An attacker and a defender challenge for the ball inside the penalty area. The attacker is faster and plays the ball first, whereas the defender misses it, carelessly steps on the opponent’s foot and stops a promising attack. What is the correct decision?

Question

Accepted Answer

The referee awards a penalty kick. The defender is not cautioned (no yellow card) because the offence which stopped a promising attack occurred inside the defender’s penalty area and was a challenge for the ball.