Is it a penalty if... ?

[osarusan]

Just watching West Ham vs Newcastle, and saw an incident which I wondered about. A West Ham player approached the area and passed the ball to another player, after which he was taken out in a late tackle. The ref blew for a free kick, for a late tackle.

But I've often seen incidents in the penalty area when, after a striker has got his shot away, he is taken out by a defender, who was too late to block the ball but still hit the man. By the same rationale, should this also be a penalty??

[BohsPartisan]

Yes. Late tackle is a late tackle. If its a foul outside the box it should be a foul in the box. However in reality referees are less likely to give "soft" penalties than "soft" free kicks. Same with obstruction. Never given inside the box yet its the place where it happens most often.

[Schumi]

Obstruction is only an indirect free kick so wouldn't be a penalty.

[ken foree]

Obstruction is only an indirect free kick so wouldn't be a penalty.

..and i've said this umpteen times to myself in my the comfort of my armchair that the indirect free is inexplicably underused as a punishment inside the box. everything seems black & white too often.