More Weird And Wonderful Footie Stories

by Brian Kennedy

(first published in the October 2009 Kildare County match programme)

Penalty miss costs £1million

In 2002 an English gambler missed out on a £1 million windfall – because of one kick of a football. Mick Dunning, 52, was all set for a life of luxury after coming up trumps on a £2 accumulator bet. The builder had correctly predicted 14 correct football scores on Saturday – putting him within one result of netting £1m.

There was 15 minutes left on the clock and Port Vale were 1-0 down against Blackpool; a penalty decision meant he was within reach of his 15th correct prediction of a draw. However, the spot kick was blasted wide by Port Vale’s Tony Dinning. That meant Mick’s £1m payout plummeted to £22,315 with Blackpool winning the tie. “I’m not bitter -you can’t cry over something you never had,” Mick told The Sun newspaper.

Mick, of Wimblebury, Staffs, used the cash to pay off a few debts and take a luxury holiday (and to hire a hitman to shoot Dinning at training the week after!)

World Cup Thief’s Own Goal

A thief who stole a World Cup ticket from a woman’s handbag was caught after sitting down to watch the game next to his victim’s husband.

The 34-year-old mugged Eva Standmann, 42, as she made her way to the Munich stadium for the Brazil-Australia game during World Cup 2006 and discovered the ticket in her bag. He took the woman’s place in the stadium where he was met by her husband Berndt, 43, who immediately called security. A Munich police spokesman said, “The thief found the ticket in the bag and decided to watch the game, not expecting to sit next to his victim’s husband, who immediately informed officers on duty at the stadium.”

Police dog attacks footballers

Three players and a ref were bitten after a police dog ran on to a football pitch during an amateur game, as reported by the BBC on Monday, 28 October, 2002. The German shepherd fled from his trainer during an exercise at a disused building close to the pitch. It headed towards the field of play, grabbed a linesman’s flag and headed towards the players at Scunthorpe’s Brumby Hall ground on Saturday afternoon. The injured players Steve Baker 19, Craig Jackson 29, and Derek Wayne were set upon by the dog. The referee attempted to batter the dog with a corner flag but was attacked in his groin area. Michael Stones (I kid you not, what an unfortunate name!) was also treated along with the three players at a local hospital.

Lincoln Moorlands manager Martin Burnett said: “There were two children’s games on the next field and I dread to think what could have happened if the dog had gone on there instead. Also the dog wasn’t fully grown and it could have been even worse if it was a larger animal. It was scary as the dog was out of control, it was not listening to its handler and nobody could do anything. I have been in football for 22 years and I have never seen anything like this before.”

Pig banned from football match in St Petersburg

A Russian farmer who tried to take his pig to a top football game was barred after police decided it could ‘incite a riot’. Football fan Vladimir Kisilev from St Petersburg took his prize-winning pig to a show in Moscow and wanted to watch a national Premier League match afterwards. He took the pig along with him, as he had nowhere to leave it, but police banned the pig from the ground for the match between Spartak Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg.

Officers feared the pig could provoke a riot as Spartak Moscow fans are called ‘Pigs’ by their Zenit St Petersburg rivals. Kisilev said, “I wanted to see the game, but had nowhere to leave the pig. I almost managed to get it into the ground in a big bag but it started grunting and the police noticed.”