The ‘Irishman’s Motion’ and the Birth of the Penalty Kick

Think of history’s most famous penalty kicks: Antonin Panenka dinking over Sepp Maier in Belgrade; or Messrs Baggio, Waddle and Platini skying the ball over the bar at World Cup finals. Yet without the actions of a goalkeeper from a provincial Irish club in the 1890s, we may never have had the drama of the penalty kick at all. This is the story of how the ‘Irishman’s motion’ give us football’s most dramatic moments.

When the Irish League kicked off in September 1890, all its constituent clubs came from Belfast apart from one – Milford Football Club of County Armagh. The club’s goalkeeper was a 25-year-old called William McCrum. He’d come from a fairly wealthy family and been educated at the prestigious Trinity College in Dublin, an establishment that was an early adopter of football in Dublin.

McCrum was involved in the foundation of Milford FC and in 1890, annoyed by the amount of foul play in the game, he pitched an idea to the Irish Football Association (IFA)’s secretary Jack Reid – introduce a penalty kick for fouls close to goal. Reid sat on the International Football Associations’ Board (IFAB), made up of the four ‘Home Nations’ FAs alongside England, Scotland, and Wales, so he had some sway on the Association football rulebook.

Reid encountered resistance when he put what became known as the ‘Irishman’s motion’ to IFAB, especially from the English public-school-educated administrators who did not believe that gentlemen would cheat at sport. However, a controversial incident in the FA Cup quarter final between Notts County and Stoke City at Trent Bridge soon bought the ‘Irishman’s motion’ back on the table at IFAB. 

County were leading 1-0 in the final minute of the tie, when one of its defenders deliberately handled a goal-bound shot from Stoke to prevent an equalizer. The existing laws only permitted Stoke an indirect freekick, so Notts County’s players simply created a human wall on the goal line to block the shot. Stoke City went out, while County went on to reach the final at the Oval in London, losing to Blackburn Rovers.

Law 14: The Penalty Kick

When IFAB met again that summer at the Alexandra Hotel in Glasgow with Reid representing the Irish delegation, McCrum’s motion had gained the support of the English FA. Drafted as ‘Law 14’ of the Association rulebook, any player intentionally tripping, charging from behind, pushing or holding an opponent, or deliberately handling the ball within 12 yards of their own goal line would concede a penalty kick.

The first iteration of the penalty kick was different from today. Originally, the ball could still only be kicked once, but it was placed on a line 12 yards from goal and the goalkeeper could advance up to six yards. The penalty spot was not added until 1902.

However, the penalty kick was not without its detractors. Many upper-class gentlemen of the day – including famous all-rounder and Corinthian FC player C.B. Fry – still refused to believe that a gentleman would intentionally commit a foul to gain and advantage. Corinthians’ goalkeeper, Thomas Rowlandson, famously stepped aside when faced with a penalty kick to allow opponents to score.

The first penalty to be taken – and scored – under the new law was converted, fittingly, by an Irishman, James McLuggage, for Royal Albert against Airdrieonians in a charity match in Scotland just days after Law 14 was passed. In the Scottish League, ‘village club’ Renton were awarded the first penalty in competitive football on 22 August 1891, scoring from the resulting kick away to Leith Athletic. In England, three weeks later, Wolverhampton Wanderers bagged the first penalty awarded in senior football south of the border.

Back in Milford, while William McCrum had successfully influenced the game’s rules, he couldn’t do much about his club’s form. Milford FC lost all 14 games in its first season in the Irish League. McCrum’s hometown celebrates his legacy by welcoming visitors to Milford: Home of the Penalty Kick.

If you’re interested to learn how football got established in Ireland, Scotland, or any other major footballing country, please get a copy of my book, Origin Stories: The Pioneers Who Took Football to the World. I’d also be grateful for a review wherever you get hold of it.