50-metre penalty
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In the sport of Australian rules football, the 50 metre penalty is applied by umpires to a number of different infractions when a free kick or mark has already been paid.
[edit] Fifty Metre Penalty Rules
When the umpire pays a 50-metre penalty, he calls time on, measures out approximately fifty metres from the spot of the mark by running in a straight line towards the goals, and setting the new mark; if the player is within 50 metres of goal, the mark becomes the exact centre of the goal line. Players are given a short period of time to follow the play down the field before the clock is restarted. Infractions which can result in a fifty-metre penalty include:
- Arguing with, disputing the decision of, or using abusive language towards an umpire.
- Scragging the player who has taken a mark; that is, to tackle the player or impede him from taking the kick as quickly as he would like. This rule has been applied more stringently since 2006 to give defensive players less time to flood the defence, and to keep the game more flowing.
- Failing to return the ball quickly and on the full to a player who has been awarded a free kick, again to prevent flooding.
- Using unnecessary roughness against a player who has already taken a mark.
- Running through the mark; defensive players may not run across the imaginary line between the man on the mark and the man taking the kick. Attacking players may run through the mark as often as they like, however defensive players may only do so if they are following their direct opponent. Otherwise, the 50-metre penalty must be levied.
- If any free kick infraction is paid against the defensive team while a mark or free kick is to be taken, the umpire either pays the free kick to the violated player at the spot of the foul, or awards a 50-metre penalty to the player with the ball, depending upon which penalty brings the attacking team closer to goal.
The rule was brought in as a 15-metre penalty in 1984, designed to prevent players from time-wasting. Around football circles, Hawthorn is the team generally blamed for the change; through the early 1980s, Hawthorn teams would repeatedly scrag players after they had taken a mark in order to hold them up and prevent quick breaks. It was increased to 50-metres in 1988 when it was determined that the fifteen metre penalty was insufficient to deter such behaviour; again, the tough Hawthorn teams of the 1980s are generally blamed for this. (This is not to say that Hawthorn were the only team guilty of such behaviour, but it was Hawthorn who did so most frequently).
Fifty metres is the average length of a long kick. As fifty metre penalties are awarded only to players who have already taken a mark or been awarded a free kick, the penalty is the equivalent of having made a long pass downfield (with the playing area being over 150m long). This interpretation allows the fifty metre length to be adjusted to appropriate values for lower age groups.
It should be noted that a player must already have a free kick or a mark to receive a fifty metre penalty. Often, crowds will call for "fifty!" when they see a player hurt behind play or in a marking contest. However, many fans are unaware that unless the mark is taken, fifty metres can never be awarded. There was an exception to this rule made one season, where a fifty metre penalty would automatically be awarded against any player who was reported for a non-wrestling offence. So unpopular was the change that it was repealed after fifteen rounds.
[edit] Famous 50-Metre Penalties
In 1987 an incident where Melbourne's Jim Stynes ran across the mark in the 1987 Preliminary final against Hawthorn was one of the most notorious. It brought Gary Buckenara 15 metres closer to goal, and with the Hawks needing a goal to win in the dying moments, Buckenara converted the goal. It was to be a sour moment for Stynes and Melbourne, for they had not won a premiership since the 1960s.
In 2005 an incident where Essendon's Mark Johnson called an opposition player from Sydney a "weak dog" when he wouldn't get up and was playing for a free kick was rewarded with a 50 metre penalty to the Sydney player. It was also believed Johnson engaged in abusive language with the umpire which may have influenced the decision.
During the infamous St Kilda vs Fremantle "Sirengate" game in round 5, 2006, St Kilda full-forward Fraser Gehrig, through aggression and disputing the umpire's decisions, gave up five consecutive free kicks. The result was a free kick in defensive goal square, three consecutive 50-metre penalties (spanning the entire length of the field, yielding a certain goal to Fremantle) and an additional free kick to Fremantle after the goal.
