Lesson 3 of 5 · 4 min
Almost every foul is punished the same way: a free-kick from where it happened. The penalty exists because one patch of grass makes that punishment far too small.
Football is a contact sport, so contact alone is not a foul. A foul is contact the referee judges to be careless, reckless, or excessive: tripping, pushing, holding, charging into an opponent, or playing the ball with a hand or arm. The restart is a free-kick to the other team from the spot where the offence happened.
Most fouls give a direct free-kick, which can be struck straight at goal and counts if it goes in untouched. A smaller set of offences gives an indirect free-kick, where the ball must touch another player before a goal can count. In practice this is why a free-kick thirty yards out is sometimes a shooting chance and sometimes only ever a delivery into the box.
When a defending player commits a direct-free-kick offence inside their own penalty area, the restart is not a free-kick from that spot — it is a penalty kick. The offence is identical; only the location changes. This is what makes the edge of the box one of the most consequential lines on the pitch, and why defenders are coached to stay on their feet inside it.
A penalty is taken from the penalty spot with only the goalkeeper to beat. The keeper must stay on their goal line until the ball is struck, and every other player has to be outside the penalty area and behind the ball. It is the single highest-probability chance in football, which is exactly why conceding one is treated as a disaster.
If stopping play for a foul would actually help the team that committed it, the referee can wave play on and let the move continue. That is advantage, and it is why you will see a clear trip go unpunished when the attacking team still has the ball and a better chance in front of them. The referee can still return to caution the offender at the next stoppage.
Try it
Watch where defenders put their hands when an attacker runs at them inside the box. The care they take is a direct response to how much more a foul costs there.
Quick check
What turns an ordinary foul into a penalty kick?
Key takeaways