Soccer Rant

OK, I'm ranting here. I know. But it's my blog, and I just don't want to talk about yesterday's Lipscomb baseball game. So there.

On a soccer field, there is a d-shaped space at the top of the penalty area. The curved line of the "D" is called the "penalty arc." Basically, it creates a buffer zone during penalty kicks, preventing opposing players from encroaching on the kicker.

Colloquially the "penalty arc" has come to refer to the entire area inside the "D."

Here's the problem -- that space is not an arc, and there is no extra penalty for committing a foul there. Speaking geometrically, it's a "circle segment." What's more, since the Encroachment Prevention Circle Segment extends more than 18 yards from the Goal Line, it is not part of the penalty area. It's just another part of the field, put there mostly to confuse idiot soccer parents who don't know any better.

Seriously. This space really needs a new name, something without the word "penalty" in it.

Suggestions?