In this football language post we look at the phrase ‘blatant penalty‘. There are many more expressions connected to penalties in our football glossary. If you have questions or comments about this or any other phrase then email us at: admin@languagecaster.com.
Blatant penalty
If a player is fouled in the penalty area (or box) then their team is awarded a penalty. Sometimes this decision is easy for the referee to make – he or she wil not have to consult VAR as it is so clearly or obviously a penalty. This is the meaning of blatant, that is, when something is so clear there is no need for any arguments. However, as we all know, in football often there are decisions that are subjective which lead to possible arguments and when penalties are awarded or not awarded then we might hear the phrase ‘I can’t believe that penalty has not been given as it was a blatant foul’ – here the fan feels the foul is so obvious they don’t understand why the penalty was not awarded. Blatant, then, means clear and obvious and can collocate with the word penalty but also blatant foul, blatant dive and a blatant yellow card.
Example: Steven Gerrard: Rangers denied ‘blatant’ penalty in Feyenoord draw (BBC.co.uk, November 30th 2019)
Related Phrases
Check out our glossary of footballing phrases here. If you have any suggestions or questions, contact us at admin@languagecaster.com