Rare events in football iceberg

Rare events in football iceberg is an iceberg chart topic. A text version, "Rare Events In Football" by Gustavph, is hosted on IcebergThreads, where it had 1,022 views as of 29 October 2026.

The IcebergThreads author describes it as: "(soccer)"

Entries reflect the chart authors' choices and are not verified fact.

Tiers

Tiers and entries from the IcebergThreads version. Notes after a dash are shortened from the author's explanations.

Happens pretty much every minute

• Pass – The purpose of passing is to keep possession of the ball by maneuvering it on the ground between different players
• Marking – Is an organized defensive tactic which aims to prevent a member of the opposing team (usually a striker) from taking control of the ball.
• Formation – The formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a pitch.

Typically happens many times per game

• Throw-in – a method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball has exited the side of the field of play. When the ball goes out of play past the touch-line to the side of the pitch, a…
• Corner kick – the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the…
• Headers – a technique to control the ball using the head to pass, shoot or clear. This can be done from a standing, jumping or diving position. Heading is a common technique and is used by players in…
• Goal kick – A goal kick is awarded to the defending team when the ball goes out of the field of play by crossing, either on the ground or in the air, the goal line, without a goal being scored, when the last…
• Sliding tackle – It is completed with one leg extended to push the ball away from the opposing player.

Typically happens a few times per game

• Goal – hitting the ball into the net
• Offside – a player is in an offside position if any of their body parts, except the hands and arms, are in the opponents' half of the pitch, and closer to the opponents' goal line than both the ball and the…
• Foul – fouls and misconduct are acts committed by players which are deemed by the referee to be unfair and are subsequently penalised
• Kick-off – the method of starting and, in some cases, restarting play, a kick-off is used to start each half of play, and each period of extra time where applicable
• Yellow cards – A yellow card is shown by the referee to indicate that a player has been officially cautioned.[1]: 38 The player's details are then recorded by the referee in a small notebook; hence a caution is…
• Dribble – surpassing the opponent's presence / involvement by an unexpected movement - such as a nutmeg, a dash dribble, or many others
• VAR – From Wikipedia: "The video assistant referee (VAR) is a match official in association football who assists the referee by reviewing decisions using video footage and providing advice to the referee…

Happens in every other game

• Own Goal – accidentally scored by player of the defending team
• Header Goal – an attacking player directing the ball into the goal with their head
• Penalty Kick Goal – a goal achieved by a player who is allowed to take a single shot at the goal while it is defended only by the opposing team's goalkeeper
• Red card – A red card is shown by a referee to signify that a player must be sent off. A player who has been sent off is required to leave the field of play immediately, must take no further part in the game…
• Curl (bend) – Is spin on the ball which makes the ball move in a curved direction.

Still happens frequently, somewhere random in the world

• Nutmeg Goal – shooting a ball through the legs of the defending player(s)
• Bicycle Goal – also called overhead kick, done by a player falling backwards, with their back toward the goal
• Hat-trick – when a player scores three goals in a single game
• Free Kick Goal – scored by the team which is awarded a free kick after an infringement of the laws by the opposing team
• Pitch invaders – humans invading the playing field
• Goalkeeper Goal – scored by the goalkeeper of the attacking team
• Play on two different national teams – Currently, in 2021, FIFA adjusted their rules to allow for players to be eligible to represent a new national team if they had played in no more than three competitive. Luis Monti is the only player…
• Cards for technical staff – The substitutes, the coach and even the doctors and physiotherapists can be shown red cards for actions including complaining the referee’s decisions, insulting an opponent or the ref himself or his…
• miss the goal without the goalkeeper – more common in minor leagues, Paysandu 0 x 0 Goiás in 2025
• Covers of songs popular of fans. – Michael Jackson's Atlético Mineiro
• Anime collaborations – Something that is becoming increasingly frequent, in the case of the J-League it's not uncommon to have something like this.

May happen at most a few times in a professional's career

• Olympic Goal – A corner kick that scores without being touched by another player
• Animals On The Football Pitch – Usually dogs and cats that invade
• Golden goal – The system was simple – score the first goal in extra-time and win the game. Introduced formally in 1993, though with some history before that, the rule ceased to apply to most FIFA-authorized…
• Goalkeeper Red Card – When the goalkeeper must leave the game
• Indirect free kicks in penalty box – Free kicks awarded in the penalty area are always indirect free kicks. Unlike a poorly timed slide tackle which often times results in a more or less clear cut decision for a penalty kick, indirect…
• Abandoned games – due to weather, intruders or other outside interference, the referee can decide to abandon a game. how or if the game is scored depends on the specific league
• Wrong goal kick into own touchline – This happened in the match between Coritiba x Palmeiras in 2023
• Goalkeeper vs goalkeeper penalty – If a penalty shootout goes long enough, the goalkeepers have to take pens against each other

Rare for anyone to witness personally

• Scorpion Kick Goal – with raised legs off the ground behind the falling player
• Destroyed goal/net – usually by players falling into or crashing against them
• Power cut in match – It could be for a brief moment, as in Brazil against Switzerland in the 2022 World Cup, or also for a longer period of time
• Hit the ball against yourself in a match – Occurred at least once in a world cup with a Batshuayi player
• Banana shot – Free kick with no direct line to the goal. famous for the goal scored by roberto carlos against france in 1997 for the brazilian national team
• Runaround move – The move involves letting a dribble or a pass from a teammate approach but allowing it run past the opponent, then sprinting around the opposing player to continue the attack.
• Goal below wall – Made famous by Ronaldinho Gaúcho
• Stadium crush – Has only happened a handful of times throughout modern history. Hillsborough is the most notable, as well as Estadio Nacional and the two Ibrox crushes.
• More than 100,000 people in a stadium – Less than 50 occasions in football
• Teams sitting on the ground – Usually for protest or fair play, there are some instances of players or entire teams sitting on the ground before or during the match - as an example, there's this video from players doing it to…
• Ghost goal – A ghost goal is either a goal wrongly awarded despite the ball not having crossed the goal line, or a goal wrongly not given despite the ball having crossed the line.
• White card – The white card, also known as the "fair play card", was introduced by the Portuguese Football Federation and aims to promote sportsmanship
• Stadium flooded – This must happen somewhere in the world
• miss a corner to the goal line – In the professional scenario it is rarer
• Throwing a ball in the face of the opposing manager – Has happened in a match between Botafogo x Palmeiras
• Linesman in irregular position – This happened in a match between Juventude & São Paulo
• Playing in a completely flooded stadium – This happened in match between 浜名×藤枝明誠 in Japan
• Soccer field sprinklers activating mid-match – According to the rules, the match is paused
• Hitting two players in a red card – There's no way to get two red cards in one move, of course.
• Cover a hole in the field during a match – In this case it was covered with sand
• Three yellows before being sent off – In the match between Croatia and Australia in the 2006 Soccer World Cup. According to the referee, Josip Šimunić is Croatian but grew up in Australia, so when the referee went to give the second…
• Number not known due to dirty clothes – This happened in a match played by Marek Jóźwiak for Legia Warsaw in the early 2000s.
• Referee's spray can exploding – In high temperatures it is something that could have happened, it happened in a match between Grêmio and Juventude in the semifinals of the 2024 Gauchão
• Player with wrong shirt – because of this he got a yellow card
• Intentional Game forfeiture – intentionally (e.g. as a sign of mourning or protest), losing a game
• Score an own goal from a ball hitting the post – Kawasaki Frontale 2 x 1 Yokohama FC in 2025
• A helicopter on a football field – Game between Doce Mel/JEC x UDA, for the Brazilian Women's Series A3
• armed pitch invasion – PAOK president Ivan Savvidis stormed onto the pitch in a rage with a pistol on his hip (visible, but not used), protesting a refereeing decision that disallowed a goal.
• Remote control cars with flares invade pitch – 2. Bundesliga match between Hansa Rostock and Hamburg
• drone protest inside a football pitch – match in Belgrade in 2014
• Handball save – a defending non-goalkeeper intentionally catching the ball with his hands to avoid a goal
• Red card for kicking a ballboy – Chelsea's Eden Hazard was sent off in a 2013 match vs Swansea for kicking a ballboy who was deliberately withholding the ball
• Professional Team against Special Forces – under 20 of Santos against Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais (BOPE)
• Professional club signs sponsorship deal with adult content platform – Clube Vila Nova, a second-division team in the Brazilian league, signed with FatalFans in 2026.
• The goal net fell down during a game. – In a match between São Paulo x Chapecoense in 2026
• Smoke from flares completely blocking the camera's view. – In a match between Boa Vista e Vasco em 2026
• Player letting the ball hang in the air while running for too long. – Richard Witschge in Ajax vs Feyenoord in 1997
• Dragging an injured player in and out of the field. – Fluminense goalkeeper Felipe Alves dragged Botafogo player Yarlen off the field during the derby on March 3, 2024, at the Maracanã.
• steal the ball behind the goalkeeper and score a goal – Goalkeeper Brenno's mistake against Carlos Vinicius, Fortaleza 2-2 Grêmio in 2025
• wrong substitution of the fourth referee – It happened in the match between Santos and Coritiba when Neymar, number 10, was substituted when it should have been number 31 instead.
• shoot directly from kick-off – usually goalkeepers with little experience
• A football club using fake VAR audio in court – It happened with SC Internacional in July 2026.

Only one or a few instances ever recorded

• World XI (FIFA World Stars) – Is an association football team consisting of players from various countries.
• Wind goal – When the wind is very strong in the direction of the goal and the ball ends up coming back, it usually happens to the goalkeeper
• Scorpion kick save – when the goalkeeper prevents a goal with a scorpion kick of their own
• Referee ends football match early by mistake – In a world cup took place between argentina and france in 1930 in the group stage where the referee ends the match 6 minutes early.
• Unintentional Game forfeiture – a team either through too many injuries/too few players, or too many red cards (5), or intentionally (e.g. through abstention), losing a game
• Hit by lightning – this happened once in a South African soccer game (see link)
• Coin flip landing on side – Columbia vs Paraguay
• Dying while celebrating a goal – Peter Biaksangzuala, a midfielder for Bethlehem Vengthlang FC, scored the game-tying point and celebrated a bit too hard. He tried to do a somersault but landed on his neck, causing spinal cord…
• More than 100 goals – Occurred in a football match played on October 31, 2002
• Play football professionally over 55 years of age – Who holds the record is the Japanese Kazuyoshi Miura who plays at the age of 55 as a forward in Liga Portugal 2 of the club Oliveirense
• Referee taking possession of the ball – Then dribbled and recieve a slide tackles
• Score a goal while the replay is being broadcast – Many say that Vasco da Gama is the first team in history to receive a goal while broadcasting the replay
• Ambulance breaks down on football field – The players themselves pushed the ambulance, as the battery failed
• Being arrested during the match – In a match between Boca Juniors x Sporting Cristal with 19 red cards
• A UFO – There are 2 matches where this happened, Fiorentina x Pistoiese in 1954, Operário-MS x Vasco in 1982
• An ambulance crossing the field while the match is in progress – Happened in the match JEQUIÉ 0 x 1 BAHIA in 2024, when the player Sérgio Baiano was severed injured
• Stadium Looted – This happened to Grêmio during the 2024 flood in Brazil
• Beach Ball causing a goal – Sunderland scoring a goal against Liverpool due to a beach ball thrown by a fan causing a ball to bounce into the goal.
• The professional team against the reserve team in a Final – This happened in the 1980 Copa del Rey final
• Uno reverse card – This happened in a match between Sidemen and YTAllstars
• Fan fighting against referee – This happened in a match between Atlético MG and America MG
• pass the ball to advertising – This happened ia match between FC Bayern and RB Leipzig
• Ball boy's goal – This happened ia match between Santacruzense and Atlético Sorocaba
• A dust devil in a match – This happened at an amateur match in Ribeirão das Neves, Brazil
• Goal made by/defended by outsiders – Someome from outside the pitch (like supporters, coach, someone on the bench, journalist) enters the field or do something to either make a goal possible or disallow it - in the example, a masseur…
• football side goal – Indonesia 2-1 Laos in 2024, official rule is that a throw-in goal doesn't count as a goal, but the ball was deflected
• a player knocking down the VAR with his hands – Ghana 2-0 Uruguay in World Cup
• Professional team against a TV station – This happened in 1997, Fluminense 12 - 0 MTV Brasil
• Football match interrupted by power station demolition explosion – taking place in Rugeley, Staffordshire
• Cards for ordinary people – This is rarer because they are usually not directly involved in the game, people like a masseur, ball boy or even the president of a club can receive a red card.
• goalkeeper hat-trick – Only Chilavert has done this in football history in 1991
• out of control stretcher bearer – It is extremely rare for a stretcher bearer to argue with the referee.
• own goal from a goalkeeper's distribution of the ball – Bahia 1x2 Flamengo, Brasileirão 2003.
• Receive the Guinness World Record for "worst football team in the world" – Íbis Sport Club
• More than 20 years without winning – San Marino national football team
• The opposing team's bus knocked down a lamppost. – Inter de Limeira bus
• Football Team With A Steam Railway Running – Čierny Balog in Slovakia
• Parachutist lands on pitch during game – Salisbury City FC and Chester City FC on Saturday 14th September 2013
• A live chicken as a protest – against Blackburn’s owners (Venky’s)
• own goal of a back-pass of the goalkeeper – St.Pauli vs Hamburger SV
• referee was struck on the head by a lighter – between NEC Nijmegen and HSV
• Match Interrupted by Moleholes – In a U17 derby between St Pauli and HSV
• More than 20 players sent off in a major football league. – because of a mass brawl out between the Brazilian clubs Cruzeiro and Atletico Mineiro
• Former elite football players winning a masterchef – Also Horacio Peralta wonned
• rebound by a player from his own team scoring a goal from a penalty kick – Rubio Ñu 0-2 Olimpia 2026
• The main (TV) camera being hit by the ball – Sergio Ramos hit the camera on November 22, 2014, during the match between Real Madrid and Eibar at the Ipurúa stadium, in the Spanish League.
• A goal scored in the first 10 seconds of a World Cup match – South Korea and Turkey in 2002
• hat-trick in less than 2 minutes – Alex Torr - 2013 - Rawson Springs 7–1 Winn Gardens (amateur English Sunday league) and Abdel Hamid Bassiouny - 2001 - Egypt 8–2 Namibia (2002 FIFA World Cup qualification.)
• eliminated from cup competition by own feeder team 💀 – Junior Barranquilla was surprisingly eliminated from the Copa Colombia by their own feeder team, Barranquilla FC, losing 5–3 on penalties on July 29, 2026, after a 5–5 aggregate draw

See also

• Iceberg chart

Sources

• IcebergThreads version: Gustavph. Rare Events In Football. IcebergThreads. 29 March 2026. Retrieved 29 October 2026.