Embarrassing moments
Do you remember these soccer hoppalas?
The year 2025 started with a mishap, and not just in politics. Because there wasn't enough chalk in the marking machine in Portugal, it was unceremoniously filled with six cartons of milk to draw the goal line. One of many memorable scenes in the world of soccer - these are 13 darned mishaps:
Milk instead of chalk as the goal line
Shortly after the turn of the year, the spectators in the Oliveirense stadium could not believe their eyes. The kick-off of the match against FC Felgueras on 5 January was delayed because the officials had no chalk or white paint to draw the goal line. A club employee disappeared into the catacombs and returned with a six-pack of milk. This was used to fill the marking machine so that the game could finally be played. The hosts lost 3-0 and are now bottom of the Portuguese second division after their twelfth defeat in 17 games.
A goal is scored in Madrid
Fans had to endure a 76-minute delay before the first leg of the Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund on April 1, 1998. The reason: fans were climbing on the fence behind the goal. When the fence collapsed, it knocked over the goal attached to it. A replacement goal had to be laboriously transported from the training center to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. The waiting time was also a particular challenge for Marcel Reiff and Günther Jauch, who were commentating for the German TV channel RTL. Their witty comments during the mishap ("Never before has a goal done a game so much good") were watched by almost 13 million viewers, while the actual game afterwards - a 2-0 win for Real - was only watched by around six million. Reiff and Jauch were awarded the Bavarian Television Prize for their performance and were nominated for the Adolf Grimme Prize - Germany's most prestigious media award - in 1999.
The hole in Vienna
Vienna also delivered one of the biggest hoppalas in soccer history. During the 2-1 Nations League defeat to Denmark on June 6, 2022, a huge hole appeared in the pitch immediately after the end of the game, which not only players like Marko Arnautovic looked at in disbelief. The cause was quickly found: the heavy rainfall of the previous day had caused different groundwater levels, which were the cause of the hole. The mockery on the internet was even greater than the hole itself.
A marten becomes a world star
There was a painful incident in Switzerland in the 13th round of the Super League between Thun and FC Zurich on March 10, 2013. In the early stages of the match, a marten strayed onto the artificial turf of the Arena Thun. The nimble intruder escaped attempts by stewards and players to catch it and even managed to free itself from Zurich's Loris Benito, who pounced on it with a bite to the finger. It took Zurich goalkeeper David Da Costa, his hands protected by his goalkeeper's gloves, to pounce and hold the intruder under a cloth. Oh yes: the marten was released next to the stadium, Zurich won the game 4:0 - and the predator went viral, becoming the most famous marten in the world.
Lineker wet his pants
This scene also went around the world: at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, England's Gary Lineker, who had scored the 1:0 against Ireland, remained on the ground after a foul shortly after the halfway line. The striker then slid across the pitch several times - as if to wipe his backside. And indeed, years later, Lineker admitted as a TV pundit: "I was totally relaxed, all of a sudden I went poof with that attack - and I wet my pants." Incidentally, the game ended 1:1 - and Lineker was substituted in the 83rd minute.
"I was totally relaxed, all of a sudden it went poof - and I wet my pants.
Gary Lineker über sein peinliches Hoppala bei der WM 1990
Radu Mitu and the mother of all own goals
Moldovan goalkeeper Radu Mitu's debut in 2013 could not have been more unfortunate. In his first game for Milsami in 2013, the ball slipped out of the then 19-year-old's hand so spectacularly that it landed in his own goal. Milsami lost the game 1-2 and Mitu burst into tears as he left. Despite this, he remained in goal for Milsami for six years, later moving to Sweden, and the 30-year-old is now with Italian amateur club Vadese.
Listless and incompetent medics
Second division matches in the Greek league do not usually attract a large fan base. And they rarely attract international attention. Unless something unusual happens. Like in 2015 between Larisa and Ergotelis. Leonardo Koutris is fouled - so far, so good. But then the paramedics arrive on the scene. The scene that then unfolds is full of listlessness and incompetence: the two of them let the player fall off the stretcher twice as they carry him off the pitch, and then they simply let him fall onto the turf outside the pitch.
Faroe Islands v Austria, the second
Austria and the Faroe Islands - apart from the embarrassing 0:1 against the footballers from the "Sheep Islands" in the qualifiers for the 1992 European Championship on September 12, 1990 in Landskrona, Sweden, this book has a second chapter - and one without pictures. The two teams met again in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, with the away game taking place in Torshavn in October 2008. However, this will not be shown on TV. Instead of moving pictures, soccer fans will have to make do with a still image and audio commentary. The reason: the rights holder's equipment did not arrive at the venue in time due to transportation problems. The TV signal produced on site could therefore not be transmitted to Vienna. The 1:1 was broadcast a day later - as a recording.
Historic defeat against "youth team"
The duel between Australia and American Samoa in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers on April 11, 2001 also went down in history. There was an initial setback for the visitors even before the match began: only one player - goalkeeper Nicky Salapu - was eligible to enter the country due to his US citizenship. The rest were denied visas. As a result, almost all the players were youth players, including three 15-year-olds. The sobering final score: 31:0, the highest victory in international soccer. "I wasn't embarrassed because we learned from it," said Salapu. Australia's Archie Thompson scored 13 goals - also a record. Nevertheless, the "Socceroos" could not really celebrate. They were knocked out by Uruguay in the play-off and missed out on the finals in Japan and South Korea.
You must have a bird
The 2016 Australian Cup final had an unintentional protagonist from the animal kingdom - a seagull. It was hit by a ball during the match between Melbourne City FC and Sydney FC and lay dazed on the pitch. Sydney goalie Danny Vukovic asked the referee to stop the game to save the injured seagull. In a later shot, the bird could be seen being soothed on the bench and a short time later everything was back to normal. Not so with Sydney FC: the final was lost 1-0 to a Tim Cahill header.
When Mayrleb "forgot" about fair play
It was the upset of the 2000/2001 domestic league season: the match between Schwarz-Weiß Bregenz and Wiener Austria on August 26. In a heated match, Jiri Rosicky from Bregenz is injured in a tackle, Jan-Ove Pedersen pushes the ball out of bounds so that his team-mate can be treated. After a throw-in for Austria, Ernst Dospel returns the ball to his opponent - as is customary in fair play. Everyone knows this, except Christian Mayrleb. The Austria striker grabs the ball and scores to make it 2:1. Ten minutes of rioting ensues, two exclusions for Bregenz, Austria wins 4:1, the players have to be taken out of the stadium with police protection. Austria patron Frank Stronach insists on a replay - which Bregenz eventually win 2:1.
Foaming at the mouth instead of foaming at the mouth
A curious scene also occurred in the Romanian Cup semi-final between Gaz Metan and Sibiu in 2018. At the center of it all: referee Istvan Kovacs. When Kovacs was whistled for a foul and the usual complaints arose, he had had enough. With remarkable accuracy, he sprays Sibiu defender Ionut Stoica in the face with the free-kick spray. Apparently surprised by his own skills with the foam, Kovacs apologizes immediately. And even Stoica, who was hit, can probably take the whole thing in his stride - after all, Sibiu reached the final with a 3:2 win. However, they lost 2:0 against Craiova.
Dani Olmo is not allowed to play
There have been many a faux pas in soccer transfers. Cue late fax registrations. But FC Barcelona's latest faux pas is the last straw. The club has been struggling with its finances for months and should actually be making savings. What did the Catalans do instead? They signed European champion Dani Olmo from Leipzig for a mere 55 million in the summer. Which has now brought the club's management to the fore. Due to the opaque financial situation, the association banned Barcelona from registering Olmo and Pau Victor for the second half of the season. Barcelona appealed to the supreme sports council, which ruled in favor of the Catalans. The pair are therefore eligible to play in Sunday's Super Cup final against arch-rivals Real Madrid. "We believe that this decision puts the current system at risk and calls into question the rules of the game," criticized Real's city rivals Atletico. Certainly not the last hoppala of the still young soccer year 2025...
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