Video: Bicycle kick attempt ends badly as opponent gets kicked in the face

Noaki Ishikawa was kicked in the face in a J League game in Japan

While a goal scored from a bicycle kick looks amazing from any angle, it can go horribly wrong when a player makes contact with anything else but the ball. That’s exactly what Vegalta Sendai defender Noaki Ishikawa felt when Kashiwa Reysol’s Daisuke Suzuki kicked him square in the face.

A free kick was delivered into the box from the left flank and an initial clearance attempt sent the ball straight up into the air. With both Ishikawa and Suzuki going for the ball, it was Ishikawa who got to it first, heading it away from danger.

Unfortunately, the clearance put him in danger as Suzuki attempted the spectacular and ended up kicking the defender in the face. Although he apologized immediately, he couldn’t escape a yellow card as the medics treated Ishikawa, Luckily, there wasn’t too much damage and he was even seen sitting up receiving treatment.