During a penalty kick, if the kick is saved and held by the goalkeeper but an attacking player enters the penalty area early, what happens?

When a penalty kick is taken, the laws of soccer state that all players, except the kicker and goalkeeper, must remain outside the penalty area until the ball is kicked. If the goalkeeper saves the kick and holds onto the ball, it is considered a normal course of play. However, if an attacking player enters the penalty area early during the kick, the outcome of the situation typically remains unaffected, meaning that play continues regardless of the early entry.

This is because the infringement of an attacker entering the area early does not result in a penalty or free kick if the play has already transitioned to the goalkeeper saving the ball. The referee can only enforce an infraction if it directly impacts the outcome of the play, which in this case has already been determined when the ball was saved.

In scenarios such as this, where the kick has been taken and the ball has not progressed to meet specific conditions that warrant another kick, play is simply allowed to continue as normal, unless the referee decides otherwise based on the context of the situation and the level of advantage gained by the early entry.