“Will only be punished if …”
Strange penalty scene: New rule would have helped Croatia
16.06.2024, 12:18
Croatia goes down in the opening match of the European Championship, suffering a clear defeat against Spain. In part because the Croatians miss a penalty. The scene gives rise to a discussion about a new rule that is being applied for the first time at this tournament.
The Croatian national football team got off to a disastrous start in the European Championship: In Berlin, the team of superstar Luka Modrić, who is playing in his last major tournament, was already 3-0 down against Spain at half-time. The result didn’t change until the end – also because the Croatians were unlucky in a strange penalty scene: They were only able to celebrate their only goal of the evening for a short time, after which there was brief confusion before the supposed goal by Bruno Petkovic was disallowed. Rightly so. The scene provided visual material for a referee training session.
It was the 78th minute when Bruno Petkovic, who had just been substituted on, took advantage of a faux pas by Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simon: the Croatian striker stole the ball from Simon’s foot a few meters from the goal, then defender Rodri misplaced the Croatian and Petkovic fell to the ground. Penalty, yellow card and the chance to at least make the goal difference a little more friendly. And that can be important at this European Championship, after all, the four best third-placed teams in the group also advance to the round of 16. And the Croatians still have Italy, the defending champions, waiting for them in the group phase.
“If Rule 14 were strictly applied …”
Petkovic runs up to the penalty himself – but is stopped by Simon. But then substitute Ivan Perišić gets the ball, brings it in front of the goal and Petkovic scores. The cheers of the tens of thousands of Croatian fans in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium are quickly silenced: the VAR reports. There is clearly no offside position, but the goal is still illegal – because the assist provider Ivan Perišić enters the penalty area a fraction of a second too early.
This has always been forbidden, and officially it should only be punished in exceptional cases – like the one produced by the Croatians. “If Rule 14 were strictly applied, most penalties would have to be retaken,” commented the International Football Association Board (IFAB) on the penalty kick rules – and now specified when an offence during the execution should be strictly punished.
At the start of the 2024/25 season – and for the first time at the ongoing European Championship – this addition will apply: “The offence of a teammate of the shooter will only be penalised if it clearly affects the goalkeeper; or the offending player plays the ball or engages in a challenge for the ball and then scores or attempts to score a goal or creates a goalscoring opportunity,” it now says.
A hit would have counted
And Ivan Perišić committed an offence that should clearly be punished in this sense by passing the ball to the supposed goalscorer and now twice unlucky Petkovic for a shot on goal. The fact that the penalty was not retaken was the already known consequence. If Petkovic had scored, the goal would have counted according to the new rule. Previously, i.e. before the rule was changed, the successful penalty attempt would have had to be retaken, even if Perišić had had no influence on the goal at all.
Missed penalties, on the other hand, are only retaken if the goalkeeper or one of his teammates violates the rules. “Therefore, there can only be one result: an indirect free kick for entering the field too early,” explained DFB instructor Lutz Wagner during the game on ARD.