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When was a goalkeeper last penalised for handball during a clearance? | The Knowledge


“When was the last time (if this has ever happened!) in a top-flight league, English or otherwise, that a goalkeeper was penalised for handling the ball outside of the penalty area while kicking the ball back into play?” wonders Robert W Zoellner.

This has happened, Robert, to Liverpool’s Pepe Reina against Bolton in 2006 when the assistant referee spotted him kicking the ball from hand outside of the penalty area. Replays showed that while he had struck the ball outside the area he had actually thrown it (quite legally) from inside. To add insult to injury Gary Speed scored from the resulting free-kick.

“I distinctly remembered Mel Sterland scoring a free-kick, which resulted from a goalkeeper drop-kicking outside his area, during Leeds United’s 1991-92 title-winning First Division season,” writes Chris Mellor. “You can see it 22 minutes into a nostalgic trip through our season review here.

“Phil Kite of Sheffield United was penalised (somewhat harshly, in hindsight) for exactly that offence. To add to Kite’s sense of injustice, Sterland’s free-kick took a wicked deflection on its way in to the back of the net. Happy days.”

More unusual post-playing career jobs

“Not sure how this nugget has eluded me for 13 years, but I’ve only just discovered that Darlington legend Matty Appleby became a qualified deep sea diver after he hung up his boots in 2008,” writes Michael St John-McAlister. “Makes a change from running a pub, I suppose. Any other unusual or out of the ordinary post-playing or managing careers?”

“If it’s not too infra dig to respond to one’s own question,” continues Michael, “I’ve just read about Josh Gray (also ex-Darlington, funnily enough). He’s now an immunologist in New York!” We have covered this question, back in 2005, when we discovered posties, pest-controllers, a vicar and many other curious post-career ways to earn a living. It’s worth another look, mind, as is this feature from the Observer in 2015 in which we catch up with a car salesman, a firefighter and former Wigan captain Arjan De Zeeuw in the Netherlands, where he is now a police detective.

Detective Arjan de Zeeuw in Alkmaar, Netherlands in 2015.
Neo-noir vibes from Arjan De Zeeuw. Photograph: Richard Saker/The Observer

Top of the league and relegated

“When is the latest in the season a Premier League team has been top and gone down, not including Southampton (6 November) this season,” tweets Archie Bland.

“I have a decent example of this but it’s not from the Premier League,” offers Matt Davison. “Down in the Football League, Millwall were top of the First Division (now Championship) in December 1996. A few weeks later Mick McCarthy left to take the Republic of Ireland job. They suffered in his absence to such an extent that by the end of the season they were in the Second Division.”

Referees with honours (an oversight)

“I was surprised that you omitted Sir Stanley Rous from your list of match officials who were honoured,” peeps Martyn Wilson. “Rous was a ref between 1927 and 1934 (I think he was the first referee to use the system of having each assistant referee running only half of the line), after which he re-wrote the rules of the game as secretary of the FA. Less laudably, he was a supporter of apartheid-era South Africa. He got the CBE in 1943, and was knighted in 1949.”

Knowledge archive

“Celtic won the SPL title earlier this month with an 18-point lead over Rangers in second,” wrote Matt Bicknel in April 2012. “What is the most emphatic total that a team has ever won a league title by?”

Celtic ended that season 20 points clear of Rangers who, in 2020-21, have just claimed the title back with a 20-point lead and six games still to play.

Celtic celebrate winning the title in 2012.
Celtic celebrate winning the title in 2012. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Alan Gomes had some news from Portugal. “I’m not sure whether this is the most emphatic total ever, but in the Portuguese league André Villas-Boas’s Porto ended 21 points ahead of their closest rivals in a 16-team league. And that actually wasn’t even the best Porto performance, depending on how you’re counting. In the 1987-88 season then-European champions won a 20-team league by a 15 point margin – but, since at that time a win only got you two points in Portugal, that lead would translate into 25 points on current standards.”

Simon Treanor travelled to the lower reaches of the German league for this tale of domination. “It wasn’t a top-flight title, but Tennis Borussia Berlin won the Regionalliga Nordost (then the third tier of German football) with 92 points in 1998, 32 points clear of Dynamo Dresden on 60 – they were unbeaten all season and conceded only seven goals. Even after that, they had to enter a play-off to get promoted, which they won.”

Can you help?

“Last weekend Paul Tierney was refereeing Kieran Tierney. How many times in the Premier League has a referee officiated someone with the same surname?” asks Eddie Lewis.

“Athletic Bilbao are playing in the 2020-21 Copa Del Rey final against Barcelona on 17 April, two weeks after they play Real Sociedad in the rescheduled 2019-20 Copa Del Rey final,” writes Darren Jalland. “If they win the first and lose the second would that be the shortest time a team has ever held a trophy for (not counting teams stripped of a trophy, like Swindon’s play-off win in 1990)?”

“Watford last scored a direct free-kick on 30 April 2016. (Almen Abdi v Aston Villa) Is this currently the longest free-kick drought in British football?” wonders Joe Whitbread.

“As there is a chance of an English player winning leagues in both Italy and Spain this season (along with Jamal Musiala in Germany), has there been any other season where all the major European league winners have had an English (or British) player?” wonders John Brennan.

“Seeing this textbook Notbremse or emergency brake in the Hoffenheim-Wolfsburg match this weekend, got me wondering: how effective/risky is a goalkeeper going up for a corner? Is it, statistically speaking, worth it? And which keeper has proven to be the most effective in the opposition box in such situations, with his/her presence leading to the most goals?” asks Paul Vickers.





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