For many fans of the game they can be hugely divisive, to say nothing if you are a player and indeed directly involved.
Penalty rebounds are those instances that for the goalkeeper carry momentary euphoria. Momentary. You’ve just pulled off a save that odds and physics dictate you aren’t going to make, there is a rush of adrenaline and you’re elated, only then to realise when you parried the ball, it was the opposition who reacted the quickest and you see it flying past into the net.
How quickly your emotions change. Being a fan especially. Think of it the other way around. You’ve had your penalty saved, maybe it wasn’t as good as you intended, perhaps you caught your studs or slipped, but the goalkeeper parries it back into your path, your heart leaps and you pounce on the second chance successfully.
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How many times have we seen this situation in football? No doubt, there have been numerous controversies with penalty rebounds, with some instances having massive implications, though these are still allowed.
For how much longer remains to be seen. Revered ex-referee Pierluigi Collina, who is now head of FIFA’s referees’ committee is proposing scrapping penalty rebounds in open play.
How This Would Have A Dramatic Effect
Essentially, a penalty would then be the same as in a penalty shootout. Collina’s reasoning for making this proposal is that he believes it would prevent the taker having an unfair advantage and crowding the area.
Such a change to the game would also make the ‘D’ redundant and may signal a complete redesign of the football pitch as we know it. Removing the ‘D’ from every pitch around the world would cost 10s of millions. Just about achievable for professional clubs, though there are also millions of amateur clubs around the world who would probably need some sort of partial grant in order to fund this.
Crowding has caused a lot of drama over the years when it comes to penalties being taken. There have been instances where it has taken the referee quite a few minutes to make sure every player is at least on the edge of the ‘D’ before giving the signal for the penalty to be taken. Scrapping rebounds would remove this issue.
Penalty Rebounds Provide An Effective Advantage
Over the years we have seen many instances where players have scored from a penalty rebound and some have had considerable implications. In arguably the best Champions League Final in the modern era when Liverpool completed a historic victory over AC Milan in 2005, being 3-0 down at half time to winning on penalties, there was one of several crucial moments in the second half.
Liverpool had just scored two goals in two minutes and were awarded a penalty four minutes later. Xabi Alonso stepped up, providing goalkeeper Dida with an easy save, though it was parried nearly straight into the Spaniard’s path and he dramatically levelled the game.
Had rebounds been banned at this point, Liverpool would have had to continue to push for an equaliser and the game could have gone differently.
Should this change come into effect, it will be interesting to see how this is received by fans and players around the world.
