• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
'Donkey' free-kick routine was so genius it got banned immediately

Home> Football

Updated 15:26 24 Dec 2022 GMTPublished 14:38 24 Dec 2022 GMT

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

It won BBC Goal of the Year, but the set-piece routine ended up being banned at the end of the season.

Alex Reid

Alex Reid

It won BBC Goal of the Year, but the incredible 'donkey kick' free-kick routine was quickly banned back 52 years ago.

Everton were the team on the receiving end when Coventry City, top-flight regulars back in October 1970, unleashed this unique trick. It was a pre-planned move played to perfection.

As the wall lined up, Coventry's Willie Carr - innocently standing over the ball - suddenly gripped the ball between his heels and flicked it into the air.

Advert

Striker Ernie Hunt swung back a boot and absolutely smashed a volley right into the net. Sublime.

"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.

Advert

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


So this goal is one we're unlikely to see Harry Kane and Son Heung-min pull off in 2022, while Antonio Conte gives it large on the touchline.

Advert

Coventry went on to win the match 3-1, with 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.


Advert

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 Le Tiss 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'.

Might be an idea just so we can all stop talking about the handball law for 15 minutes.

Featured Image Credit: BBC

Topics: Everton

Alex Reid
Alex Reid

Alex Reid is a writer at SPORTbible who’s previously strung words together for FourFourTwo, Boxing News, The Guardian and, yes, Cruise International (it’s about big ships, not Tom). Interests range from football and boxing to real sports like WWE and darts. He is not a cage fighter.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

2 hours ago
3 hours ago
4 hours ago
  • 2 hours ago

    Cole Palmer linked with move that would break the world transfer record and rock football to its core

    Cole Palmer has been linked with a move away from Chelsea.

    Football
  • 3 hours ago

    PSG could let 11 players leave in brutal clearout after Club World Cup final defeat to Chelsea as top target revealed

    Paris Saint Germain were beaten by Chelsea in the FIFA Club World Cup final.

    Football
  • 4 hours ago

    Liverpool targets Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike's records compared aged 23 and there's a clear winner

    Isak and Ekitike have both been linked with big-money moves to Liverpool this summer.

    Football
  • 4 hours ago

    Steven Gerrard names shock pick for Premier League's greatest midfielder as GOAT debate finally settled

    Steven Gerrard is one of the best midfielders in Premier League history.

    Football
  • Incredible 'donkey free-kick' routine was so genius it got banned immediately by football authorities
  • Outrageous 'donkey free-kick' routine was so genius it got banned immediately
  • The Free-Kick So Genius It Was Banned Immediately
  • Duncan Ferguson was banned from Everton pre-season tour after headbutt prevented him entering the US