PARIS — Goalkeepers who leave their goal-line early to save a penalty should get a yellow card and the kick should be retaken, UEFA’s head of referees said Friday.
Pierluigi Collina acknowledged it was wrong of referee Bjorn Kuipers to let Croatia goalkeeper Danijel Subasic advance so far from his line to save a Sergio Ramos penalty kick for Spain at the European Championship on Tuesday.
"Unfortunately, that goalkeeper moved forward, it was not spotted by the referee’s team," Collina said at a briefing. "It was a mistake in a match refereed well."
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Collina said he stressed a strict interpretation of the rules at a Friday debriefing for the 12 referees retained for the Euro 2016 knockout rounds. Those included Kuipers of the Netherlands, who handled the Croatia-Spain match.
When the round of 16 starts Saturday, penalty shootouts can come into play to settle matches.
"Of course, referees should pay attention that the penalty kicks are taken correctly," Collina, who officiated the 2002 World Cup final, said at a briefing. "It will be retaken and, as the laws of the game say, the goalkeeper will be cautioned."
Subasic’s save created confusion about UEFA’s current interpretation of Law 14 regarding the penalty kick, which requires goalkeepers to stay on their line until the ball is touched.
The save kept the score 1-1 before Croatia went on to win 2-1, topping the group and sending Spain to a round of 16 match against Italy.
"It was a mistake, unfortunately it happens," Collina said. "It is not a trend. It was one single incident where the goalkeeper moved before the penalty kick was taken."
Collina also reminded that penalty takers can be punished twice for breaking the rules.
"Whenever the penalty taker makes an illegal feinting, the penalty is not retaken and the player is cautioned," the Italian official said.
Players from the 16 teams remaining at Euro 2016 will not get a special reminder of the rules on penalty kicks.
"Everyone should know what he is allowed to do or not," Collina said. "We cannot start recommending to each player to do something or not do something. It is not the work of the referee or the (match) delegate.
"We trust in players."
