Think back to when England sealed qualification to this summer’s World Cup in Brazil. If you are an England fan I bet your next thought was ‘penalties’. Abject failure from 12 yards is as deeply rooted in the football psyche as England’s solitary success in 1966. Italia 90, Euro 96, no need to go further. But the background to the dear old penalty, spot-kick, lottery from 12 yards, whatever you want to call it is as intriguing as those who cannot understand the failure to hit a ball past a goalkeeper at 192 square feet of goal.

The penalty kick was introduced in 1891 and its invention is attributed to William McGann in Armagh in 1890. William, the son of an Irish linen millionaire, played as a goalkeeper for Milford FC in the first season of the Irish League, but it was as a member of the Irish FA that he was instrumental in the penalty kick becoming law. He proposed the introduction of the kick to penalise the habit, prevalent at the time, of defenders fouling an attacking player to prevent a goal. The idea was submitted to the International Football Association Board in June 1890 and a year later was included in the rules as Rule number 13. The law read;

If any player shall intentionally trip or hold an opposing player, or deliberately handle the ball within twelve yards from his own goal line, the referee shall, on appeal, award the opposing side a penalty kick, to be taken from any point 12 yards from the goal line, under the following conditions: All players, with the exception of the player taking the penalty kick and the goalkeeper, shall stand behind the ball and at least six yards from it; the ball shall be in play when the kick is taken. A goal may be scored from a penalty kick.

Although the penalty kick became part of the game from 1891 there was no penalty spot until 1902. In the intervening years the kick could be taken anywhere along a line, parallel to and 12 yards from the goal line, the kicker chose. The D we know and love today that ensures players other than the penalty taker are at least 10 yards from the penalty spot did not arrive until 1937. Until then the other players could stand anywhere on the penalty line.

What isn’t widely known is another alteration to the penalty kick that was introduced as a result of the antics of one of the early giants of the game, Willie Foulke, sometimes known as Willie Foulkes, was an actual giant. He stood 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed in, according to contemporary records of the 1890s, at around 330 pounds. ‘Fatty’ as he was called – but not to his face, was surprisingly agile for his size, played for Sheffield United before the turn of the century. He won the First Division title and played in two FA Cup Finals for the Blades, winning two, and made his England debut in 1897.

Willie moved on to Chelsea in 1905 by which time his proficiency in saving penalties ensured him hero status. But it was Willie’s modus operandi when facing a penalty that caused a change in the rule.

Willie Foulke took it personally whenever a penalty was awarded against his team. Often, after the ball had been placed, he would charge from his goal line to berate (that’s the polite word) the taker and fill him with fear and retribution if he had the temerity to score. That ploy did seem to work so the authorities introduced the rider that the goalkeeper had to remain on his line.

Willie remained at Chelsea for just one season, 1905-06, before moving on to his final club, Bradford City where he was involved in the establishment of one of THE football phrases.

Bradford were to play Accrington Stanley but Willie’s jersey clashed with Stanley’s red strip. Unable to find a suitably sized replacement shirt a sheet was obtained from a nearby house. Wrapped in the sheet Willie managed to get through the whole game without diving and Bradford won 1-0 and so the phrase, ‘keeping a clean sheet’ was born.

Joe Hart and Ben Foster will be hoping for a ‘clean sheet’ if it comes down to penalties in Brazil.