An attacker runs with the ball towards the opponents’ goal (one-on-one situation). The goalkeeper runs out of their penalty area and then fouls the attacker when they are 20 m in front of the goal (reckless challenge for the ball). At the time of the foul, the attacker controlled the ball and was chased by two defenders who were more than 10 m away from the attacker/ball. What is the correct decision?

Question

Accepted Answer

The referee stops play and awards a direct free kick to the attacking team. The goalkeeper is sent off (red card) for denying the opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. The offending team must have a new goalkeeper before play is restarted (a substitute or one of the remaining players on the field of play).