NI v Czech Republic

What, according to the Laws of the Game, can be “square, rectangular, round or elliptical in shape and must not be dangerous”? LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE HUMBLE GOAL POST…

It “must be white” and “have the same width and depth, which must not exceed 12 cm (five inches)”. I refer of course to that most modest of appurtenances of the field of play: the humble goal post (Laws of the Game 2017/18). And what stories those posts can tell. They might have been the difference between success and failure, winning and losing, they allow reputations to be built or to be lost, promotions to be won and relegations confirmed. In the recent UEFA Women’s Under 19 Championship final played at the National Football Stadium the skilful French forward Emelyne Laurent rasped a shot against the crossbar at 1-0 to France which, if it had been an inch lower, could very easily have changed the direction of the final. That’s the problem with crossbars and goalposts: being inanimate objects they are no respecters of the sustenance of reputations. In a passionate and exciting game there can be no passion in a crossbar and there is no excitement in a goal post - and yet they might very well represent the widest five inches on the field of play. Emotionless they may be, but then why do they cruelly taunt players and fans alike? Why is that sometimes the ball ricochets off the post back into play but on other occasions

slinks apologetically into the goal itself? No- one can tell me that. Are these the actions of an inanimate piece of pitch furniture? I don’t think so. A few years ago a German company came forward to IFAB (the world rule-making body for the game) with a prototype goal which, they claimed, would always result in a goal if the post was struck. The posts were designed in such a way that if struck by the ball then the ball would end up in the net. Where is the fun in that? IFAB declined the proposal. The game is much more exciting when there is no known outcome of the shot on goal. If it hits the post who knows where, or to whom, it might fall? Football must always be about the unexpected, the moment of sublime skill set against the counterpoint of shocking and outrageous luck, the bounce of the ball (or lack of it). Do I need to remind you of the misfortune of poor Artur Boruc of Poland at Windsor Park in 2009 - the mis-kick or the ridiculous deflection? The game would be the poorer without them, so long may we enjoy the random benefits of goalposts… Words: William Campbell

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