“Sorry to lower the tone but curiosity got the better of me: last week in Peru, Sebastian Muñoz was sent off for appearing to urinate at the side of the pitch, while in Sweden in 2016, Adam Lindin Ljungkvist was given a second yellow card for ‘unsportsmanlike’ behaviour when he audibly broke wind. Are there any other examples of players being given their marching orders for bodily functionality?” marvels Dave Payn.
Let’s starting with just a little home cleansing. We haven’t consisted of spitting, attributable to the truth that Rudi Völler has suffered enough, but we now have really widened the priority to encompass unpunished acts of biology, partially so we are able to start with one of the crucial in style egestion of all. Gary Lineker actually didn’t get a yellow card all through his job, don’t hassle a purple, not additionally in England‘s opening up go well with of the 1990World Cup “I tried to tackle someone, stretched and relaxed myself and erm …” he acknowledged in 2010. “You can see myself rubbing the ground like a dog trying to clean it. It was the most horrendous experience of my life.”
At the exact same competitors, Argentina‘s back-up goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea— whose magnificent penalty-saving ventures had been the foremost issue a foul group acquired to the final– established a unlikely superstitious notion. He required to have a tinkle previous to their shootout versus Yugoslavia within the quarter-finals and did in order quietly as possible. When Goycochea conserved the final 2 prices, his understanding of causation went loopy.
“There was another shootout in the semi-final against Italy so I went again and we won again. It was my lucky charm and I went before every shootout. I was very subtle, nobody complained.” Goycochea conserved Italy’s final 2 prices, from Roberto Donadoni and Aldo Serena, with Diego Maradona ending the allegory from a terrific elevation.
The Stuttgart caretaker Jens Lehmann reportedly paid homage to Goycochea behind the goal all through a Champions League go well with in 2009. “I thought he handled it very expertly,” acknowledged the membership’s supervisor of sporting exercise. “It was a tricky situation … it reminded me of the Tour de France – sometimes there are simply no options.”
Sometimes there are many choices, but they’re all just a little bit uninteresting. In 2011, Bristol Rovers’ Jordan Goddard made his first-team launching as an injury-time various in an FA Cup connection versusCorby Town An celebration to recollect with satisfaction, had been it besides the fact he did away with any kind of pre-debut nerves close to an edge flag whereas heating up. “‘I’ve never seen anything like it,” Corby follower James Crawford knowledgeable theSun “He was doing stretches, then put his hands in his shorts and pulled himself out.”
In 2016, Middlesbrough protector Luke Ayling, after that of Bristol City, was outlawed from the Cheltenham Festival after beingcaught with his flies down Quite a few years in a while, a Middlesbrough advocate went throughout the alternate line by together with his very personal mixer to a canteen coming from the QPR caretakerAlex Smithies A comparable prevalence came about in an FA Trophy go well with in 2022– but this time across the Warrington Town caretaker Tony Thompson noticed it happen and confronted the felony, an act of vigilante justice for which he was despatched.
In 2020, Coleraine’s Eoin Bradley was given a six-match ban for doing the required previous to extra-time in an Irish Cup semi-final versusBallymena Mansfield’s Adi Yussuf obtained 5 fits fordivesting himself at the back of a stand in 2016 Blackfield & & Langley goalkeeper Connor Maseko actually didn’t must await retrospective penalty. He was offered a straight purple when he sprinkled a bush all through an FA Cup certifying rounded online game versus Shepton Mallet in 2022.
And whereas it has nearly completely nothing to do with the priority, we can’t do with out stating pricey previous Barry Fry’s effort to wreck menstruation of St Andrew’s by lightening himself on all 4 edge flags. We have really coated this up to now, but it’s well worth revisiting.
Why hassle?
“Which players have scored Premier League hat-tricks and ended up on the losing side?” asks Ike Proud.
The final 22 Premier League hat-tricks have really all been racked up in triumph, returning to Leandro Trossard’s for Brighton in a 3-3 draw at Anfield in October 2022. To find a extremely ineffective hat-trick, you want to return to 2007 when Blackburn’s Roque Santa Cruz racked up all their aims ina 5-3 defeat at Wigan Marcus Bent racked up a way more vital hat-trick for the house facet.
In all there have really been 5 Premier League hat-tricks in loss. The initially 2 had been racked up a male related to radiance in a foul group:Matthew Le Tissier The fits had been Oldham 4-3 Southampton on the final day of the 1992-93 interval– the online game that maintained the Latics up and delegated Crystal Palace– and Southampton 3-4 Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the 1995-96 interval. Le Tissier’s frame of mind actually didn’t improve when he was reserved late on for putting again to a unfavourable take care of by Ian Woan.
In the exact same interval, Coventry’s Dion Dublin racked up all their aims in a 4-3 loss atSheffield Wednesday And in the beginning of 1996-97, Dwight Yorke couldn’t stop Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle pounding Aston Villa 4-3 in a Monday night thriller. That was it until Santa Cruz in 2007, although there have really been much more present cases in a number of of the varied different massive European organizations. Here’s a selection:
Serie A, 2011-12 Napoli 6-3 Cagliari (Larrivey 3)
La Liga, 2012-13 Real Madrid 4-3 Real Sociedad (Xabi Prieto 3)
Serie A, 2017-18 Fiorentina 3-4 Lazio (Veretout 3)
La Liga, 2017-18 Levante 5-4 Barcelona (Coutinho 3)
Bundesliga, 2021-22 Borussia Dortmund 3-4 VfL Bochum (Haaland 3)
La Liga, 2023-24 Girona 4-3 Atl ético Madrid (Morata 3)
If you’re , and the fact you’ve really obtained this a lot recommends you might be, we now have really searched up to now at avid gamers winding up on the shedding facet despite racking up 4 aims.
Bottoms up
“On 23 August, bottom club Drogheda United defeated Sligo Rovers 7-0 in the League of Ireland Premier Division. The match was their 28th of a 36-game season. Excluding the first few weeks of the season, when a strong team might find themselves bottom, has the team in last place ever won by a bigger margin?” asks Colm Kearns.
Chris Roe’s magic Football League information supply has really divulged a variety of cases from the distant previous. In November 1934, within the previous Division One, Huddersfield linked mid-table Liverpool 8-0. Both teams had been taking part in their 14th group online game of the interval (of 42). Huddersfield accomplished the interval in sixteenth and prevented switch pretty conveniently.
The most vital triumph, positively in England, originates from the 1892-93 interval. Newton Heath (in a while to return to be Manchester United) had been decrease after 6 video video games after they devitalized fourth-placed Wolves 10-1. Thanks moreover to Mike Slattery for that an individual. Newton Heath accomplished base, though they moreover walloped Derby 7-1 in a while within the interval. They prevented switch by successful a playoff versus Small Heath (a forerunner of Birmingham City), but dropped the adhering to interval.
More present cases in English soccer encompass Burnley 5-0 Sheffield United (Premier League, December 2023), Derby 6-2 Southampton (Division One, May 1991; Derby’s simply win within the final 23 video video games that interval) and Brighton & & Hove Albion 5-0 Hartlepool within the previous Division Three in February 1997. The margin of that triumph inevitably maintained Brighton within the Football League: they finished second from bottom due to racking up 53 aims to Hereford’s 50.
Knowledge archive
“I vaguely recall hearing that Shay Given has a special bottle of water he puts in his goal before every match,” recalled Damien Hensley in 2007 “Is this really true?”
Well, Damien, based on the man himself, it was. Prior to each online game he performed, the Republic of Ireland caretaker positioned a vial of Lourdes divine water on the rear of his goal as a lucky magnificence. “I carry it in my kit bag and it goes everywhere with me,” he knowledgeable the Irish News of the World in 2002. Apparently, the water introduced with it powers that quite a few Roman Catholics credit score the Lourdes springtime, the place phantoms of the Virgin Mary initially confirmed up in 1858. Given moreover took a picture of his late mommy anywhere he goes. “He’s been doing it since he was small,” disclosed his dadSeamus “I don’t know how much he remembers her because he was so young when she died, but he doesn’t want to forget about her.” Read more …
Can you help?
“Is Michael Olise the first English-born player to turn out for the senior side of another ‘major footballing power’?” marvelsEddie Eyers [For the sake of simplicity, let’s keep it to teams that have won the World Cup – Ed.]
“Morecambe have started their League Two campaign with five consecutive 1-0 defeats. Is this the longest run with the same result and score at the start of a season, or even at any point?” asks Gareth Thomas (and many others).
Now that San Marino have completed their 140 online game winless run that has the lengthiest winless run in International soccer?
— Sam Clay (@SamClay 2708) September 10, 2024
“Everton were beaten 3-2 by Bournemouth despite being 2-0 up after 86 minutes. Has a team ever been two goals ahead so late in a top-flight game and still lost?” asks Shaun Tooze.
“A friend recently brought to my attention that Luka Peruzovic, who won the 1982-83 Uefa Cup with Anderlecht, is the brother of WWE Hall of Famer Nikolai Volkoff,” notesJack Hayward “Do any other footballers have familial links to professional wrestling?”
