Evidence policy

How we verify club penalty takers

The 2026/27 boards separate direct evidence from inference. These rules determine what can change a hierarchy, what remains provisional and what we refuse to publish automatically.

Competitive in-match penalties lead

A regular-time or extra-time penalty in a competitive match is the strongest direct evidence. We record the taker, outcome, players available and whether the listed first choice was on the pitch.

Absence is not a promotion

A backup taking while the primary is injured, suspended, substituted or benched does not automatically change the order. It confirms the fallback only unless later evidence shows a genuine handover.

Shootouts are supporting evidence

Shootout order can reveal trust under pressure, but it is labelled separately and cannot by itself overrule a stronger trail of in-match penalties.

Misses need context

One miss does not automatically remove a taker. A repeated handover, a manager statement or another player taking with the former primary available is stronger evidence of change.

No evidence means no confident claim

Promoted clubs and unclear squads remain marked not verified. We would rather publish an honest gap than fill a search page with a speculative name.

Every public change is reviewed

Detection can be automated, but hierarchy changes are not. A human reviews the match context and source trail before the public file, page and sitemap date can change.

Freshness and corrections

Last verified is the date of the strongest reviewed evidence. Public file updated changes only when the page content or hierarchy changes.

During preseason, final 2025/26 orders can appear as labelled carryovers. They are not presented as newly confirmed evidence.

Corrections are applied to the public record with an explicit reason. Detection tools can produce review candidates, but they cannot publish a new first-choice taker.