What Are the Penalty Retake Rules After the AS Roma vs. Lille Penalty Fiasco?

Picture this: it’s the 80th minute of a tight Europa League match. Your team, AS Roma, is down 1-0 to Lille. Suddenly, the referee points to the spot. A penalty! A golden opportunity to level the score. You’d think it’s straightforward, right? Take the kick, score the goal, celebrate. Well, what unfolded next was anything but straightforward; it was a chaotic, almost comical sequence of events that left fans, players, and even the coaches utterly bewildered. Welcome to the great penalty drama of 2025.

The incident has everyone scrambling for the rulebook. So, what exactly are the rules for a penalty retake? Let’s dive into the glorious, and sometimes infuriating, world of football regulations that led to AS Roma getting not one, not two, but three chances from the penalty spot – and still managing to come up empty-handed.

The AS Roma Penalty Debacle: A Comedy of Errors

First, let’s set the scene of this tragicomedy. With just ten minutes of normal time left on the clock, Roma were awarded a penalty after a handball by Lille’s Aissa Mandi. Up steps Artem Dovbyk. The pressure is on. He shoots… and Lille’s goalkeeper, Berke Özer, makes a save! Agony for Roma.

But wait! The referee, Erik Lambrechts, gets a buzz from the VAR room. After a review, it’s determined that a Lille defender encroached into the penalty area too early. Penalty retake! Roma gets a second bite at the apple. Dovbyk, perhaps unwisely, decides to take it again. He shoots… and Özer saves it AGAIN! You can’t make this stuff up. The Lille keeper is having the game of his life.

Surely, that’s the end of it? Nope. Hold my espresso. The referee is at it again, this time ruling that the goalkeeper, Özer, had stepped off his line before the kick was taken. In an almost unprecedented twist, the penalty is ordered to be retaken for a third time.

At this point, Roma decides a change of taker is in order, probably because Dovbyk’s confidence was somewhere in the Earth’s core. Matias Soule steps up, trying to end this nightmare. He shoots… and the heroic Berke Özer dives to make yet another spectacular save. Three penalties, three saves, one defeated team. Lille held on for the 1-0 win, and Roma was left to wonder what cosmic force they had offended.

So, What Do the Rules Actually Say?

This whole mess boils down to Law 14 of the International Football Association Board’s (IFAB) Laws of the Game. It’s the kind of dense reading material you’d only turn to after a night like this. Here’s the gist of it:

The Goalkeeper’s Job

The keeper must stay on their goal line, between the posts, and face the kicker until the ball is kicked.

Crucially, they must have at least part of one foot touching or behind the goal line when the kick is taken. This is the rule that nabbed Özer on the second attempt.

They’re also not allowed to “unfairly distract the kicker.” This means no shenanigans like touching the posts or delaying the kick.

The Other Players’ Responsibilities

Everyone else (besides the taker and the keeper) must be outside the penalty area and at least 10 yards from the penalty spot.

This is the “encroachment” rule that gave Roma their first retake.

When Is a Penalty Retaken?

Here’s where it gets a little complicated, and where referees start earning their paychecks (or our collective scorn).

Goalkeeper or Defending Team Offense: If the goalkeeper or a defending player encroaches and the penalty is missed or saved, the kick is retaken. If the penalty is scored, the goal stands.

This is why Roma got two retakes.

Attacking Team Offense: If an attacking player encroaches and the penalty is scored, the kick is retaken. If it’s missed, the defending team gets an indirect free-kick. The logic is that the attacking team shouldn’t benefit from their own rule-breaking.

Both Teams Offend: If players from both Roma and Lille had decided to have a party in the penalty box, the kick would be retaken regardless of the outcome.

In Roma’s case, the rules were applied, albeit in a way that felt like a slow-motion car crash. The first retake was for a defender’s encroachment, and the second was for the goalkeeper leaving his line. Both were, by the letter of the law, correct decisions.

But football, as we know, is more than just laws on a page. It’s about emotion, and the feeling that night was pure disbelief. Roma coach Gian Piero Gasperini summed it up perfectly: “I’ve never seen three missed penalties in one match. It was an almost unique, random situation, which ultimately compromised the result.” You can say that again, Gian Piero. It compromised the result, the players’ sanity, and probably a few betting slips too.