We all know football can be a very cruel game, for both players and for fans. The best team does not always win, justice is not always done, but it can still make for a very enticing spectacle. For the winners at least. Those on the wrong side of the poison chalice are usually left totally crestfallen.
Perhaps the cruellest moments in football are through the most dramatic moments, which are goals. Despite the rules and regulations, there is still space for unfairness. Some might say more so with VAR. Such cruelty can be discussed and debated years after the event by fans. These moments can be just as memorable as successes, albeit they are painful memories. So here, GIVEMSPORT has compiled the 10 cruellest goals in football history.
Ranking factors
Profile - the cruellest moments often occur in the biggest games, when the stakes are high.
Consequence - cruel moments often lead to serious consequences, like teams not winning a trophy that was in their grasp.
Injustice – real cruel moments in the game carry with them perceived and often real miscarriages of justice.
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10 Clive Allen
West Ham v Cambridge, 1993
Clive Allen
In 1993, Portsmouth were on the brink of promotion to the Premier League. Going into the final game of the Championship season with Grimsby Town, if they could match West Ham United’s result they had a great chance of going up.
Although they beat Grimsby 2-1, West Ham got a victory over Cambridge United 2-0. The veteran striker got that second goal to ensure West Ham went up on goal difference. Portsmouth had to make do with the play-offs but lost to Leicester Citys. They had to wait a further 11 years before they returned to England’s top flight.
9 Mario Mandzukic (Own Goal)
Croatia v France, 2018 World Cup Final
Mario Mandzukic
In 2018, Croatia reached the World Cup Final. In that game in Moscow, they got off on the wrong foot, going a goal down after 18 minutes. It was an own goal through Mario Mandzukic. It was also the first-ever own-goal in a World Cup final. It came after Antoine Griezmann put a free-kick delivery in the box.
The big Croatian got a flicked head on it, but succeeded in only sending the ball into his own net. Croatia did equalise, when Ivan Perisic rifled in, but the own goal put the Croats on the back foot in their first final. Mandzukic pulled one back for Croatia with 20 minutes to go, giving him the dubious honour of scoring at both ends in a World Cup Final.
8 Gareth Bale
Real Madrid v Liverpool, 2018 Champions League Final
Lorius Karius Liverpool Real Madrid 2018
Liverpool’s 2018 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid is remembered by two Gareth Bale goals. The Welshman was one of the greatest British players in Premier League history. While his first goal was a thing of beauty, a spectacular overhead kick. His second, was one that will define goalkeeper Loris Karius’s career.
With a fairly standard shot heading straight towards him, Karius somehow let the ball escape his grasp and cross the line. Naturally, Karius was devastated, with the goal very much knocked the wind out of Liverpool’s sails. It was an uncomfortable moment to watch even for the neutral fan.
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7 Luis Garcia
Liverpool v Chelsea, 2005 ChampionsLeague semi-final
Luis Garcia scores the first goal for Liverpool vs Chelsea
Everybody remembers Liverpool’s 2005 Champions League final victory over AC Milan. It’s up there with one of the greatest comebacks of all time. Perhaps what is forgotten about is how they got there. Chelsea and Liverpool played out a 0-0 draw in the semi-final first leg at Stamford Bridge.
The second leg at Anfield was decided by a single Luis Garcia goal. The goal is often referred to as the ghost goal, as there are serious doubts over whether it crossed the line. It was a result that Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was fuming with:
“The best team lost. The linesman thought they scored one goal and we didn’t score, so we lost.”
6 Geoff Hurst
England v West Germany, 1966 World Cup Final
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From an England point of view, Geoff Hurst second goal in the World Cup final was a thing of beauty. Less so if you were German. The West Germans had worked hard to get the late equaliser to take the game to extra time. In the 101st minute, Hurst took Alan Ball delivery from the right, then proceeded to smash the ball goalwards.
The ball struck the underside of the bar, then came crashing back down to earth. With the referee unsure if the ball had crossed the line, it was left to the linesman from Azerbaijan, Tofiq Bahramov to say the ball had crossed the line. The goal put England 3-2 up as they went on to win the competition.
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5 Des Walker (Own Goal)
Nottingham Forest v Spurs, 1991 FA Cup Final
Des Walker
The 1991 FA Cup final between Spurs and Nottingham Forest was the strangest of beasts. Paul Gascoigne stretchered off injured after running around and tackling like a maniac. Stuart Pearce scored a stonking free-kick and Gary Lineker missed a penalty. But ultimately it was Des Walker who scored Spurs’ winner with a headed own goal.
The Forest and England defender put through his own next four minutes into extra time. There would be no further goals. Not only would Walker suffer the infamy of scoring the winner for the opposition in such a prestigious game. It also meant that Forest manager Brian Clough would never win the FA Cup.
4 Demba Ba
Chelsea v Liverpool, Premier League, 2014
Demba Ba scoring after Steven Gerrard's slip
In 2014, Liverpool were still in with a shout of winning the Premier League. Although in their game with Chelsea at Anfield, Reds skipper Steven Gerrard had an unfortunate slip on the ball. It resulted in Demba Ba racing towards goals and scoring to put Chelsea 1-0 up.
They got another in injury time, but Ba’s goal put the title race back in the balance. In the end, Manchester City pipped Liverpool by two points. It meant Steven Gerrard never won the Premier League. Demba Ba had no sympathy for Gerrard.
“I didn’t feel sorry for him. I’m not a Steven Gerrard supporter. I’m not a Liverpool supporter."
3 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Manchester United v Bayern Munich, Champions League final, 1999
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scoring the winning goal
For Manchester United fans, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s late winner in the 1999 Champions League final was ecstasy. It was anything but for Bayern Munich. Having taken the lead in the sixth minute, the Germans were on track to win the trophy for the first time in 23 years. Of course, Teddy Sheringham equalised in injury time, before Solskjaer scored almost immediately afterwards.
With 10 minutes left, Bayern had brought off Lothar Matthaus, one of the greatest-ever defensive midfielders. The German lifted the World Cup for Germany as their captain in 1990. He had not won the Champions League and received a standing ovation when he left the field. The assumption was he had finally done it, having lost the 1987 final to Porto with two relatively late quick-fire goals.
2 Thierry Henry
France v Republic of Ireland, 2009 World Cup play-off second leg
France v Ireland 2009
In 2009, the Republic of Ireland were faced with a tall order. They qualified for a play-off for an opportunity to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Things looked tough for the Irish when they went into the second leg in Paris having lost in Dublin 1-0, courtesy of a Nicolas Anelka goal. Yet they punched well above their weight in the tie when Robbie Keane put them 1-0 up in the second leg.
The game went into extra time when the controversy began. Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball twice directly before he set up William Gallas to score. In a poor position, the referee saw nothing wrong with the goal. The goal stood and Ireland were out, quite literally at the hand of Henry. There were reported rumours of Henry asking for a replay. It was not to be. France would go on to actually endure a wretched World Cup in South Africa.
1 Diego Maradona
Argentina v England, quarter-final, 1986 World Cup
Diego Maradona and the Hand of God
Diego Maradona was one of the greatest ever. Maybe even the greatest. His exploits in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico showcased his wonderful ability. He scored what has been described as the goal of the century against England in the quarter-finals of that tournament. He ran from the half-way line before slotting home.
However, he scored another goal in this game, which is why Maradona is so often thought of as one of the greatest villains in football history. Granted, England’s Steve Hodge sliced the ball badly, sending back into England’s penalty area. Maradona went up to challenge England goalkeeper Peter Shilton for the ball, but the Argentine got their first to score.
The referee and linesman were convinced Maradona flicked the ball in with his head, but replays clearly showed it was his hand. Many might debate how a six-foot goalkeeper could allow five-foot-six Maradona to jump higher than him. Although Shilton wasn’t expecting Maradona to handle the ball. It was enough to send England out.
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