Own goal

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An own goal occurs in association football and other goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents.

The term has become a metaphor for any action that backfires upon a person.^[1]

Contents 1 Association football 2 Other sports 2.1 Ice hockey 2.2 Basketball 2.3 American and Canadian football 2.4 Gaelic football 2.5 Australian rules football 3 Notable own goals 3.1 Association football 3.2 Ice hockey 3.3 Basketball 3.4 Floorball 4 References

[edit] Association football

In association football, when players kick or otherwise cause the ball to go into their own side's goal, it results in a goal being scored for the opposition.

An own goal cannot be scored directly from an attacking throw-in or a defending free kick (a corner kick will be awarded to the attacking team if so should happen), and under certain other circumstances, for example, directly from a corner kick.

It doesn't matter if the defending team violates the rules when a goal is scored, so an own goal can be scored with the hands.

The player who caused the ball to go into their own goal is personally "credited" with the goal as part of the statistical abstract of the game unless a goal is scored after a shot (by the attacking side) is deflected into the net by a defending player. In that case, officials determine if the original shot was on target. If so, the attacker is awarded the goal, even if the shot would have otherwise been easily saved by the goalkeeper. Some scorers will give credit to the attacker if the defender's mistake caused the own goal, similar to ice hockey.

[edit] Other sports

When they occur in other sports, own goals are not "credited" in the same manner as in football, but instead credited towards the attacker whose attempt forced the defensive error.

[edit] Ice hockey

If a goal is scored by a player on the defending team, credit for the goal goes to the last player on the other team to have touched the puck, mainly to the belief that the player credited with the goal had his/her shot deflected. Occasionally, it is also credited to the closest player to the goal from the other team if he is determined to have caused the opposing player to shoot it into the wrong net. On seven occasions in the NHL, players have shot the puck into their own empty net, either late in the game or because of a delayed penalty call, resulting in one of the two ways in which a goalie is credited with a goal. This was the situation which resulted in Billy Smith of the New York Islanders as the first netminder receiving credit with a NHL goal scored.

[edit] Basketball

When accidentally scoring at an opposing team's basket (basketball's equivalent of an "own goal"), the goal is credited to an attacking player. In NBA and NCAA rules, the goal is credited to the player on the scoring team who is closest to the rim. Under FIBA rules, the player designated captain is credited with the basket.

[edit] American and Canadian football

When a ball-carrier is tackled or exits the field of play within the end zone being defended by his team, the result is a safety and the opposing team is awarded two points, and receives the ball after a free kick taken at the twenty-yard line.

[edit] Gaelic football

Gaelic footballers can play the ball with their hands; therefore, they have a much greater degree of control over the ball and thus, own goals are much rarer than they are in soccer. However, they are known to occur, such as one scored by Paddy Andrews in a 2009 O'Byrne Cup match.^[2] It is common for a defender or goalkeeper to block a shot on goal, causing it to go over the crossbar, scoring a point, but this is never considered an "own point".

[edit] Australian rules football

As a legitimate defensive play, an Australian football defender may concede an "own score." Such a score, referred to as a rushed behind and statistically credited to no player (scoresheets will simply include the tally of rushed behinds), results in the opposition team earning one point.

A defending player will choose to concede a rushed behind when the risk of the opposition scoring a goal (worth six points) is high. The team which concedes the rushed behind then retains possession of the ball, kicking in as normal.

It is impossible for a team to concede an "own goal" worth six points. In this way, Australian football separates itself from the other codes in this page, as teams may only score goals from their own efforts in attack, rather than benefiting from an opponent's blunder.

Many football observers dislike the practice of deliberate rushed behinds. The two main issues are that: defenders are given too easy an option of alleviating pressure in defence, and; the defending team is then given control of the ball via the kick-in. The idea of a rushed behind registering three points (awarded on the scoreboard as three behinds) instead of just one has been trialled in the NAB Cup, and the idea of awarding a free kick to the opposition will be trialled in the 2009 NAB Cup. It has also been proposed, but not trialled, that a deliberate rushed behind be followed by neutral contest (in the form of a ball-up) near the goal. None of these has yet been proposed for regular season play.

[edit] Notable own goals

Many notable instances in sports where players scored on their own goal.

[edit] Association football

• The first own goal ever registered in association football was scored by Aston Villa's Gershom Cox in 1888 in a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.^[3]
• Gianluca Festa scored an own goal in the 2002 FA Cup semi-final, causing his Middlesbrough team a loss against Arsenal.^[4]
• With Liverpool leading in the 2005 Carling Cup final, their captain Steven Gerrard back-headed the ball into his own net. Liverpool would end up losing the match.^[5]
• Gary Sprake, goalkeeper for Leeds United, scored an own goal in a 1967 2-0 defeat against Liverpool whilst attempting to throw the ball to a defender.^[6]
• Lee Dixon, defender for Arsenal, scored on his own net in a 1991 2-1 defeat against Coventry City by lobbing goalkeeper David Seaman whilst attempting to pass the ball to him.^[6]
• Stan van den Buys scored three own goals in one match.^[7]
• Nicola Caricola, whose own goal started the "Curse of Caricola" for the MetroStars of the MLS.^[8]
• Andrés Escobar, a Colombian defender, was murdered after he scored an own goal in the 1994 FIFA World Cup that resulted in his team's elimination. Escobar became a scapegoat for Colombia's defeat, and his own goal is believed by many to be the motive for his murder.^[9]
• In the 1994-95 Premier League season, Manchester United were chasing Blackburn Rovers for the league title. An important game against Liverpool if won would keep the pressure on their fellow Lancashire title contenders, but was lost when United were getting back into the game, despite losing 1-0 before Nicky Butt defected a shot into his own net, which killed off his teams chances to get back into the game with an equaliser. Blackburn went on to win its first league title in 80 years.^{[citation needed]}
• Tom Boyd of Scotland scored an own goal which turned out to be the winner for Brazil in the opening game of the 1998 FIFA World Cup when the ball ricocheted off the Adam's apple of his goalkeeper Jim Leighton and hit Boyd as he was moving towards it.^[10]
• Jonathan Woodgate, in his first game for Real Madrid after his recovery from injury, scored an own goal in a game in which he later received a red card. He then went on to score another own goal in a friendly against Real Zaragoza^[11]
• Frank Sinclair scored two own goals in three games in 1999 whilst playing for Leicester City and later scored an infamous own goal in a game against Middlesbrough.^[6]
• Andoni Zubizarreta, Spain's goalkeeper, scored an own goal during Spain's 1998 FIFA World Cup defeat to Nigeria by deflecting a cross into his own net. Although the goal was officially credited by FIFA to Nigerian player Garba Lawal who crossed the ball, it is still considered to be an own goal. Spain exited the Cup in the first round and Zubizarreta retired shortly afterward.^[6]
• Graham Alexander, a Preston North End defender, scored an own goal in 2002 when goalkeeper Teuvo Moilanen allowed his pass to slip under his foot in a crucial league game against Norwich City.^[6] Tepi Moilanen had also previously scored an own goal himself while playing for Finland in a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Hungary after a Finnish defender hit a goal line clearance against him.^[12]
• Djimi Traoré, a defender, attempted to perform a back-heel pass when playing for Liverpool against Burnley in an FA Cup tie, but ended up sliding the ball in his own net, costing Liverpool the tie.^[13]
• Chris Nicholl scored all four goals in a 2-2 draw between Aston Villa and Leicester City on the 20 March 1976.^[14]
• Jamie Carragher, a Liverpool defender, scored two own goals in a 2-3 home defeat against Manchester United on 11 September 1999^[14]
• In a 2002 match in Madagascar's THB Champions League, AS Adema defeated SOE Antananarivo 149-0 when SOE scored 149 own goals in protest of a referee decision in the previous game.^[15]
• In the 1994 Caribbean Cup Preliminary Round, Barbados deliberately scored on their own goal in a successful attempt to advance to the Final Stage by forcing overtime against Grenada. Needing a two goal victory to advance, Barbados found themselves up 2-1 with three minutes left in regulation time. An unusual tournament rule awarded a two goal victory to a team that won in overtime. After Grenada realized what had happened, they in turn tried to score against their own net while Barbados defended their opponents goal, and vice-versa, for the final three minutes of the match.^[16]
• John Arne Riise scored an own goal on 22 April 2008 in the Champions League semi-final first leg. This was scored in the 95th minute and gave Chelsea a precious away goal and 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield. Chelsea later went on to win the home leg 3-2 and progressed through to the Champions League final.^[17]
• Peter Enckelman, then goalkeeper for Aston Villa (now Cardiff City) scored an own goal during a Birmingham Derby in 2002 after miss-kicking a throw-in from Olof Mellberg.^[18]
• Gary Neville scored a bizarre own goal in a match between Croatia and England in October 2006. He passed the ball back to goalkeeper Paul Robinson who then miss-kicked the ball thanks to a bobble on the pitch causing it to bounce over his foot and roll into the back of the net.^[19]
• Chris Brass scored a famous own goal whilst attempting an overhead clearance for Bury against Darlington. He kicked the ball into his face, nearly breaking his nose in the process.^[20]
• Emre Toraman, a defensive midfielder for Eskişehirspor, scored two own goals during home match against Bursaspor on 15 March 2009 and caused his team to lose 2-1 defeat.^[21]
• Gary Pusey, a defender for BAWA FC, scored an own goal during an away match against Eel Brook FC on 21 June 2009 and contributed to his team's 5-2 defeat.^[22]

[edit] Ice hockey

• Goaltender Marc-André Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins had a shot from Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings go between his legs and stop short of the goal in the third period of Game 6 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals. Believing the puck was loose behind him (which it was), he fell backward to cover the puck, and accidentally pushed it into the goal, giving the Red Wings what turned out to be the game and Stanley cup winning goal. This was the second year in a row that the cup winning goal was an own goal scored by a goalkeeper.^[23]
• On June 6, 2007, during Game 5 of the 2007 Stanley Cup Final against the Anaheim Ducks, Chris Phillips, defenceman for the Ottawa Senators, tossed the puck into the skates of Senator goaltender Ray Emery and the puck was deflected into the net in the second period. The goal made it a 3-1 lead for the Ducks and would stand up as the Stanley Cup championship clinching goal for the Ducks. Travis Moen was credited as the goal scorer, despite having left the ice shortly before the goal was scored.
• Sergei Gonchar, another NHL defenceman, not only deflected his own un-pressured outlet pass off the back of Olaf Kölzig's skate on November 14, 2003 while a member of the Washington Capitals, but redirected an opposition player's cross-ice pass five-hole on Marc-André Fleury on November 13, 2006, almost three years to the day, as a Pittsburgh Penguin.
• Defenceman Marc Bergevin of the St. Louis Blues grabbed the puck and accidentally threw it into his own net during the 2000 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This act tied Game 2 at 1-1 and the Blues went on to lose the game 4-2 to the San Jose Sharks. Ultimately, the Sharks upset the Presidents Trophy-winning Blues by taking the series 4-3.^[24]
• The Detroit Red Wings' Paul Coffey accidentally swiped the puck into the Wings' own net during Game 1 of the 1996 Western Conference Finals against the Colorado Avalanche. The goal proved costly as it forced the Wings to tie the game late to force overtime, where they would eventually lose. Colorado went on to win the series 4-2.
• Steve Smith, an NHL defenceman, accidentally scored on his own net against the defending Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers in the 1986 NHL Divisional Finals. In the third period of the seventh and deciding game against the arch-rival Calgary Flames, with the score tied 2-2, he attempted a pass from behind his own net that hit goaltender Grant Fuhr and deflected into the net. The goal, credited to Calgary forward Perry Berezan, stood up as the game winner and eliminated the Oilers from the possibility of a three-peat.

[edit] Basketball

• Trailing by three points in a 1971 NBA game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Cleveland Cavaliers player John Warren went on a fast break and dunked the ball in Cleveland's net. Instead of being down only three, they were now down by 5, and would go on to lose the game.^{[clarification needed][citation needed]}
• It is not unheard of in the NBA for a basketball to ricochet off the body of a defender and be angled into the basket.^{[citation needed]} In this case, the closest player will be awarded the basket, as mentioned above.

[edit] Floorball

• During the 2007-08 Men's EuroFloorball Cup Finals, the 5th place match featured three own goals. Finnish team SSV Helsinki would score two own goals during regulation time, but would still go on to win the match as their opponents, Swiss team SV Wiler-Ersigen, would score an own goal 15 seconds into sudden victory overtime.

[edit] References