After Nani's cheeky tap-in forManchester United against Tottenham at the weekend, we take a look back at some other goals that had fans up in arms…
6) John Eustace – Watford v Reading, Championship, September 2008
If you thought Mark Clattenburg had a bit of a 'mare with Nani's goal at the weekend, then spare a thought for the hapless Stuart Attwell. It was he who awarded the infamous 'ghost goal' – or perhaps 'ghost own goal' would be more appropriate – as Eustace was credited with knocking one into his own net, even though TV replays clearly showed the ball had gone wide of the post by about five yards. But referee Attwell and his assistant Nigel Bannister decided it had nestled between the sticks, despite Watford's furious denials. The match eventually finished 2-2 and the Hornets' appeals to have the record books show the goal scored by Attwell and Bannister fell on ears as deaf as those of the match officials themselves.
5) Jeff Astle – Leeds v West Brom, First Division, April 1971
With West Brom already leading 1-0 and Leeds' title hopes hanging in the balance, Albion added a second goal through Jeff Astle to kill off the game. But that was only half the story. The linesman had flagged when Tony Brown intercepted the ball, aware that Colin Suggett was in an offside position, but referee Ray Tinkler waved play on and Astle eventually netted. It cost Leeds the title in 1971, and effectively ended their hopes the following season as well after they were ordered to play their early home matches on neutral grounds following the Elland Road pitch invasion sparked by Tinkler's decision.
4) Darren Bent – Sunderland v Liverpool, Premier League, October 2009
You know the footballing Gods are conspiring against you when goals like this go in. Sunderland took the points at the Stadium of Light last year when Bent's early strike ricocheted past Pepe Reina after it bounced off a beach ball thrown from the crowd. It later transpired that the goal should have been disallowed because of the intervention of a foreign object on the pitch, but it's surely not the referee's fault that Rafa Benitez insisted on playing Daniel Agger.
3) Geoff Hurst – England v West Germany, World Cup final, July 1966
The nation worked itself up into a right old lather in South Africa in the summer when Frank Lampard's 'goal' against Germany wasn't given, even though the ball clearly crashed down miles behind the line. Funnily enough there were fewer dissenting voices when the not yet Sir Geoff banged home the third against the Germans 44 years ago. Instead of debating whether or not the ball crossed the line, the patriotic folk at Wembley were more concerned with congratulating the Russian linesman for his decisive intervention. Oh well, what goes around…
2) Thierry Henry/William Gallas – France v Republic of Ireland, World Cup play-off, November 2009
Henry went from being the darling of (one half of ) north London and one of the most respected Premier League imports ever to a dirty, cheating Frenchy in little more than the blink of an eye last November. After controlling the ball with his hand, the Gallic con man then crossed for Gallas to head home from close range, to send France to the World Cup finals and leave a nation crying into its collective Guinness.
1) Diego Maradona – Argentina v England, World Cup finals, June 1986
And there is it coming around…! Twenty years after Hurst's crossbar challenge, Maradona punched England out of the Mexico World Cup with Argentina's controversial opener. The fact that he settled the affair with a second goal, and one of the best ever seen in a World Cup finals, beating pretty much the entire England team along the way, was rendered irrelevant following his post-match claim that his first had been scored by the 'Hand of God'. Peter Shilton, we suspect, may disagree…