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It’s time to change what penalty kicks can be awarded for in football. The single biggest issue that football has had to overcome when growing the game in Australia is the perception that it’s full of diving pretty boys.
In a country where we routinely see blokes play through torturous injuries in other sports, it’s hard not to cringe when players fall all over themselves in an attempt to win a penalty kick in the round ball game.
The issue of diving in football is long and storied, with controversial penalties awarded in the 18-yard box deciding countless big games.
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Gaining an advantage over your opponent by bending the rules is a part of every game but there are few sports that have had to come up with rules to punish an attacking player for simulation of a foul.
The current World Cup, being no different to any previous World Cup, has not been without its share of controversial moments from the penalty spot.
It started in the first game of the cup, when the host nation Brazil were awarded a soft spot kick that catapulted them to victory over Croatia. Then the Greeks got the right call from the official and were gifted a free kick that saw them fall into a victory over Côte d’Ivoire and into the group stages.
Most recently, the Netherlands progressed past Mexico in the knockout stages when Arjen Robben was deemed to have been fouled in the penalty area.
The Mexican coach has already expressed his dissatisfaction with the call, claiming the penalty was “invented”.
Some will argue that Robben is entitled to affect some gamesmanship and that the threat of a yellow card for simulation acts as an appropriate risk against attempting to con the referee.
That’s ridiculous.
In a time where strikers are taught to fold like an accordion at the slightest hint of contact, it’s time to change what penalty kicks can be awarded for and remove this stain on the game.
Football needs to adopt something akin to the basketball’s principle for fouls. If a player isn’t in the act of attempting a shot then there is a foul called but no free-throws given.
In these situations the team committing the foul is punished for the infringement but their opponent does not receive the direct, unimpeded opportunity to score points. The punishment fits the crime.
In football, this could translate to a situation where if a player is in the 18-yard box but not attacking the goal or in the act of shooting, then the spot kick is replaced by a free kick on the edge of the area.
Take the recent Robben penalty for example. He’s facing towards his own goal and in no position to score when the foul occurs. Surely a more appropriate response to a foul like this would be a free kick from the edge of the 18 yard box?
The same principle could be applied for players who take a touch away from goal and towards the byline. If they’re brought down, sure it’s a foul, but a spot kick is hardly the appropriate punishment when the player is no longer an imminent goalscoring threat.
As intense and exciting as penalty shoot-outs can be, no one watches football to see a player put the ball in the back of the net from the penalty spot. We watch the game to see the fluid brilliance and spectacular skill that exists in open play.
No one worships Diego Maradona because of his proficiency from the penalty spot, they worship him because of what he could do with the ball at his feet at the halfway line.
Football needs to get back to its roots.
The highlight reels should be full of amazing goals from open play, not players falling to the turf in faux-agony inside the 18-yard box.
FIFA need to look beyond simply punishing players for simulation and completely remove the incentive to play for free kicks within the penalty area.
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