Preamble:
TODAY’S article is a recap of last week’s episode which was on Law which deals with the Penalty-Kicks. I wish to reiterate what I said in last week’s edition that Spot-Kicks taken after a drawn match are not part of penalty-kick Law but part of Law 10: The Method of Scoring.
Law 10 provides that the team scoring the greater number of goals during a match is the winner. It goes further to outline that if both teams score equal number of goals or if no goals are scored, the match is drawn.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, some Competition Rules require that there be a winning team there and then after a match or home-and-away tie.
In this case the only permitted procedures for determining the winning team are those three which are approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), namely: a. Away Goals Rule; b. Extra-Time; c. Kicks from the Penalty-Mark. In the event that a tie had to be broken by the third method which is a rotary of   “Kicks from the Penalty-Mark” this is the theme of this episode, the fine details are given below.

Kicks from the penalty mark:

The Referee:
*   The Kicks from the penalty-mark are not part of the main match. The kicks from the penalty-mark phase begins immediately the when the Referees signals the end of regulation play plus any added time.
*   The Referee chooses the goal at which the Kicks from the penalty-mark will be taken. The penalty-area where the kicks from the penalty-mark are taking place may be changed only if the goal or the playing surface becomes unusable.
*   Before the start of taking the kicks, the Referee will ensure that only an equal number of players from each team remain within the centre-circle and shall take the kicks.
*  Only the eligible players, the Referee, Assistant Referees and the 4th Official where appointed are permitted to remain on the field of play when kicks from the penalty-mark are being taken.
*   The goal-keeper who is the team-mate of the kicker must also remain on the field of play, not in the centre-circle, but outside the penalty-area in which he kicks are being taken, on the goal-line where it meets the penalty-area boundary-line.
*   An eligible player can swap places with the goal-keeper at any time when kicks from the penalty-mark are being taken as long as the Referee is notified of the intended changing of the places.

The Players:

*   Each team is responsible for selecting the players from those on the field of play at the end of the match or temporarily off the pitch and the sequence players will take the kicks.
*   If, one team finishes the match with a greater number of players than their opponents, the team the Referee will order the team to reduce their numbers of players to equate with that of their opponents and inform the Referee of the same and the name and number of each player excluded.
*   If a player is injured or sent-off and shown a Red Card during the kicks from the penalty-mark and the team has one or more players less, the Referee does not order the reduction of the number of players taking the kicks from the penalty-mark  for the other team. An equal number of players from each team are required only at the start of the taking of the kicks from the penalty-mark.
*   A player other than the goal-keeper who is injured may not be substituted during the taking of kicks from the penalty-mark.
However, if a goal-keeper is injured while kicks from the penalty-mark are being taken and is unable to continue as goal-keeper, he may be replaced by a named substitute provided however, that his team has not used a maximum number of substitutes permitted under the Competition Statutes.
If the team has exhausted the substitutes, the goal-keeper can only be replaced by a player who is eligible to take kicks from the penalty-mark.
*   A player, substitute or substituted player may be cautioned and shown a Yellow Card or sent-off and shown a red Card during the taking of kicks from the penalty-mark.
*   The Referee must not abandon the match if a team is reduced to fewer than seven players during taking of kicks from the penalty-mark.

Number of Kicks:

*  Unless otherwise stated, the relevant Laws of the Game and the International Football Association Board decisions apply when kicks from the penalty-mark are being taken.
*  Subject to the conditions explained below, both teams take the five initial kicks. The kicks from the penalty-mark are taken by players from either side alternatively.
*  Each kick is taken by a different player and all eligible players including the goal-keepers must take a kick before any other player can take the second kick.
*  If before both teams have taken the first five kicks, one teams
scores more kicks than the other team could score, even if it were to complete its five kicks, no more kicks are taken.
*  If, after both teams have taken their first five kicks, and both score the same number of kicks, or do not score any goal, kicks from the penalty-mark will continue to be taken in the same sequence until one team scores a goal more than the other team from the same number of kicks.

E-mail: chileshe_mukuka@yahoo.co.uk  or Call 0966/0978 759 558.