Penalty Box in Soccer: Rules, Fouls, and Consequences

Every ball sport has a designated area for defense and scoring.

Although soccer is different in that these actions can take place anywhere on the field, there’s also a marked area for these actions.

More than 80 percent of goalscoring actions and key defensive actions take place in this marked area, which is referred to as the penalty box.

Here, the attackers from the opposing team try to get shots at the goal while the defending team does what they can to stop it. Keep reading to learn more about this marked area and why it is important in soccer.

What is a Penalty Box in Soccer?

Often referred to as the 18-yard box because of measurement dimensions, the penalty box is a marked area at the top of each opponent’s half where their goal is.

It is an 18×18-yard rectangular area that extends 18 yards (16 meters) to each side and in front of the goal.

The goalkeepers man the goals in this area and cannot perform their primary functions outside of it. Yes, they are free to step out of it, but they become like every other outfield player who must use their legs.

From the paragraphs above, you can tell that the space is a small area in a team’s half. And as alluded to earlier, most offensive actions happen here.

Penalties are taken in this space as well, which is also why it’s called a penalty box. The penalty spot within the box is cited 12 yards away from the goal and is placed directly in line with the center of the goal.

Just outside the penalty box is a small semi-circle called the “D.” It has no bearing on the penalty box. It’s just there to keep players away from encroaching the penalty area when there’s a penalty kick to be taken. The “D” is 10 yards away from the penalty spot.

How Does a Penalty Box Work?

Around 90 percent of the goals scored in soccer at all levels are here because getting the ball into a penalty area greatly increases goalscoring chances. This is why goalkeepers, who are in charge of preventing goals, can use their hands anywhere within this marked region.

Any fouls committed by the defending team in this area lead to a penalty kick. Most times, fouls committed in this area by the defending team also come with a red card – a sending-off.

Referees are trained to see the attacking team’s actions in this space as goalscoring opportunities that must be defended fairly. And fouls are unfair in soccer.

Goalkicks – the goalkeeper’s kick that restarts offensive play for his team – also happen here.

How Long Do You Stay in the Penalty Box?

There is no duration for how long players can stay in the penalty box.

I’ve witnessed many matches where one team was so pegged back by the other, that the other team was forced to defend all through.

Teams want to score, so they work to get the ball into the area where that can happen more easily than other parts of the soccer field.

The onus falls on the defending team to get the ball out of their penalty area quickly so they can breathe easy and have a chance to attack the other team’s penalty area too.

The only time that players are not permitted to dally around the penalty box is during penalty kicks and goal kicks.

How Many Players Can Be in the Penalty Box?

Like I said earlier, I’ve witnessed matches, both live and on television, where one team was so good in offense that the other team was forced to spend the whole game defending their penalty area.

Games like these had almost every player from the defending team in the penalty box, bar a few of their attackers who had to be outside in the case of a fast break.

The penalty box is big enough to fit all 22 players.

Also, I know I said players are allowed in the penalty box in goal kicks, but those are according to old rules.

Soccer’s relaxed a little bit, and now, even players take goal kicks for their goalkeepers. Some teams even have goal-kick routines where the keeper and some defenders kick the ball around before they get the ball out of their penalty box. They usually do this to attract some attackers and create space in the midfield for their offense.

In the case of penalties, only the goalkeeper and the penalty taker are allowed in the box. This is because both players need extreme focus for this rare set piece.

Why is There a Free Kick in the Penalty Box?

If a player or the goalkeeper from the defending team is fouled in the penalty box, of course, there’ll be a resulting free kick. This is also one of the times that no player should be in the box.

As for free kicks given to the offensive team (indirect free kicks), Law 13 of the Laws of the Game explicitly explains why this is given:

The goalkeeper takes more than six seconds while controlling the ball with his hands before releasing it.
The goalkeeper touches the ball again with his hands after it has been released from his possession and has not touched any other player.
The goalkeeper touches the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him by a teammate.
The goalkeeper touches the ball with his hands after he has received it directly from a throw-in by a teammate.

Can a Goalkeeper Leave the Penalty Box?

Manuel Neuer, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Ederson, André Onana, David Raya – these goalkeepers frequently leave their penalty box to help their team’s offensive actions.

In 2017, South African goalkeeper Oscarine Masuluke was nominated for a Puskas Award for scoring an insane acrobatic goal.

The short answer to the question is YES.