8 Penalty Shoot-Out Rules Explained: What Law 10 Says About Eligible Players, Kick Order, Goalkeepers and Retakes

A penalty shoot-out is the procedure used to decide a winner when a knockout match or tie is still level after the permitted playing time. It is governed by Law 10 of the Laws of the Game, which sets out who may take part, how the kicks are ordered and what happens when something goes wrong. Shoot-out results on RubiScore are recorded separately from the match score, and the reasons for that separation lie in the rules themselves.

Many of the shoot-out rules are rarely explained on television, yet they decide some of football's biggest matches. Here are eight of the most important, based on the current Law 10 published by the IFAB. Match results, including shoot-out outcomes, are available at https://rubiscore.com.

1. The Shoot-Out Is Not Part of the Match

Law 10 states that penalties are taken after the match has ended. This has several consequences that surprise many viewers.

Yellow cards issued during normal time or extra time are not carried forward. A player already cautioned in the match who receives another caution during the shoot-out is not sent off, because it counts as his first caution of the shoot-out. A player who was sent off during the match, however, cannot take part.

For records, the match itself is a draw. Goals scored in the shoot-out are not added to the match score or to any player's goal tally. A result is therefore shown as a drawn scoreline with the shoot-out outcome listed alongside it.

2. Two Coin Tosses, Not One

The referee tosses a coin twice. The first toss decides the goal at which the kicks will be taken. There is no captain's choice here: the referee usually assigns one side of the coin to each goal. The referee may also choose the goal without a toss if safety or ground conditions require it, and may change goals during the shoot-out if the goal or playing surface becomes unusable.

The second toss decides who kicks first. The team that wins it chooses whether to take the first or second kick.

3. Only Players on the Pitch at the Final Whistle Are Eligible

Only players who are on the field of play at the end of the match, or temporarily off it for a valid reason such as treatment or adjusting equipment, can take kicks. Substitutions cannot be made after the final whistle, even if a team had substitutes and substitution opportunities left.

The one exception is a goalkeeper who is unable to continue, covered in rule 6 below. This is why coaches sometimes make a late substitution in the final minutes of extra time to bring on a specialist penalty taker or goalkeeper: once the whistle blows, the chance is gone.

4. Teams Must Have Equal Numbers

If one team has more players than the other at the end of the match, it must reduce its numbers to match its opponent. The referee must be told the name and number of each excluded player, and those players cannot take part.

The same principle applies during the shoot-out. If a player is sent off, or an outfield player is injured and cannot continue, the opposing team must also remove one player. Teams often use this rule to leave out their least confident takers. The referee must not abandon the shoot-out even if a team is reduced to fewer than seven players.

5. The Kick Order Is Secret and Every Player Must Kick Once

Each team chooses its own order of kickers, and the referee is not informed of it. The referee's job is to make sure that no player takes a second kick before every eligible team-mate has taken one.

The basic format is simple:

  • The teams take kicks alternately, starting with five each.
  • If one team has scored more than the other could reach, even with its remaining kicks, the shoot-out ends early.
  • If the scores are level after five kicks each, the shoot-out continues one kick at a time until one team scores and the other does not from the same number of kicks.
  • Once all eligible players have kicked, a second round begins, and teams may change their order. The team that kicked first in the first round also kicks first in the second.

A player who leaves the field during the shoot-out and does not return in time forfeits his kick, which is recorded as not scored.

6. Goalkeepers Have Their Own Rules

The goalkeeper of the kicking team must stay on the field, outside the penalty area, on the goal line where it meets the penalty area boundary line. Any eligible player may change places with the goalkeeper, so a team can switch to a different keeper among its eligible players.

If a goalkeeper is unable to continue before or during the shoot-out, he may be replaced by a player excluded to equalise numbers or, if the team has not used its maximum number of substitutes, by a named substitute. Because the shoot-out is not part of the match, limits on substitution opportunities do not apply. The replaced goalkeeper takes no further part. If he had already taken a kick, his replacement cannot take one until the next round.

7. Encroachment and Illegal Feints Are Punished Differently

If a goalkeeper leaves the goal line too early and the kick has to be retaken as a result, the goalkeeper is warned for a first offence and cautioned for any further offence. The IFAB notes that most goalkeeper encroachment comes from mistiming the kick rather than deliberate cheating.

The kicker is treated more strictly. If the kicker commits an offence after the referee signals for the kick, such as feinting to kick the ball once the run-up is complete, the kick is recorded as missed and the kicker is cautioned. If the goalkeeper and kicker both offend at the same time, the kicker is penalised, because the illegal feint is treated as the cause of the goalkeeper's movement.

8. A Kick Ends When the Ball Stops

A shoot-out kick is complete when the ball stops moving, goes out of play or the referee stops play for an offence. The kicker may not play the ball a second time, so there are no rebounds. A ball that hits the post, then the goalkeeper, and then crosses the line still counts as a goal, because it was still moving from the original kick.

The IFAB has clarified one awkward case. If a player slips and the ball accidentally touches his other foot immediately after the kick and goes into the goal, the kick is retaken. If the same accidental double touch happens and the ball does not go in, the kick is recorded as missed.

Why These Rules Matter for Data

Shoot-outs create several traps for anyone reading football statistics:

  • The match result is a draw. Records that count shoot-out wins as match wins will overstate a team's winning record.
  • Shoot-out goals are not goals. They should never be added to player or team scoring totals.
  • Penalty conversion needs separating. A player's penalty record in matches and his record in shoot-outs measure different situations and are best kept apart.
  • Goalkeeper save rates need context. Shoot-out saves come in a high-pressure, repeated setting that differs from penalties during play.

Competition records on RubiScore keep the match score and the shoot-out outcome apart, which makes it easier to read a team's knockout record accurately.

Common Misreadings

A few misunderstandings appear regularly. One is that the winning captain chooses which end to use; in fact, the referee's first coin toss decides the goal. Another is that a cautioned player is sent off for a second caution during the shoot-out; the caution from the match does not carry over. A third is that coaches can bring on a fresh penalty specialist after extra time; only a goalkeeper who cannot continue may be replaced. A fourth is that the shoot-out is limited to five kicks each. If the scores stay level, it continues kick by kick, and every eligible player, goalkeepers included, must take a kick before anyone goes a second time.

The Takeaway

The penalty shoot-out looks simple: five kicks each, then sudden death. Law 10 adds layers that decide real matches, from secret kick orders and equal numbers to goalkeeper replacements and the strict treatment of illegal feints. Understanding those rules explains why a shoot-out is recorded apart from the match, why its goals never appear in scoring tables and why a drawn match with a shoot-out win is not the same as a victory in normal or extra time.