Why We Should Get Rid Of Own Goals
The own goal, is a part of the game that i as a fan have never really understood the need for. If a player goes on a mazy run and their shot just happens to deflect into the net off a defender at the end. It goes down as the defender’s goal. Why on earth would the defender want the goal? All own goals seem to do is take away from the goal tallies of attacking players. For me the rules of football need to take a look at how some other sports handle situations like this. The best example i can think of is Ice Hockey and the NHL. In the NHL when the puck is deflected into the net in someway, even if the original shot or pass was going nowhere near the goal. The goal is given to the last player on the attacking team to have touched the puck. This makes a lot more sense in my book rather than giving meaningless goals to defenders and goalkeepers. One of the worst examples of this is when shots hit the post and bounce into the net off the goalkeeper. These should always been giving to the player who had the shot. A simple change in the rules could eliminate the need for another of the FA’s useless committees the dubious goals panel. It would be a simple and easy to apply rule of thumb that the last attacking player to have touched the ball is awarded the goal.
This would clear up the vast majority of incidents like this but i admit there will still be some anomalies. Such as situations where a mix up between the goalkeeper and a defender caused the ball to literally be kicked into their own net. With the rule change, events like this would still be considered own goals, but at least it would eliminate most of them from the game.
About the Author
SYC Matt A football fan just like the rest of us. Battling with the usual ups and downs that come with supporting one of the less glamorous teams. Crusader for footballing justice.
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