Penalti

Penalti is a term used in several languages to denote a penalty, especially in sports. In association football, a penalti refers to a direct kick awarded when a foul occurs inside the defending team’s penalty area.

The kick is taken from the penalty mark, 11 meters (12 yards) from the goal line. All players except the kicker and the defending goalkeeper must be outside the penalty area and the penalty arc until the ball is kicked. The ball must be stationary, and the kicker must wait for the referee’s whistle. A goal scored directly from a penalti counts as one goal; if the kick is retaken due to infringements, the referee may order a reattempt. Penalties are awarded for fouls within the area that deny an opponent a goal or a clear scoring opportunity, among other offences.

A penalty shoot-out is a separate mechanism used to decide matches that remain tied after regular time and, in many competitions, extra time. Each side selects five players to take alternating penalty kicks from the mark. The team with more goals after these five kicks wins; if still tied, the shoot-out continues in a series of sudden-death rounds until one side leads after a round.

Linguistically, penalti is the form used in several languages to mean penalty, including football contexts. In English, the standard term is penalty, while penalti may appear in translated texts or descriptions in those languages. The term can also refer to penalties in law or in other sports, depending on the context.