Football: ‘The wall’ can make it harder to save free kicks – new research

Press/Media: Expert Comment

Description

In football, free kicks occur when the referee believes a rule has been broken. If central enough and within 30 metres from the goal, the attacking team typically attempts a direct shot on goal. However, the goalkeeper routinely places a “wall” of defensive players in between the ball and the goal to complicate the kicker’s task of shooting on target.

While this strategy is often effective, the wall frequently obstructs the goalkeeper’s initial view of the moving ball. Although the negative effects of this obstruction have been assumed by experts, they had not been scientifically quantified until recently.

Period26 Dec 2020

Media contributions

1

Media contributions

  • TitleFootball: ‘The wall’ can make it harder to save free kicks – new research
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletThe Conversation
    Media typeWeb
    Duration/Length/Size842 Words
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    Date26/12/2020
    DescriptionIn football, free kicks occur when the referee believes a rule has been broken. If central enough and within 30 metres from the goal, the attacking team typically attempts a direct shot on goal. However, the goalkeeper routinely places a “wall” of defensive players in between the ball and the goal to complicate the kicker’s task of shooting on target.

    While this strategy is often effective, the wall frequently obstructs the goalkeeper’s initial view of the moving ball. Although the negative effects of this obstruction have been assumed by experts, they had not been scientifically quantified until recently.
    Producer/AuthorJoost C. Dessing
    URLhttps://theconversation.com/football-the-wall-can-make-it-harder-to-save-free-kicks-new-research-151869
    PersonsJoost C. Dessing, Cathy Craig, Theofilos Valkanidis