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An own goal occurs in football (soccer) and other goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents.

The term has become a metaphor for any action that backfires upon a person.

Contents 1 Football (soccer) 2 Other sports 2.1 Ice hockey 2.2 Basketball 2.3 American and Canadian football 2.4 Australian rules football 3 Infamous own goals 4 External links

In football (soccer), when players kick or otherwise cause the ball to go into their own side's goal, it results in a goal being scored for the opposition.

An own goal cannot be scored directly from an attacking throw-in or a defending free kick (a corner kick will be awarded to the attacking team if so should happen), and under certain other circumstances.

The player who does this is personally "credited" with the goal as part of the statistical abstract of the game.

When a goal is scored after a shot (by the attacking side) is deflected into the net by a defending player, whether this is scored as a goal for the attacker or as an own goal is determined by whether the original shot was on target. If so, the attacker is awarded the goal, even if the shot would have otherwise been easily saved by the goalkeeper.

When they occur in other sports, own goals are not "credited" in the same manner as in football, but instead credited towards the attacker whose attempt forced the defensive error.

If a goal is scored by a player on the defending team, credit for the goal goes to the last player on the other team to have touched the puck, mainly to the belief that the player credited with the goal had his/her shot deflected. Occasionally, it is also credited to the closest player to the goal from the other team. On five occasions, defensive players have shot the puck into their own empty net, either late in the game or because of a delayed penalty call, resulting in one of the two ways in which a goalie is credited with a goal. This was the situation which resulted in Billy Smith of the New York Islanders as the first netminder receiving credit with a NHL goal scored.

When accidentally scoring at an opposing team's basket (basketball's equivalent of an "own goal"), the goal is credited to an attacking player. In NBA and NCAA rules, the goal is credited to the player on the scoring team who is closest to the rim; under FIBA rules, the player designated captain is credited with the basket.

When a ball-carrier is tackled or exits the field of play within the end zone being defended by his team, the result is a safety and the opposing team is awarded two points, and receives the ball after a free kick taken at the twenty-yard line.

Own goals are frequent in Australian rules football, since they are often deliberate. They may form part of a legitimate defensive play.

If the defending side causes the ball to pass through their own goalposts, this is called a rushed behind. One point is awarded to the attacking team and the defending team will regain control of the football (albeit very deep in their own territory) after a short timeout.

A goal to the attacking team, on the other hand, would be worth six points and would result in the ball being returned to the middle of the ground (and possibly to the opponents).

Therefore a defending player, if under pressure from attacking players, may deliberately score an own goal in order to minimize the attacking player's gain, and regain control of the football.

Several notable instances in sports (not just football) where players scored on their own goal.

• On June 6, 2007, during Game 5 of the 2007 Stanley Cup Final against the Anaheim Ducks, Chris Phillips, defensemen for the Ottawa Senators, tossed the puck into the skates of Senators' goaltender Ray Emery and was deflected into the net in the second period. The goal made it a 3-1 lead for the Ducks and would stand up as the Stanley Cup championship clinching goal for the Ducks. Travis Moen was credited as the goal scorer, the game and Cup winner.
• On May 27, 2007, Ryan Donk of Dutch side AZ scored an own goal less than 5 minutes after his side conceded a goal in the Eredivisie playoff final against Ajax.
• Staf Van Den Buys, who scored three own goals in one match.
• Nicola Caricola, whose own goal started the Curse of Caricola for the MetroStars of Major League Soccer.
• Andrés Escobar, a Colombian defender who was murdered after his own goal in the 1994 World Cup that resulted in his team's elimination.
• Tom Boyd of Scotland scored an own goal — which turned out to be the winner for Brazil — in the opening game of the 1998 World Cup when the ball ricocheted off goalkeeper Jim Leighton and hit Boyd as he was moving towards it, unable to stall his forward momentum.
• Goalkeepers who accidentally threw the ball or punched it into their own net include Bjarte Flem, Gary Sprake, Aleksandr Filimonov, Janusz Jojko and Dida.
• Jonathan Woodgate in his first game for Real Madrid after his recovery from injury: he later received a red card, making it one of the worst debut appearances of all time.
• Frank Sinclair, who scored two own goals in three games in 1999 whilst playing for Leicester City, and later scored an infamous own goal in a game against Middlesbrough.
• Steve Smith, NHL defenceman who accidentally scored on his own team, the Edmonton Oilers in the 1986 NHL Divisional Finals. In the third period of the seventh and deciding game against the rival Calgary Flames, with the score tied 2-2, he made a pass from behind his own net that hit goaltender Grant Fuhr and bounced into the net. The goal, credited to Calgary forward Perry Berezan, stood up as the game winner and eliminated the Oilers from playoff contention and possibility of a three-peat.
• Detroit Red Wings blueliner Paul Coffey accidentally swiped the puck into the Wings' own net during Game 1 of the 1996 Western Conference Finals against the Colorado Avalanche. The goal proved costly as it forced the Wings to tie the game late to force overtime, where they would eventually lose. Colorado went on to win the series 4-2. Had the own goal not been scored, the Wings likely would have won in regulation, and the series would be tied 3-3 going back to Joe Louis Arena for game 7.
• Sergei Gonchar, another NHL defenseman who not only deflected his own unpressured outlet pass off the back of Olaf Kolzig's skate on November 14, 2003 while a member of the Washington Capitals, but redirected an opposition player's cross-ice pass five-hole on Marc-Andre Fleury on November 13, 2006, almost three years to the day, as a Pittsburgh Penguin.
• Djimi Traoré, a defender who attempted to perform a spectacular backheel when playing for Liverpool, but ended up sliding the ball in his own net in the process.
• Samuel Wynne of Oldham Athletic, who scored two goals each way in a 3-2 victory over Manchester United on October 6th 1923.
• Chris Nicholl scored all four goals in a 2-2 draw between Aston Villa and Leicester in March 1976.
• Brian Gayle, the captain of Sheffield United headed an own goal in a match against hated rivals Leeds in 1992, handing the First Division championship to Leeds.
• Chris Brass, a Bury defender who scored one of the most hilarious own goals ever when his attempted clearance struck him in the face and went past the keeper, Brass suffered a broken nose in the process.
• Gary Mabbutt scored an own goal in extra time in the 1987 FA Cup final, which give Coventry City the title. A "fanzine" in Coventry is called Gary Mabbutt's Knee due to the incident.
• Des Walker scored an own goal, also in extra time, during the 1991 FA Cup final to give Tottenham a 2-1 win.
• Peter Enckelman, then goalkeeper for Aston Villa, who "scored" an own goal when he misjudged a throw-in from his teammate and the ball rolled into his own net in a match against rivals Birmingham City. The referee deemed that he had touched the ball before the ball went in, but television replays seemed to show the opposite, meaning the goal should not be allowed according to the rules of the game.
• Tony Popovic, while playing for Crystal Palace in the 2004-05 season spectacularly backheeled a cross into the far corner of his own net to score for Portsmouth.
• Gary Neville while playing for England in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia passed the ball back to the goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, who shockingly wiffed on the ball and so it trickled into England's net.
• Rio Ferdinand, while playing for Manchester United, went to pass the ball back to his goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar in a game against Portsmouth; but, unknown to Ferdinand at the time, Van Der Sar was off his line, and the ball rolled into the back of the net. In the end Manchester United lost 2-1, therefore leaving themselves vulnerable to reigning champions, and on form Chelsea F.C.
• In the 2004 NCAA Women's soccer championship game between UCLA and Notre Dame, Notre Dame defender Gudrun Gunnarsdottir put an intended backpass past goalkeeper Erica Bohn, giving UCLA a 1-0 lead. Despite the miscue, Notre Dame won the championship on penalties after the game finished tied at 1-1.[1]
• In a 2006 match in Madagascar's THB Champions League, AS Adema defeated SOE Antananarivo 149-0 when SOE scored 149 own goals in protest of a referee decision in the previous game.[2]
• In a June 10, 2006 game between England and Paraguay at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a David Beckham free kick grazed the head of Carlos Gamarra and it went in the back of the net. FIFA officials initially declared the goal an own goal on Gamarra, but the Technical Studies Group of FIFA reviewed the goal. The goal remained credited to Gamarra despite the Group's declaration that any shot destined to reach the goal area that accidentally bounces off a defending player into their own goal would be awarded to the player who delivered the shot (in this case, Beckham).
• In the 1994 Shell Caribbean Cup Preliminary Round, Barbados deliberately scored on their own goal in a successful attempt to advance to the Final Stage by forcing overtime against Grenada. Needing a 2-point victory to advance, Barbados found themselves up 2-1 with 3 minutes left in regulation time. An unusual tournament rule awarded a 2-point victory to a team that won in overtime.[3]
• Trailing by three in a 1971 National Basketball Association game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Cleveland Cavaliers player John Warren went on a fast break and dunked the ball into the net ... only to find out it was Portland's goal he scored in. Instead of being down only one, they were now down by 5, and would go on to lose the game.
• Inter Milan defender Marco Materazzi, who scored an own goal in the dying minutes of the last match of Serie A against Empoli in 2005-06. The goal gave Empoli a 1-0 win.
• Yuri Kovtun, who scored an own goal on 90th minute of Euro 2000 qualifying match between Russia and Iceland in Reykjavík (Iceland won 1-0).
• In a UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying match against Iceland , Northern Ireland's Keith Gillespie scored an own goal in the last minute of injury time in the 2nd half which cost Northern Ireland the game. After the game Gillespie and team-mate George McCartney were involved in a fight over the incident which led to both being investigated by the Irish FA.

• Ryan Donk's "own goal" in the 2007 Eredivisie Playoff Final
• Video montage of many football own goals
• Bjarte Flem throws the ball into his own goal
• Peter Enckelman's "own goal"