What do the regulations say about the penalty Bellingham missed after goalkeeper Dimitrievski clearly crossed the line in Real Madrid’s comeback against Valencia?
In this case, we must refer to article 14.2, which states as follows: “If the goalkeeper commits a foul and the ball does not enter the net or bounces off the crossbar or post, the penalty kick will only be retaken if the goalkeeper’s error clearly affects the taker.” In other words, everything is in the hands of the referee, in a subjective decision.
In this case, the referee decided that the Valencia goalkeeper did not influence Bellingham’s shot and did not order the penalty kick to be retaken.
The rest of the rules say the following.
Procedures for taking penalty kicks according to regulations:
- The ball must be stopped at the free kick point.
- The executor must be clearly identified.
- The goalkeeper must stay on his own line, between the two goal posts, without touching any of them or the net until the ball is kicked.
- The remaining players must be at a minimum distance of 9.15 meters, behind the free kick point, inside the playing field and outside the area.
- The kicker must always touch the ball forward. Kicking with the heel is allowed as long as the ball moves towards the goal.
- The goalkeeper must have at least part of one foot in contact with the goal line at the time of taking the throw-in.
- The kicker may not touch the ball a second time until it is touched by another player. The ball bouncing off the goalpost or crossbar does not count. If the ball is touched, an indirect free kick will be awarded.
Fortunately for Real, even though Bellingham’s missed penalty was not retaken, and Vinicius even received a red card, they were still brave enough to come back against Valencia . It was Bellingham who took advantage of the home team’s mistake to score the decisive goal in injury time.