Incredible 'donkey free-kick' routine was so genius it got banned immediately by football authorities

An incredible piece of football ingenuity was banned 54 years ago after it resulted in a one of the most unique goals in the history of the sport.

The 'donkey' free-kick routine claimed the BBC's Goal of the Year award in 1970 but was subsequently outlawed at the end of the season.

Everton were the unlucky team on the receiving end that year when Coventry City, top-flight regulars at the time, unleashed the routine in a First Division match at Highfield Road.

As the Toffees wall lined up to defend a free-kick, Coventry's Willie Carr suddenly gripped the ball between his heels and flicked it high into the air.

Striker Ernie Hunt then swung back a boot and smashed a volley past the bewildered Everton goalkeeper. Check it out below.

"An original piece of football impudence," acclaimed John Motson on Match of the Day.

Everton were certainly caught completely unawares by the routine, as they waited for a traditional dead-ball strike.

However, football authorities banned the so-called 'donkey-kick' as a means of taking a free-kick at the end of the season.

Coventry went on to win the match 3-1, with the late Hunt (who died in 2018) netting a brace. Yet we'd never see another goal like this again.

Unfair? Well, Mexico's Cuauhtemoc Blanco got away with his 'bunny hop' - leaping over tackles with the ball wedged between his feet - for years.

But that wasn't from a free-kick and he didn't have Hunt thundering in behind him.

The closest we'll probably see in the Premier League era is something like Matt Le Tissier's flick-up free-kick, which also resulted in a volleyed finish but with the former Southampton man providing the set-up himself.

No, it looks like Carr and Hunt's routine will go unmatched, unless the FA or FIFA relax the rules on the 'donkey kick'.