In For The Hat Trick

Immortalized in legos..

1. Bruna vs Australia– Let me paint the picture for you. It’s one-nil Australia at the Women’s World Cup, both the Australians and opponents Equatorial Guinea are badly in need of a win to salvage their chances of qualifying from Group D. A cross from the left is steered onto the post by an Australian attacker, from there it rebounds into the arms of Bruna, a defender for Equatorial Guinea. Without batting an eyelid, the number two catches the ball, takes a step and drops it again, before casually jogging away amidst mass protests within the Australian ranks.

I don’t know which is more bizarre, Bruna deciding to catch the ball, or the referee somehow not noticing. Either way, this latest farce will do nothing to silence skeptics who refuse to appreciate the women’s game, though on the other hand, it might attract a few NBA fans looking for entertainment during the lockout.

2. Henry vs Republic of Ireland- Perhaps the most blatant example of cheating since Maradona in 1986, Henry’s handball sent the footballing World into meltdown. Call for punishment was immediate, the more civil minded Irish asking for a ban, the less so, castration.

In the end, Henry emerged out of the incident with his reputation slightly sullied, but without any major punishment from the footballing bodies. Karma would soon do its job though…

3. Maradona vs England– Football’s original sin, Maradona’s hand of god goal at the 1986 World Cup remains the most famous instance of cheating in all of sporting history. Jumping up, Maradona managed to punch the ball beyond English goalkeeper Peter Shilton, to score a goal that would eventually consign England to a World Cup exit.

Famously, Maradona refused to accept blame initially, calling the goal “the hand of God.” However, unlike Henry, karma never came into play, not only did Maradona go on to score the goal widely regarded as the greatest of all time in that very game, but Argentina went on to win the World Cup.