Final answer:
A direct free-kick or a red card is normally awarded for a professional foul that denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity outside the penalty area in soccer, not a shootout. Therefore, the statement is false.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to the rules of soccer and whether a shootout should be awarded if a red player is fouled from behind by a blue player after crossing the centerline with only the goalkeeper to beat. The assumed context would be that the referee has determined the foul denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. In such a case in soccer, if the foul occurs outside the penalty area and denies the attacking player an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, it would result in a direct free-kick or a red card due to a professional foul, depending on the specific circumstances and rules of the competition. However, a penalty kick, often colloquially referred to as a "shootout" in some regions, is awarded only for offenses that occur within the penalty area. Therefore, based on traditional soccer rules, the statement is False, assuming the foul occurred outside the penalty area.
In soccer, if a player is fouled in a breakaway situation, especially when it denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, the offending player may be issued a red card, and the opposing team may be awarded a direct free kick or penalty kick, depending on where the foul occurred.
In this scenario, if the red player was fouled from behind during a breakaway, it is possible that the blue player could be shown a red card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. This could result in a penalty kick for the red team.
So, in this context, the statement "A shootout shall be awarded" is not entirely accurate. Instead, it is more accurate to say that a penalty kick may be awarded to the red team. The terminology used may vary, but "shootout" is not the standard term in soccer; it's more commonly referred to as a penalty kick or penalty shootout in specific situations.