Jordan Pickford and other goalkeepers should be banned from having penalty information on their water bottles, according to Jamie O'Hara.
The ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder's suggestion comes after the England keeper was spotted consulting his water bottle, which had the expected penalty placements of Leeds United's takers, before the controversial winning spot-kick against Everton.
Pickford, who is no stranger to this tactic, having famously used it during England's penalty shootout victory over Switzerland at Euro 2024, was still unable to stop Lukas Nmecha's powerful winning goal.
Daniel Farke's side went on to maintain their lead and clinch a 1-0 win at Elland Road to start their return to the Premier League with a bang. While no harm was done by the bottle, O'Hara was still riled by the fact Pickford had a look at his receptacle.
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He expressed his disapproval on talkSPORT, saying: "By the way, Jordan Pickford, the water bottle situation, where they have got the penalties [written on it]. You see him pick his water bottle up, he's obviously got a load of information on there.
"I'm not having that. I think it needs to be knocked on the head, it needs to be banned, I think you have to ban anything being written on water bottles. I think it's unacceptable. The penalty is a 50/50, you against the keeper, but the keeper has all of the information.
"I don't think it's fair, it's unsportsmanlike, if you're allowed to have all of the water bottles with all of the information written on it - he dives the right way by the way."
Jordan Pickford of Everton's water bottle with information on penalty takers during the Premier League match between Leeds United and Everton at Elland Road on August 18, 2025 in Leeds, England
Pickford's water bottle contains the information of where opposing players will likely shoot their penalty (Image: 2025 Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA)
His surprising suggestion left his co-host Jason Cundy utterly perplexed, who couldn't disagree more. The former Chelsea player replied: "It's research.
"It's what professional goalkeepers do, they have been doing it for years. Every single penalty, you should score. The odds are stacked against the goalkeeper. It's not 50/50. Most penalties are scored."
England Lionesses' keeper Hannah Hampton also employed this tactic in the Euro 2025 final against Spain, but she taped her notes to her arm instead. Not only did she rely on her own insights, she also took the initiative to grab the water bottle of Spanish goalie Cata Coll, which also had notes scribbled onto it, and tossed it into the crowd.
Jamie O'Hara looking angry speaking on talkSPORT
Jamie O'Hara thinks goalkeepers should not be allowed to have penalty information written on their water bottles (Image: YouTube/talkSPORT)
Hampton successfully thwarted Mariona Caldentey and Aitana Bonmati's penalties, paving the way for Chloe Kelly to clinch the win with a thunderous final penalty. Discussing her approach, Hampton said: "The Spanish keeper had it on her bottle, so I thought when she was going in goal I'll just pick it up and throw it into the English fans so she can't have it.
"I never put it on a bottle because anyone can do that, so that is why I put it on my arm, and the TV caught that. It wasn't hard – when she has gone in the goal it [the bottle] is on its own, isn't it? It is in a towel, you just pick it up."
Farke's men travel to face Arsenal on Saturday August 23 in their first Premier League away match of the season. The Gunners overcame Manchester United at Old Trafford 1-0 in their season opener.