# Re-Release: The Art and Science of the Perfect Football Penalty

An episode of [The Real Science of Sport Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1461719225), 25 Jun 2026, 1 h 18 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/realscienceofsport/e/6a3d774c26d5a6687a4ae19a/media.mp3

British football journalist Ben Lyttleton literally wrote the book on football penalties. As the author of 'Twelve Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty' and 'Edge: What Business Can Learn From Football', Lyttleton is arguably the world's leading authority on the subject. His encyclopedia-like and passionate knowledge of both the game of football and the controversial penalty, make this one of the most entertaining podcasts we have done yet. This podcast was first published in August, 2022, but is sure to be relevant to the final weeks of this year's edition as we head into the knockout stages. SHOW NOTES: The Twitter handle of our guest Ben Lyttleton: @benlyt, or https://twitter.com/benlyt Ben’s website, Twelve Yards: https://twelveyards.substack.com/ Article on where to aim, high or low: https://twelveyards.substack.com/p/high-or-low-where-to-aim Fascinating article with video on Neymar’s now illegal stop-start method, and his adjustments: https://twelveyards.substack.com/p/what-neymar-did-next The curse of the superstar - why stars miss more penalties: https://twelveyards.substack.com/p/mbappe-culture-and-the-superstar The study on English players’ failure in shootouts that kicked off this interview: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19058088/ Emotional contagion paper, and how player celebrations affect shootout results: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20544488/ The most famous penalty miss ever? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8WtxgFvvj0 The original panenka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxXWIZULgyw Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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