A Football-Related Question On 'The Chase' About Free-Kick Rule Has Left Fans Baffled

Viewers of popular quiz show The Chase were left scratching their heads after a football-related question on what happens if a team puts a direct free-kick into their own goal produced a 'surprise' answer.

You can see the segment from ITV's hit programme below.

Host of the show Bradley Walsh, who played professional football for Brentford in the late 70's, appeared in confident spirits when the following question appeared on screen.

'In football, if a direct free-kick goes straight into a team's own goal, what is awarded to the opposing team?'

Before the answer was revealed, Chaser Shaun Wallace looked a tad confused as the question lingered.

But Walsh was sure, saying: "You don't have to (watch football to know the answer). If a direct free-kick goes into its team's own goal, then it's got to be a goal, because it's an own goal."

The female contestant decided to choose corner as her answer – a decision the baffled the host. "You've put a corner? Why have you done that?" he said. "It's got to be a goal. A goal's a goal."

Seconds later, the answer was revealed. If a direct free kick is kicked directly into the team's own goal, a corner kick is awarded to the opposing team.

A red-faced Walsh couldn't quite believe that the 'archaic' rule existed. "I'm not having that," he said, before the female contestant hit back, "Every day's a school day!"

As you can see from the FA's website on the Laws of the Game, regulation 13 clearly states that if a direct free kick is kicked directly into the team's own goal, a corner kick is awarded to the opposing team.

He may have played for Brentford, Barnet and Boreham Wood during a brief three year stint in professional football but Bradley Walsh still needs to brush up on his knowledge of football laws.

And so do plenty of fans at home. One person on Twitter commented on the clip, saying: "Football fans, have you heard of this rule? This is scrambling my head," while another said: "I don’t understand why that wouldn’t just be an own goal?"

A third wrote: "I heard about it, but thought that it was classic trolling, but I guess not."

First I’ve heard of it as well 🤷🏾‍♂️

— Mosley (@mosleyf) July 10, 2022

Thoughts on the question? Did you know about this unusual free-kick rule?

Let us know in the comments.