalties are tapped in by the pen taker. And of the rest some are scored by other attackers.This change heavily favours the defending team (the offenders).

I agree that it makes our job a lot easier though.
Although the fact that the attacking team would not be allowed to follow up and potentially score after a missed penalty is one of the drawbacks I thought of, I'm not sure that a large percentage of missed penalties lead to a goal.

I would say most missed penalties go out of play (high or wide) or are saved by the keeper and either held, pushed wide or cleared by a defender. My impression is that only a very small percentage of missed penalties lead to a goal by the kicker or anyone on his team from the rebound. I might be wrong but I can only recall seeing one penalty this season in the Premier League where a goal was scored off the rebound.

I wonder if anyone has any actual statistics on this?
 
I'm in favor. Often times a penalty is disproportionately harsh on the defensive team, so this redresses the balance. I'm thinking about fairly minor infringements which result in 90% chance of a goal against
 
Although the fact that the attacking team would not be allowed to follow up and potentially score after a missed penalty is one of the drawbacks I thought of, I'm not sure that a large percentage of missed penalties lead to a goal.

I would say most missed penalties go out of play (high or wide) or are saved by the keeper and either held, pushed wide or cleared by a defender. My impression is that only a very small percentage of missed penalties lead to a goal by the kicker or anyone on his team from the rebound. I might be wrong but I can only recall seeing one penalty this season in the Premier League where a goal was scored off the rebound.

I wonder if anyone has any actual statistics on this?
Should qualify what I meant by large was not majority. I am thinking 10 to 20 percent but I don't really have any data to back it up. For me that is large (enough).

By coincident the penalty clip I posted today in the keeper clashing with striker thread is missed by the taker and then tapped in by him.
 
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