The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 plus 3 letter word PENALTY BOX
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
P
E
N
A
L
T
Y
B
O
X
More clues leading to the result PENALTY BOX
- Fine strike that’s spotted in football field
- Fouls aplenty and fight lead to sin bin
- Prisoner at first notably distressed to be incarcerated in old area of punishment?
- Part of the field spotted?
- Area on field where ten play badly and fight
- The costs of a trip here will be punitive
- Fine chest in part of football ground
- Case following punishment that’s found on pitch
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "area of punishment?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case area of punishment? = penalty box.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.