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Set-Pieces - The Penalty Kick    By Julian Carosi.
(A series of articles on how to officiate in a proactive way by improving how you deal with specific incidents and how to become a better Referee).            
These ideas are not prescriptive; rather, they will hopefully give you some new things to think about, and encourage you towards adopting a consistent approach by dovetailing them into your own style of refereeing.

Preparation. 
There are three important aspects to consider when deciding penalty kick offences; anticipation; proximity and angle of view.

ANTICIPATION:

A penalty kick is a potential match-changing incident. An astute Referee will reserve his energy levels for dealing with match-changing incidents. It follows, that whist it is pointless for a Referee to ALWAYS hasten towards the scene when the ball enters one of the penalty areas, he should ALWAYS sprint there if he anticipates a challenge that could result in a potential penalty kick being awarded. The more skilful that a Referee is, in terms of being able to accurately anticipate incidents, the better he is at reserving his energy for when it is really needed. The anticipation skills of a new Referee are not so finely tuned as that of an experienced Referee. Therefore, he needs to work much harder to get close, on nearly every occasion that a contested ball goes into the penalty area. The advice for a new Referee is to continue his efforts and rest during those less important moments in the match. For example, it is far more important for a new Referee to be nearby when awarding a penalty kick, than it is for him to be close when stopping play for a throw-in. Dealing with arguments at a throw-in, is much easier for a Referee to revolve than dealing with players who harangue you for not keeping up with play after awarding a penalty kick. In other words, one of the principles of good Refereeing is to make life as easy as you can for yourself, by prioritising what really is important, and what isn't quite so important. If we had a motorbike to ride around on whilst Refereeing a game of football, and we could fill it up with fuel at half-time, then it would be easy to be on the spot for every incident that happens in a game of football. But as we are not allowed that luxury, we must make do with building up our anticipation skills and reserving our muscle fuel levels for when it does matter.

PROXIMITY: 

There is a maxim in the Refereeing world, that says: "The nearer you are when making a decision, the more credibility you will have in the players eyes."
This does not mean that you have to be in the player's back pocket every time that an infringement occurs. At the top levels of football, Referees' positioning is analysed in fine detail, using technical aids; the aim being to lessen the average distance that a Referee is to the ball during a game. This has proved to be very successful at the top echelons. For example, you don't see top Referees slavishly adhering to the diagonal patrol system, which has served Referees so well over years. Very rarely do you see the best Referees get in the players way, particularly in the narrow central band that traverses the area between the two penalty arcs. Instead they sprint through this area, and position themselves on its edge, rather than spending any time inside it. Top Referees are also much better at compressing play by coming way off their diagonal to encompass and squeeze the play area between themselves and the touchline. These are just a few modern techniques that have resulted form the detailed analysis of Referees. 
So how can all of this help the thousands of Referees who are not lucky enough to benefit directly from modern day Referee coaching? As far as the penalty kick is involved, the concept remains the same for top Referees as it does for those at lower levels. 
"The nearer you are when making a decision, the more credibility you will have in the players eyes."
The trick is to hone your anticipation skills so that when you really do need to be in the players' back pocket, you are!

ANGLE OF VIEW:

Whilst earning credibility by being as close as you can, is commended, it can (and very often does) place the Referee in the wrong position. Very often, it is much better for a Referee to run off at a slight angle, instead of making his way in a straight line towards the scene. This is a difficult habit to break for some of those who have been Refereeing for a few years or so. The impetus has always been to get as close as you can. Whilst the principle of closeness is still very important, it is just as important to have a good angle of view of any potential incident. Therefore, the proximity-urge must be tempered with the need to increase your angle of view as you approach the penalty area. This method becomes more important, the further you are away from an incident. In other words, there is no point in trying to sprint in a direct line whilst you are in the centre circle monitoring a challenge in the penalty area, as it stifles good viewing. It's much better to slightly angle your approach, so that you improve the view of any potential physical contact points as opponents jostle for the ball. It is a balancing act. You need to be near, but you also need to have a good view - and this cannot be achieved by simply sprinting in a straight line towards the incident.
Whilst this concept is also useful when monitoring action on any part of the field of play; it is highly effective when monitoring play in the penalty areas. 
Once you have awarded a penalty kick, you need to have a process for dealing with the situation. The following are some ideas that you could consider factoring into your own process, so that when a penalty kick occurs, you know exactly what to do, your confidence is increased, and you take proactive steps to minimise any of the Laws being broken.

The Penalty Kick Process for Referees:
Be ready and be prepared. This is a critical moment where you need to be assertive! 

The following advice is intended to give you some ideas about what you should consider, and encourages you to have a standard process for dealing with the actual penalty kick itself. 

When you award a penalty kick, blow your whistle so that it emphasises the importance of the occasion. Make it loud and strong and confident. If you are some distance away, keep running towards the scene whilst you are blowing your whistle. By the time that the players have looked around to see where you are, you will have already gained 10 or more metres, and in doing so, will have correspondingly increased your credibility. 

Identify and store (in your mind) the details of any player who you have to discipline. Make a decision on the type of punishment needed. These are important considerations, as it is very easy to focus on what you need to do to set up the penalty kick, and whilst doing so, lose track of the perpetrator (or what happened). One tip, is to speak to yourself as you make your way to the scene, for example, say in your mind, "Red No. 9 elbowed the attacker in face. Send him off" This puts a marker in your memory about who the instigator was. The types of discipline that you need to consider are: do nothing; have a quiet word with the perpetrator, a semi-public or a public warning (where you isolate the perpetrator and give him a stern warning); a caution, or a sending-off if the incident denied an obvious goal scoring opportunity etc. 

Be ready to deal with confrontation, or to fend it off with very assertive vocal and body-language signals - such as shooing away players with dismissive hand signals. 
The perpetrator of the foul will very often confront the Referee; he does this, because he either wants to persuade you to change your mind, or because he is feeling guilty about letting his team down; and by protesting, he believes that it may make his teammates think that it was NOT a penalty offence. Either way, you (the Referee) need to believe in your decision (and to show that you believe it with every drop of your blood), and not be persuaded otherwise. Have a few words ready to explain the Laws of the Game. For example, if a perpetrator asks you why, tell him that the Laws state that if a defender touches an opponent before touching the ball whilst making a tackle (in the penalty area), then it is a penalty kick. But remember, you do not have to give an opinion, or justify your decision; and sometimes it is better not to - as it can lead to more confrontation.

Get to the scene as fast as you can. Move towards the penalty spot, point towards the penalty spot, look at it, and use strong upright body-language to depict a confident decision. The stronger you make your decision look, the less dissent you will receive. This is a very important factor to consider. A penalty kick is very often a match-changing moment. It is always a critical decision-making moment. Therefore, the Referee has to sell his decision in such a way that it looks like he has no doubt whatsoever about the decision, and that there is no point in the defending team trying to make the Referee change his mind. 

There are several tips to aid this salesmanship! Stand by the penalty spot - this instantly communicates what the decision is, and shows the Referee in a strong confident light. The further away that you stand from the penalty spot, the less credibility you will have in the players' eyes. If there is any physical danger to yourself, then you can back-off towards the goal line, but there comes a point where you must stand firm and deal with any bad behaviour. As a thought stimulant, the more you back-off, the more players will be attracted towards you - it actually encourages player to have a go at you. By standing near the penalty spot, it unconsciously tells the players that there is no chance of you changing your decision. 

Once you have sold your decision and the storm has calmed down, take any disciplinary action that you need to. For example, isolate and deal with any Law breaches. Make sure, that whilst you are dealing with any perpetrators, that you can still keep an eye on the other players. The confrontation sakes will remain high until the penalty kick has been completed, so you need to keep a watchful overall eye to prevent further trouble spilling over. Tempers will remain high so you will need to remain alert.

To set up the penalty kick requires several factors to be in place. Try using the following circular method to set up the kick, and to minimise potential breaches of the Penalty Kick Law 14. 

1. Start at the penalty spot: Identify the penalty kick taker and make him known to the goalkeeper. Remind the kicker and the goalkeeper, that the penalty only commences on your whistle signal. Always use your whistle to signal the start of a penalty kick. Deal with any encroaching players, and ensure the ball is placed on the penalty spot. Check to see if your Assistant Referee is where you want him. Beware of the goalkeeper coming out to attempt some gamesmanship by distracting the kicker. If this happens, deal with it strongly and quickly. And issue a caution if you need to. In other words, do not let the goalkeeper control the situation. 

2. Check to see that all off the players are on the field of play, and in the correct position. Draw an imaginary penalty area arc shape with your finger towards the players who should by now be waiting outside of the penalty area on the edge of the penalty arc. This tells them to remain outside of the penalty area and its arc. 

3. Move towards the left hand side of the goalkeeper and remind him that he must remain in the goal line until the kick is taken. Warn him, that if he moves off the line before the kick has been taken, and a goal is not scored, you will ask for the kick to be retaken. Inform him also, that you will use your whistle to signal the start of the penalty kick. 

4. Continue your circle by moving to the right of the goalkeeper, and select one defending player on the far side of the penalty area arc. Instruct this player to remain outside of the penalty area and the arc until the kick has commenced. Be assertive and use strong body-language and eye-contact to make your message clear.

5. Make your way along the edge of the penalty arc, and select one attacking player. Instruct this player to remain outside of the penalty area and the arc until the kick has commenced.

Note: The idea in selecting one player from each team, is to create maximum impact with the least amount of effort. In other words, both teams will be left in no doubt that you (the Referee) will be watching for, and will punish encroaching. 

6. Make your way to your monitoring point, roughly alongside and about 10 metres or so away from the penalty spot. The exact location depends very much on whether you have an Assistant Referee to help you out or not. As a rule of thumb, the more that you need to rely on your own judgement, the nearer you have to be to the goal line. The most important monitoring aspect when a penalty kick takes place, is to decide whether a goal has been scored or not; i.e., did the ball enter the goal or not? When you have an Assistant Referee to help you, he can help you to decide if the ball crosses over the goal line or not. You (the Referee), can then use a greater portion of your concentration to look out for encroachment. When no Assistant Referee is in attendance, then encroachment becomes less important, and the goal scoring becomes more important. It's a balancing act that relies on deciding which is the most important aspect to monitor. 

7. Do a final re-check to see that all the players are on the field of play, and in the correct position. And once again, draw an imaginary penalty area arc shape with your finger towards the players who should still be waiting outside of the penalty area on the edge of the penalty arc.

8. Give a loud blast on your whistle to denote that the penalty kick can commence. Do not start a penalty kick by using vocal instructions. Always use a whistle to signal the start of a penalty kick; as it is a clear signal that is instantly recognised by everyone. 

9. It is impossible for a Referee working on his own to monitor all possible breaches of the Penalty Kick Law 14. Therefore, your greater focus must always be on whether a goal is scored or not, rather than being distracted by worrying about whether a player has his foot just inside the penalty area (or not) when the kick is taken. In short, do not be pernickety about trying to resolve every minute infringement; else your concentration will be diverted from the main issue. If there is an obvious infringement, then punish it. 

Summary: The advice above encourages you to have your own process for dealing with penalty kicks. Once you have established a process that works for you, use it regularly and automatically. You will find that you will be more confident when dealing with penalty kicks. It also allows you to focus your attention towards dealing with any other issues that often arise when a penalty kick is awarded. 

Happy reffing.

Regards, Julian Carosi.