Top 10 Funniest Football Goals

The textbook example of cheering too early is definitely in the name of the Moroccan goalkeeper Khalid Askri. During the quarter-finals of the Moroccan Cup, the match between FAR Rabat and Maghreb de Fès resulted in a nerve-wracking penalty shootout. Askri dived to the corner and stopped Tariq Chtibi's penalty, after which he scrambled to his feet with joy. He demonstratively turned towards the audience, kissed the club logo on his chest with his chest forward and handed out kisses to the supporters. However, due to the enormous backward impact ball (backspin), the leather started to roll back towards the goal painfully slowly after landing. As the stadium started to scream and Askri still waved unsuspectingly at the fans, the ball bounced over the goal line. The referee rightly awarded the goal, after which Askri became the symbol of premature euphoria all over the world.

Millions of fans dream of scoring in professional football, but an enthusiastic supporter in the Russian Premier League decided to make that dream come true himself. In the final phase of the match between Saturn and Spartak Moscow, the visitors were awarded a penalty. While Brazilian star player Alex was intently ready to dock, a fan sprinted from the stands onto the field at full speed. The man passed the stunned stewards, took a devastating left swing and drove the ball straight into the bottom corner behind the perplexed goalkeeper. The fan performed a euphoric belly slide before security took him to the ground. The goal was of course disallowed, after which Alex was allowed to take the penalty himself.

A classic example of football gobbledygook occurred at Highfield Road in November 1997. Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given plucked a harmless cross out of the air and thought he had all the time in the world to restart the game. He put the ball down on the grass in front of him to run for a long kick, completely blind to the fact that Coventry striker Dion Dublin had remained right behind him when the ball was caught. Dublin crept forward silently like a sniper, poked the ball away from the shocked Irishman's feet and easily slotted home the equalizer. The on-duty commentator afterwards summarized the blunder in a legendary way: Given turned out to be the only Irishman in the world who did not know where Dublin was.

A sporting gesture that completely got out of hand: it happened to a very young Jan Vertonghen in September 2005 during the cup match between Jong Ajax and Cambuur Leeuwarden. After a Cambuur player was injured on the field, the Frisian team kicked the ball over the sideline. After the throw-in, Vertonghen simply wanted to shoot the ball back to Cambuur keeper Peter van der Vlag about fifty meters away. However, the Belgian defender accidentally hit the leather so cleanly with the instep that the ball flopped in a fabulous curve over the bewildered closing post in the intersection. Vertonghen immediately grabbed his head in shock from shame. To restore sporting relations, Ajax coach John van den Brom immediately gave instructions to his team to let Cambuur run unopposed to the Ajax goal from the kick-off for the 1-1.

The danger of a goalkeeper playing football was painfully demonstrated in the Veltins Arena by Hans-Jörg Butt. The German goalkeeper was known at Bayer Leverkusen for his flawless kicking technique and converted a penalty in the 76th minute, giving his team a comfortable 1-3 lead. Butt celebrated the goal extensively with his teammates and calmly jogged back to his own goal area, clapping hands to the accompanying supporters. However, Schalke striker Mike Hanke immediately smelled his opportunity, placed the ball on the center spot and fired the kick-off straight at goal. The ball whizzed over the frantically sprinting back Butt into the net, leading to one of the most comical images in the Bundesliga.

Goalkeepers often feel untouchable in their own penalty area and have the habit of carelessly putting the ball on the ground before taking a long kick. This infamous viral fragment proves that this can end catastrophically when an attacker hides silently in the blind spot. While the goalkeeper, ball in hand, calmly looks to see where he can reach his fellow players, a lurking striker is literally waiting behind his heels. As soon as the goalkeeper bounces the ball on the grass to run, the attacker quickly intervenes, taps the ball away and slides it controlled into the empty cage, to the frenzy of the astonished defenders.

A free kick in your own half is usually a formality for a goalkeeper to pump the ball forward, but Paul Robinson made history with it at White Hart Lane in March 2007. From 88 meters from the enemy goal, Tottenham Hotspur's closing post kicked the ball deep towards the strikers. The ball flew over all lines, bounced on the wet grass just before the penalty area and sailed with an unpredictable bounce over Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster and into the goal. Robinson showed compassion for his fellow international afterwards and refused to cheer exuberantly, although that afternoon he became only the third goalkeeper ever to score a goal in the Premier League.

Always keeping your eyes on the ball is one of the first lessons at the goalkeeping academy, but Cruzeiro goalkeeper Fábio had slightly different priorities during the charged city derby of Belo Horizonte. In the final of the state championship, Atlético Mineiro were awarded a penalty, which was used flawlessly by Éder Luís. As the Atlético players ran to the corner flag to celebrate the goal, Fábio fished the ball out of the net and stood relaxed in his own goal for several minutes with his back turned to the playing field. However, Cruzeiro quickly continued the match with a kick-off, immediately lost the ball and saw Danilinho shoot on goal from a great distance. The ball rolled unhindered against the ropes, right behind the back of the unsuspecting closing post.

Scoring with a header requires timing and muscle power, but Martín Palermo proved in La Bombonera that you don't even have to be in the penalty area to do it. Vélez goalkeeper Germán Montoya stormed far out of his box in the final phase to clear Boca's deep pass with a big kick. However, his kick flew straight at Palermo, who was positioned near the center circle. Without hesitating, the Argentinian cult striker put his forehead against the falling ball and launched an unprecedented arc over forty meters. Montoya desperately sprinted back, only to see the ball plop into the empty net with a perfect bounce. At 38.9 meters, the goal is still one of the farthest header goals ever in global professional football.

A piece of inflatable toy decided a real Premier League match at the Stadium of Light in October 2009. After just five minutes of play, Sunderland striker Darren Bent shot on target. However, right in front of Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina was a large red inflatable beach ball on the grass, ironically thrown onto the pitch by a sixteen-year-old Liverpool supporter. Bent's shot hit the beach ball full, completely changed direction and disappeared into the corner, while Reina dived for the flying plastic ball in astonishment. According to official FIFA rules, referee Mike Jones should have stopped the game due to interference from an 'outsider' for a referee's ball, but he casually pointed to the center spot. Sunderland won the match 1-0 and the offending beach ball eventually ended up in Manchester's national football museum.