One of the most touching moments in the history of football
#1 Morten Wieghorst’s misses a penalty on purpose
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We end with somewhat of an odd incident from an international match in 2003 between Denmark and Iran. As the game approached half-time, an Iranian player heard a whistle from the crowd that he misinterpreted as coming from the referee and figured the half was over. And so he made the error of picking the ball up inside his own penalty area – with his hands – before booting it towards the halfway line.
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The referee naturally had no choice but to point to the spot and award the Danes a penalty. But after a quick chat with his coach Morten Olsen, midfielder Morten Wieghorst decided against looking to score, instead side-footing the penalty wide to the right of the goal, essentially giving it up entirely. The Iranian players were amazed and applauded Wieghorst, while their fans gave him a standing ovation – assumingly not by using whistles.
Wieghorst’s team went on to lose the game 1-0 but in a cool consolation prize, he was given an Olympic Committee fair play award for his courageous and sportsmanlike actions in the bizarre incident.
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About the author
Scott Newman
Scott is a veteran MMA writer with over two decades of experience, including his ongoing tenure in Sportskeeda, which began seven years ago. He has written over 3000 pieces for the organization, while also covering football. Before joining Sportskeeda, Scott wrote articles for websites like The Oratory and Inside Pulse MMA.
Scott has a degree in history, which drives his research skills and helps him compile accurate information. His long stint in the field helps Scott provide a clear take on important topics, such as the criticism of promotions regarding fighter pay. While he feels fighters deserve a bigger revenue share, he doesn’t want MMA to suffer with purse-split issues.
Scott’s work has been previously reshared by the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. He uses credible sources, such as the UFC’s official website, during the writing process.
His dedication to MMA writing won him the Feature Writer of the Month award for Sportskeeda in November 2021.
Outside of work, Scott likes to go to the gym, walk his dog, and travel.
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