‘It’s beyond my understanding’
Petr Cech has hit out at the recently introduced penalty rules, claiming the insistence that goalkeepers remain on their line until a spot-kick has been taken is unfair.
Cech was speaking after Lukasz Fabianski became the latest Premier League goalkeeper to save a penalty before having to face a re-take.
Leeds United were awarded an early penalty in the game against West Ham on Friday night, and while Fabianski saved Mateusz Klich’s initial effort, he was adjudged to have moved off his line after VAR was checked. Klich tucked away the second attempt, putting Leeds a goal to the good.
Cech responded on his Instagram, posting an image of Fabianski which showed his heel a matter of millimetres in front of the line.
‘How is any goalkeeper supposed to cover an area of 7m 32cm by 2m 44cm without any foot movement while the players shoot from 12 yards with average speed of 70 mph which takes the ball 0.35 seconds to cross the goal line is beyond my understanding,’ Cech wrote.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CIrDgloJ_uq/
‘It is easy to criticise without giving any solution so here it is : CAN THE REFEREE JUST MAKE A SECOND LINE 4 FEET FROM THE GOAL LINE USING THE SPRAY AND THE PENALTY HAS TO BE SAVED IN BETWEEN?’
Fortunately for Fabianksi and his teammates, falling behind to Klich’s opener wasn’t enough to stop them clinching all three points. Goals from Tomas Soucek and Angelo Ogbonna saw them take a 2-1 win at Elland Road, enough for David Moyes’ side to move into fifth in the Premier League table.
Many assumed Cech had hung up his gloves after leaving Arsenal last year. However, it became clear recently that he had been included in Chelsea’s Premier League squad for the new season as emergency cover.
