Goalkeeper offenses in penalty kicks are penalized more severely

From now on, the DFB referees in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 will punish goalkeepers who break the rules even more severely in the case of penalties. According to the association, DFB Schiri GmbH has informed the clubs in the top two German divisions about the stricter interpretation of the rules.

The previously valid tolerance range for rule 14 was deleted. According to the rules, the goalkeeper must “remain on the goal line between the goal posts facing the shooter without touching a goal post, the crossbar or the goal net until the ball has been kicked”. When taking the penalty kick, the keeper must also have “at least part of one foot on, over or behind the goal line”.

The referees are now instructed to check the goalkeeper’s behavior more closely after a saved penalty and to have the penalty repeated if there is a violation of the rules. In addition, the video assistants should intervene if the referee does not recognize the violation of the rules, provided that this can be documented with pictures.

The new guideline is an adjustment to international standards. Such violations by goalkeepers have also been penalized more severely in FIFA and UEFA competitions for some time.