Question Number: 21205

Law 6 - Assistant Referee 4/27/2009

RE: Under 15

john wilson of stirling, scotland asks...

when the referee awards a penalty kick, where does the assistant referee stand at the kick. also if assistant referee spots a penalty decision what is the procedure. does he raise his flag and run to the corner flag or does he just raise his flag to draw the referees attention.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

If the assistant referee has signaled for a direct kick foul committed by the defenders inside their own penalty area, after raising the flag, making eye contact with the referee,giving the flag a wiggle, the AR walks to the corner flag which indicates a penalty kick should be awarded.
On page 81 of the current LOTG we find the answer to your other question:

5. Penalty kick
The assistant referee must be positioned at the intersection of the goal
line and the penalty area. If the goalkeeper blatantly moves off the
goal line before the ball is kicked and a goal is not scored, the assistant
referee must raise his fl ag.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

Ref Contarino gives the approved method through USSF for an AR to signal a PK is required. It is an excellent mechanic and may be widely used in the rest of the world, but I am not familiar with the mechanics required by other national associations. It will most likely change at the end of this year.

The new signal is supposed to follow the old mechanic of raising the flag, making eye contact, giving the flag a wiggle, then when the whistle blows, the flag is brought to a horizontal position across the lower pelvic area, indicating the AR has seen a DFK foul by the defense within the PA which should result in a PK. This is the current signal for ARs to use when signaling a foul called by the referee is inside the penalty area when the referee looks for help as to whether the foul was in or out. It is also used at PKs should the goalkeeper leave their line early.

However, this new mechanic is not yet in the Guide to Procedures, so USSF referees should not begin to use it until instructed to do so by USSF. It is in use in the MLS games.