A defender pulls the shirt of an attacker inside the penalty area when the ball is in play. It was not an obvious goal-scoring opportunity but it stopped a promising attack (SPA) because the attacker lost possession of the ball. What is the correct decision?

Question

Accepted Answer

The referee awards a penalty kick. The defender is cautioned (yellow card) for SPA because their offence was not an attempt to play the ball or a challenge for the ball.