what qualifies as a penalty?

[theycallhimtom]

Pinning for 10 seconds is a penalty except for one special case. If a robot, while attempting to score on the rack, pins another robot against the rack it does not count as a penalty. But when you say they didn't make a call until the end of the match, that is how it normally works. There is nothing in the rules about officials signaling penalties before the end of the match.