Penalty kick

A penalty kick (also known as penalty or spot kick) is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from 12 yards (approximately 11 metres) out from the goal, on the penalty mark.

Penalty kicks are performed during normal play. They are awarded when a foul normally punishable by a direct free kick is committed within the offending player's own penalty area. Similar kicks are made in a penalty shootout in some tournaments to determine which team is victorious after a drawn match; though similar in procedure, these are not penalty kicks and are governed by slightly different rules.