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Question number six
France play Italy. Only the winner will progress from the group. The following situation happens in a penalty shoot-out.

With the score 10-10, France's 11th penalty taker fails to score. Italy's 11th penalty taker is the next to step up. If he scores his team win 11-10. The kicker runs up but stops in his run-up, the French goalkeeper dives to his left but too soon. The kicker then takes another step and blasts the ball off the post and in.

You blow your whistle for the kick to be retaken and you caution (yellow card) him for his unsporting behaviour - stopping in his run-up. He then completely loses it and appears to be pulling you onto a head butt, when a French player reacts instinctively and comes to your assistance with a right-hand punch that knocks the enraged player to the ground.

The Italian captain runs up, bends over his unconscious team-mate and agrees he must be red-carded and sent off, but insists the French player who threw the punch must also be sent off. Then he further informs you, as all 11 players have taken a kick, his number one kicker will now take the re-taken penalty.

The French captain laughs and points out the Italian player who had taken the penalty had failed to score and had been sent off, and so the kick must stand as a MISS.

What action do you take?

Now it is time to revisit question number five, followed by Keith Hackett's answer.

Question number five
A defender commits a bad foul. Although not with the excessive force that endangered the safety of the forward, nevertheless it is deserving of a yellow card. But with an excellent goalscoring opportunity for the attacking side you play an advantage and will caution the defender later.

But before the ball goes dead the same defender immediately commits another bad foul. Again it is not with excessive force that it endangers the safety of an opponent, but again deserving of a yellow card.

What would you do in this situation?

Keith Hackett's answer
Yet another very interesting and very testing question, which highlights why referees should take extreme care when applying advantage. That is why we constantly train referees that possession of the ball is not always an advantage.

You will see on many occasions at Euro 2008 that referees will adopt a safety approach, with a much higher number of free-kicks awarded in these games. Look out for this on television when the stats are highlighted.

The average 25 free-kicks awarded in the Premier League emphasises the approach by our referees and how they contribute to the positive flow of the game, by applying the advantage and adding to the spectator enjoyment.

This is possible because the Premier League players are well disciplined and respond in a positive manner to the referees' approach in these situations.

Now to answer lorus59.

In this situation the referee is now in an extremely difficult situation and will have to call on all his skills to apply answer a). He must issue two yellows cards and the red and send the defender off. Good refereeing techniques can avoid this.

Thank you to lorus59 for this question.

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