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

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

From The Real Science of Sport Podcast by Professor Ross Tucker and Mike Finch

June 25, 2026 · 1h 18m · Season 8 · Episode 12

About this episode

Ben Lyttleton discusses the intricacies of football penalties and their psychological aspects.

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…

People in this episode

Hosts: Professor Ross Tucker, Mike Finch

Guest: Ben Lyttleton

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Twitter, Substack

Books & works: Twelve Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty, Edge: What Business Can Learn From Football

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