The Most Controversial Goals in Football History
Football is the world’s most popular sport; it is played in numerous countries and is enjoyed by all ages and races. Over the years, there have been some shots and plays which have resulted in some really controversial goals. Football used to be about sportsmanship
and fair play, and a lot of the time, when controversial goals were scored, people feel cheated. They felt like the other team took unfair advantage and they should have played the game better. When Manchester United’s Nani scored a very controversial goal
recently, it brought the whole issue to the forefront once again. It looks likely that controversial goals will continue well into the future.
It seems like the history of controversial goals started in 1986 with the very infamous ‘hand of god’ goal which Maradona scored against England. This goal started a whole trend of hand ball goals and other controversial strikes. It was during the quarterfinal
match that Argentina played against England in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, that Maradona scored the goal which later become known as the ‘hand of god’ goal. While attempting to head the ball into the goal, the little striker leaped in the air and used his hand
to punch the ball into the back of the net. He later claimed it was the hand of god that helped the ball into the goal.
Over time, many people have been known to follow the skilled Argentinean’s example and done some crazy hand ball goals. One of the most recent was the handball goal that Thierry Henry scored for France against Ireland during a World Cup 2010 qualifying match.
It was a clear handball that helped the ball go into the net and it was not seen by the referee or the linesman. It put Ireland out of contention for the 2010 World Cup and it put France through. Irish fans were very upset at the decision to let the goal stand
and by some estimates it cost the Irish economy a lot of lost revenue from not being in the World Cup.
A very interesting series of events took place during the fifth round FA Cup match in 1999, between Arsenal and Sheffield United. A goal was so controversial that the whole match was replayed. When a Sheffield player was injured the keeper put the ball out
of play so he could receive treatment. Then, instead of passing the ball back to the keeper to restart the game, Arsenal scored a goal. The Sheffield players were so angry that they finally got a lot of the Arsenal team to agree with them and the match was
replayed. Arsenal won the match the second time it was played and this further upset the United fans and players.
Recently Nani scored a very strange goal that had the opposing team in a fit of anger. The Manchester United player went down in the penalty box very easily and the Tottenham goalkeeper was awarded a freekick. He was about to take the freekick when Nani
came from behind him and scored an open goal. This really upset the Tottenham players but the goal stood.
It seems the good old days of fair play and sportsmanship in football are over. Now with the huge amount of money involved in the game and with careers at stake, players will try to win at any cost. If a goal is scored in a dodgy or controversial manner
it really does not matter, as long as the game is won in the end. Players have become celebrities today, and they have a lot of money and huge sponsorship deals riding on a winning performance in a match. It has led to the incidences of controversial goals
increasing over the last few years. This was bound to happen when winning a match has become more important to how the game is played.
In the next few years this problem might increase and even start to get worse. FIFA and other football governing bodies can do things to stop the problem. The first will be to introduce goal line technology and use replays in matches. The next will be to
become stricter in punishing offenders who score controversial goals in the future. Finally a culture of fair play should be promoted in the beautiful game once again. These factors will go a long way to helping stop so many dodgy goals being scored in football
matches.
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