Nr. 360

CONCRETE EVIDENCE OF PRACTICAL «JOKE»

So-called performance artists laid a nasty trap for any half-cut football fan that had been indulging in Germany’s beer at the 2006 World Cup. They filled leather footballs with concrete and left them invitingly around Berlin with a sign in English «Can u kick it?». What football fan worth his salt could resist such an invitation? Several didn’t and ended up in hospital with foot injuries. Police arrested several people, thought to be a group of Austrian artists.

Nr. 359

GAMES PROMOTION WINNER GETS HARRY

One of the English Premier League’s top managers was the prize in a computer game promotion in 2009-10. Harry Redknapp, the boss of Tottenham Hotspur at the time, was to be available on the end of a phone line 24/7 to dispense advice on all aspects of football. In a Willy Wonka-style offer, a lucky ticket was hidden in a copy of the Football Manager 2010 game, and it contained Redknapp,’s private phone number. Redknapp, a coach with a reputation for turning around ailing teams, said: «l’ve got plenty of years experience in football management so hopefully I’ll be able to pass on some valuable words of wisdom.»

Nr. 358

NET RESULT

After watching a dispute over whether a ball had crossed the goal line, university professor John Brodie went home and designed the first «net pocket» and saw them used in an 1891 English league match.

Nr. 357

SPOT THE SPOT COMPETITION

A referee had trouble hitting the spot when he awarded a penalty in a 1977 English First Division game between Derby County and Manchester City. The trouble was he couldn’t find the spot for a spot kick because, being late in the season, the grass had been worn away. City goalkeeper Joe Corrigan’s attempt to help by pacing out 12 yards got him a yellow card, so the solution was to paint a new spot. County groundsman Bob Smith got to work with tape measure and bucket of white paint on a nice white spot before Gerry Daly buried the ball in the net for Derby.

Nr. 356

I’M OFF

Sectarian death threats sparked the end of Nortihern lreland star Neil Lennon’s international career. The Catholic midfielder had upset loyalists by saying he wanted a united lrish team.

Nr. 355

SWEET SUCCESS

Barcelona’s world-renowned club was formed by sugar trader Hans Kamper who was visiting his uncle in the city. He liked it so much he stayed, changed his name to Joan and started the football club in 1898 with local players reinforced by British and Swiss ex-patriots.

Nr. 354

KEEPER SCORES

The 1967-68 season in England opened with a sensation when a goalkeeper scored the first goal. Pat Jennings of Tottenham Hotspur succeeded with an 80-yard, wind-assisted punt in the FA Charity Shield. Cup winners Spurs drew 3-3 with league champions Manchester United.

Nr. 353

MY NAME IS SH…SH…SH…SHMOLIK

One of Belarus’ finest referees did not have his finest hour and a half at a Premier League match between Vitebsk and Naftan. International ref Serge Shmolik, according to eyewitnesses, spent much of the game staggering around the ­centre circle, failing to keep up with play and refusing to issue any cards despite some heavy tackles flying about. At the end of the game, Shmolik was helped off the pitch by another official, waving to the crowd as he left. Tests revealed huge levels of alcohol in his system and the Belarus FA suspended Shmolik, who claimed that his strange performance was due to «a bad back».

Nr. 352

MISS ROSS MISSES

The USA was determined to pile on the razzmatazz for the opening ceremony of the 1994 World Cup finals and spectacular it was – apart from singer Diana Ross’ footwork. At the outlandishly glitzy opening in Chicago’s Soldier Field Stadium, all the Supremes singer had to do was sing a song before burying a close-range penalty past a goalkeeper paid to let it go into a goal that would split in two. MC Oprah Winfrey had already fallen off the dais during her presentation and Ross, who had never kicked a ball of any shape, shanked her shot to the left of the target. But the goal still snapped in two, releasing a thousand white balloons and tons of glitter.

Se på YouTube

Nr. 351

BALL BOY’S BALLS-UP

A ball boy got himself on the score sheet in a Brazilian league game between Atletico Sorocaba and Santacruzense in 2006. With Sorocaba leading by a goal in the dying minutes, a Santacruzense chance zipped past the post. An unknown but cheeky ball boy brought the ball back to the pitch, then impishly sidefooted it into the goal where Brazil’s first top-level woman referee Silvia Regina de Oliveira saw it and assumed that the shot she thought she had seen go wide, had actually gone in. The game finished 1-1 and the Brazilian FA were forced to uphold the result, but the referee and her linesman were suspended.

Nr. 350

TEAM TRAPPED

The great Honved team were destroyed by the Hungarian uprising of 1956. The side, which included such great names as Puskas, Kocsis and Czibor, were trapped in Spain when the Russian tanks rolled into Hungary. Some players never returned to their homeland.

Nr. 349

DISAPPEARING GOAL

The mystery of the goal that wasn’t is still a talking point with Dundee United fans in Scotland. During a 1993 game with Partick Thistle, United scored a goal through Paddy Connolly, who biasted home from close range. As the ball bounced back out of the goal, it was caught by a defender who handed it to keeper Andy Murdoch to send upfield for the restart. Unbelievably, neither the referee nor his linesmen spotted the goal or the handball and waved play on. The ref dismissed the protests of livid Dundee players, who had the last laugh by winning anyway.