90 years of Italian penalties : trends, importance, VAR, and adjusting the 12-yard mark

Abstract

This article discusses an alternative to Video Assisted Refereeing (VAR) in football. An alternative option of positively adjusting the distance from the penalty spot to the goal, leading to a decrease in penalty scoring probabilities is suggested. 90 years of empirics from Serie A in Italy is used to discuss the suggested method. The article concludes by an example illustrating the proposed method. Keywords: serie A, penalty kicks, VAR, football, 12-yard mark