Tyrone Mings
Tyrone Mings (Cosmin Iftode / Bigstockphoto.com)

Tyrone Mings Joins Hall of Shame for the Most Bizarre Penalties Conceded

Players / November 8, 2024

Even at the most elite level of football, moments of madness can decide the outcome of games. And no more was that evident than in the bizarre ‘brain freeze’ of Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings in their Champions League clash with Club Brugge in November 2024. The Villains had a goal kick, which goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, took by passing the ball a yard or two to the nearby Mings.

But the defender, for reasons only he can explain, bent down, picked the ball up, replaced it in the six-yard box before taking another goal kick himself. There was a momentary silence in the Jan Breydel Stadium – that’s handball, isn’t it? Even the match officials took a moment to digest what had just happened, before referee, Tobias Stieler – courtesy of a quick look at the replay via VAR – blew his whistle and awarded Club Brugge the penalty.

Other Infamous Ball Picker-Uppers

Gideon Jung
Gideon Jung (Sven Mandel / Wikipedia.org)

The looks on the faces of Mings and Martinez in particular were priceless; Mings seemingly realising the huge clanger he had just dropped, while Martinez appeared as if he had just seen a ghost. Club Brugge scored from the spot and went on to win the game 1-0. It’s an evening that everyone associated with Aston Villa will be keen to quickly forget and move on from.

Curiously, Mings is not the only player to have been penalised in this fashion. In October, Greuther Furth defender, Gideon Jung and Magdeburg’s Daniel Heber, BOTH gave away penalties in the same game by picking the ball up with their hands.

Over in Argentina, the exact same thing happened in March 2023. Colon were taking on Independiente, and after being awarded a goal kick their keeper, Ignacio Chicco, placed the ball down and passed it to Paolo Goltz, who presumably thought his teammate was nudging the ball to him to take the kick himself.

Goltz bent down, picked the ball up and placed it on the six-yard line. The Independiente players appealed for handball, which the referee turned away, before VAR intervened and awarded the hosts a penalty. The good news, if we can call it that, for all involved is that they’re not the only ones to concede a penalty in truly peculiar circumstances.

High Fives All Round


Have you ever heard about the footballer that high-fived the ball? Once again, the truth is revealed to be stranger than fiction. It was a game in the Saudi Pro League between Al Hazm and Al Fateh in December 2023. A ball was played forward by Al Hazm, which saw Al Fateh goalkeeper, Jacob Rinne, race off his line and pick up the ball inside his own penalty area. So far, so good.

Al Fateh defender, Fahad Al Harbi, keen to congratulate his goalkeeper for his moment of anticipation, ran over. He attempted to high five Rinne, but in a moment of confusion also made contact with the ball, which was still in the Swede’s hands.

Handball? You better believe it. The penalty is awarded, and Al Harbi can’t believe what he’s done.

Two Balls Are Better Than One


The period from 2023 to the end of 2024 was a vintage year for bizarre penalty concessions. During a Brazilian Serie A game between Flamengo and Cricuima in July 2024, the Cricuima midfielder, Barreto, thought he’d come up with a novel way to stop the forward charge of Flamengo’s Cebolinha. A second ball had somehow gotten onto the pitch; a scenario that a referee can deal with in one of two ways, as per the laws of the game.

They can blow their whistle, halt the game, have the ball removed and then restart with a dropped ball. Or, they can allow play to continue if it’s deemed that the second ball is unlikely to cause an interference in play. On this occasion, referee Maguielson Lima Barbosa decided to let play continue. But he hadn’t accounted for the mischievous Barreto, who – after spotting the second ball – fired it at the match ball currently at the feet of the charging Cebolinha, who by now had entered the Cricuima penalty area.

Barreto’s accuracy was pinpoint, with the second ball cannoning into the match ball and halting Cebolinha’s progress. Referee Barbosa had no hesitation in awarding the penalty – he cautioned Barreto too for unlawfully impeding play, before his namesake Gabriel Barbosa put away the resulting spot kick to win the game for Flamengo.

The 12th Man


Did you know that in football, you can give a penalty away without even technically being on the pitch? That unlikely scenario unfolded in a Bundesliga 2 game between Bochum and Holstein Kiel during the 2019/20 season. Bochum broke clear of the Holstein defence, with the ball finding its way to Silvere Ganvoula. But he dragged his shot wide, and a goal kick was given. But there followed a moment of pause: why was referee, Timo Gerach, talking to the VAR officials via his earpiece?

It turns out that Holstein substitute Michael Eberwein, who was warming up behind his team’s goal, had stuck out a foot to stop Ganvoula’s wayward strike. But, in doing so, his right foot had actually entered the field of play. It’s a harsh rule, but one that officials must enact, and so by interfering with play without being an active player in the game, Eberwein was penalised and shown a yellow card, while a penalty was awarded to Bochum.