 A penalty spot is centrally positioned directly in front of the goal and used for a penalty stroke . The spot is 150 mm in diameter and its centre is 6 @.@ 475 m from the outside of the goal line . Penalty strokes were introduced in 1963 for deliberately stopping a certain goal ; they were originally taken 8 yards ( 7 @.@ 3 m ) from goal . In 1973 , a stroke could also be awarded for a deliberate foul in the circle and the spot was moved to 7 yards ( 6 @.@ 4 m ) from goal the following year . 
