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Penalties
Clear Line

Penalties

Penalty area incidents cover several common situations: handball, holding, pushing, shirt pulling, tripping, stepping on the foot, simulation, who played the ball first, and actions by goalkeepers. We examine what referees must consider in their decision-making, and where VAR should intervene if required.
Overview Handball Holding / pushing Tripping Stepping on foot Who played the ball? Goalkeepers Simulation Overview Handball Holding / pushing Tripping Stepping on foot Who played the ball? Goalkeepers Simulation

Who played the ball?

When players challenge for the ball inside the penalty area, officials must consider who touches it first, whether that is clear, if the defender's challenge is reckless or uses excessive force, and whether the attacker has a realistic chance of continuing to compete for the ball.

  • VAR should recommend a penalty where the attacker clearly plays the ball first and the defender arrives late or where the challenge is made with significant force or in a reckless manner.
  • VAR should recommend cancelling a penalty where the contact is considered a normal football collision, without reckless or excessive force and with no impact on the attacker’s ability to continue playing for the ball.
  • If it is not clear who played the ball first, VAR should not intervene.

The rationale

When two players reach the ball simultaneously, assessing who played the ball first is one of the hardest decisions for a referee to make, especially in real-time. Touching the ball first does not make a challenge legal. Arriving second does not make the same challenge an offence.

Frame-by-frame analysis is not the answer. Sometimes, not even viewing the same contact in slow motion helps. Match officials must focus on whether the challenge was reckless or forceful and whether the attacker still had a realistic chance of playing the ball.

What referees consider when making a decision

  • Who played the ball first? Is it clear, or did the players arrive almost at the same time?
  • Was the challenge reckless or using excessive force?
  • Did the defender have a realistic possibility of playing the ball?
  • Does the attacker have a realistic possibility of playing or continuing to play the ball?

✅ When VAR should recommend a penalty

VAR reviews the footage and recommends the referee looks again if:

  • the attacker clearly plays the ball first and the defender arrives late and kicks the opponent's leg, with no need for frame-by-frame analysis to determine who played the ball first. (Video 1)
  • the defender makes a late tackle with significant force or in a reckless manner after the attacker has played the ball. (Video 2)
  • the defender plays the ball first but uses significant force, resulting in a high reckless challenge or serious foul play. (Video 3)

Video 1 – Who played the ball: Attacker plays the ball first
Video 2 – Who played the ball: Defender does not play ball and makes reckless action
Video 3 – Who played the ball: Defender plays ball first but makes clear reckless tackle on leg

✅ When VAR should recommend cancelling a penalty

The protocol works both ways, meaning the review can also show that a penalty should not stand if:

  • regardless of who plays the ball first, contact between players is considered a normal football collision, to the extent that it does not impact the attacker’s ability to continue playing for the ball, or use reckless or excessive force. (Video 4 & 5)
Video 4 – Who played the ball: Attacker plays ball first and football collision occurs
Video 5 – Who played the ball: Defender plays ball first and football collision occurs

❌ When VAR should not intervene

  • it is not clear who played the ball first.
  • both players arrive at the ball almost simultaneously, even if one player touches it before the other.

A decision standing after a check is not VAR failing to act. It means VAR has found no clear and obvious error to correct.