Penalty shootout (football)

Penalty shootouts (officially referred to as kicks from the penalty mark) are sometimes used to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament following a tied result in a game of association football (soccer). Kicks during a shootout should not be confused with penalty kicks, which are similar, but are part of normal play during a match and governed by different rules.

Related Topics:
Association football - Penalty kicks

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shootouts are almost always used only in elimination (as opposed to league) games, to decide who will progress to the next stage of a tournament. Usually extra time has been played first. However, the Copa Libertadores has a penalty shootout immediately after the end of a two-legged tie that is level on aggregate, with no extra time played; since 2005, this only takes place if there is no winner on away goals. During the 1980s, Yugoslavia's football league experimented with kicks from the penalty mark immediately after tied league matches, and only the winner was awarded a point; this was soon abandoned.

Related Topics:
Copa Libertadores - 2005 - Away goals - 1980s - Yugoslavia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kicks from the penalty mark are not part of the penalty kick law. However, they follow essentially the same procedure as penalty kicks and are popularly referred to as "penalties". Unlike penalty kicks, players other than the kicker and the defending goalkeeper must remain in the center circle (other than the kicking team's goalkeeper, who stands on the junction of goal line and penalty area near to the assistant referee).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Goals scored during the shootout are not included in the final score. Furthermore, strictly speaking kicks from the penalty mark do not result in a game winner; the game remains a tie and the result of the kicks is merely used to select a winner to progress to the next stage of the tournament. However, in popular usage a team is often said to have "won on penalties", and such games often have their result rendered as (for example): "Team A 2–2 Team B (aet), Team A won 5–4 on penalties".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~