Outrageous 'donkey free-kick' routine was so genius it got banned immediately

Lawmakers were forced to intervene after a genius free-kick routine threatened to change the game of football forever.

Players are always looking for an advantage by any means necessary and back in 1970, Coventry City debuted a genius set-piece routine that left the rest of the league stunned.

What seemed like a regular free-kick situation turned into a moment of brilliance against Everton as Willie Carr innocently stood over the ball looking ready to take the kick as normal.

However, he suddenly gripped the ball between his heels and flicked it into the air for the onrushing forward Ernie Hunt to volley into the back of the net.

Match of the Day commentator John Motson called the routine ‘an original piece of football impudence’ and the strike was named the BBC’s Goal of the Year.

However, it would never be seen again after the FA and FIFA stepped in to outlaw the routine.

According to Billy Edgar, FIFA decided to introduce new rules that made the free-kick illegal.

They specified the player taking a free-kick must have sustained contact with the ball as opposed to flicking it up in the air.

The ‘donkey free-kick’ routine was not the only brilliant use of a set-piece over the years, particularly in the Premier League.

Players forced to act as the ‘draft excluder’ lying down behind the wall can thank former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho for the thankless task after the Brazilian popularised a free-kick that was hit under the wall while the defending team jump.

The draft excluded is now regularly used when defending set pieces (Getty)

West Ham were one of the first teams to be caught out by the tactic back in 2016 and teams can be seen regularly defending with a player behind the wall to avoid a similar fate.

Teams in Italy took free-kicks to a completely different extreme in search of increasing their goal output.

Back in 2008, Catania won a free-kick against Torino in Serie A and set up a ‘fake wall’ of their own behind the Torino players while Giuseppe Mascara waited to take the set-piece.

Catania’s Gianvito Plasmati went one step further to distract goalkeeper Mattteo Sereni, dropping his shorts just before the ball sailed into the top corner.

It was confirmed that the move was regularly worked on in training but was slammed by referees who claimed it was unsporting behaviour.

Don’t expect to see it in the Premier League any time soon.