Why Dominic Solanke penalty wouldn’t have counted if Bournemouth striker had scored

Dominic Solanke’s penalty for Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon wouldn’t have counted even if the ball had gone in. Solanke sent his spot-kick well over the crossbar against Sheffield United at the Vitality Stadium.

Solanke had stepped up to the spot after Tom Davies fouled him inside the box. But just as Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers anticipated a strong start to the weekend, Solanke slipped and skied his penalty over the bar.

Replays showed the England international’s left leg gave way as he planted it during his run-up. His right-footed attempt from 12 yards ended up deflecting up off his other foot and going over. But had the ball somehow found the net, it would have been ruled out.

That is because FIFA rules applied by the Premier League clearly state that a penalty taker cannot touch the ball twice without anyone else touching it. If they do and the ball goes in, an indirect free-kick is given to the defending team. The attacking team are not given a chance to retake the penalty.

Because Solanke failed to hit the target, the rule did not need to be applied this time. But Aleksandar Mitrovic was an unfortunate victim last season when his penalty for Fulham was cancelled out in a 1-0 loss to Newcastle.

Solanke’s miss caused frustration in the FPL community with Solanke captained by over two million managers in game-week 28. He had been a slight injury doubt pre-match but led the line for the Cherries in spite of a knee issue that has impacted his ability to train.

The 26-year-old striker had scored 14 Premier League goals before the Sheffield United match. Only Erling Haaland (18), Ollie Watkins (16) and Mohamed Salah (15) had scored more times than him before this weekend.

Bournemouth trailed 1-0 at half-time to the Blades due to Gustavo Hamer’s goal on 27 minutes. The visitors doubled their advantage through Jack Robinson before Solanke had a goal ruled out for handball after a VAR check.

The south coast club sit 13th after a slip in form, winning just one of their previous eight league matches before today.

Andoni Iraola admitted pre-match: “It is a thing that worries me a little bit, because we have been much better away than at home, results and perception-wise. Normally it is not like this.

“Normally you take the big amount of points at home, and we are doing the opposite. We still have good games at home where we could have some wins. But we haven’t been as good at home as we have been away.

“For sure there are reasons. Our approach is not different when we play at home or away, the tactics are quite the same. But we have to start even stronger when we play at home and put pressure on the opponents.”