Unprecedented Uefa decision to replay U-19 international may prove costly to governing body
Every action has a reaction and Uefa's response to a refereeing blunder could open it up to abuse
Penalties to players are pretty straightforward, but to referees they can be confusing conundrums because there are 30 possible outcomes from 20 different scenarios that can occur during this apparently simple act. Referees are expected to know every one.
German referee Marja Kurtes, 28, discovered this recently when she messed up during a European Women's Under-19 Championship qualifying match between England and Norway. Her howler - a technical error in law - would have flown under the radar but Uefa set a precedent when they ordered the match to be replayed from the 96th minute, when Kurtes had awarded a penalty to England at a time they were 2-1 behind in the original match.
Her howler would have flown under the radar but Uefa set a precedent when they ordered the match to be replayed from the 96th minute
The error occurred when England midfielder Leah Williamson took the penalty and scored but Kurtes whistled after spotting another England player had encroached before the ball was kicked.
Instead of ordering the penalty to be retaken, Kurtes gave an indirect free kick to Norway - which would have been correct had Williamson missed her penalty. England complained to Uefa about being denied a retake and Uefa decided to give England a second bite of the cherry. Five days after the original match, England needed just 18 seconds to retake their penalty, score and when the final whistle sounded had qualified for the Under-19 European Championships in Israel this summer.
Kurtes, the German FA's Referee of the Year in 2014, was sent home. Teamwork is always emphasised for match officials so it is a pity her assistants did not come to her rescue.
Uefa has opened Pandora's Box. Now teams can potentially appeal to have matches replayed, starting from the point of any proven technical error.
Uefa has made it possible for teams to appeal for "abbreviated matches"
Uefa's decision is significantly different to Fifa's when 10 years ago Japan's Toshimitsu Yoshida made exactly the same mistake as Kurtes during a 2006 World Cup qualifying match between Uzbekistan and Bahrain with the Uzbeks leading 1-0. The incident occurred in the 38th minute and Fifa declared the match invalid and ordered a full replay. Fifa appointed two top European referees - Massimo Busacca from Switzerland and former EPL referee Graham Poll for the replay.
Uzbekistan managed a 1-1 draw second time around and a 0-0 scoreline in the second leg saw Bahrain qualify on away goals.
This time around, in not ordering the whole match to be replayed, Uefa has made it possible for teams to appeal for "abbreviated matches".
Losing teams will stop at nothing in their pursuit of winning and Uefa has effectively opened the floodgates with this precedent.
Here are just five of the 20 scenarios that can occur during penalty kicks. See if you can correctly decide what to do if a) a goal is scored and b) the ball does not go in when:
1) the kicker feints after completing his run up?
2) the kicker feints after completing his run up and at the same time the goalkeeper moves from his goal line before the ball is in play?
3) an unidentified player takes the penalty kick?
4) any offence is committed by a player from the defending team outside the penalty area when the kick is taken?
5) the kicker runs toward the ball, turns his back to the goalkeeper and hits the ball with his heel (making the ball move towards the goal)?
Remember, referees cannot afford to get any of the 30 outcomes wrong, especially now that scrutiny will be even more intense during major tournaments.
