You can’t overestimate how bad this penalty is
Football fans have been left staggered after a La Liga game saw the “worst penalty ever.”
On Monday evening, Osasuna were taking on Valencia in the Spanish top division when the hosts got a penalty in stoppage time.
With Valencia winning 1-0, Ante Budimir stepped up to try and rescue a point for Osasuna.
As has been made clear, he missed. But the real story here is how he missed.
When you think of bad penalties you maybe imagine a weak one down the middle like Gareth Southgate’s in 1996, or one ballooned over the bar like Jason Puncheon’s infamous spot-kick at White Hart Lane.
But Budimir may have just claimed the crown for the worst penalty ever taken in a professional football match.
You can watch it below.
The Osasuna man starts his run-up, before attempting a little stutter just before striking the ball to try and send the keeper the wrong way. But in the process, he seems to confuse himself and forgets how to kick a ball.
Just as he’s about to strike the ball, his foot stops, and all Budimir manages to do is then toe-poke the ball so weakly that it bounces into the Valencia keeper’s arms.
Reacting to the farcical spot-kick on social media, many labelled it “one of the worst penalties of all time.”
One person joked that the keeper had “time to dive, stand up, make a brew and save it.”
The penalty was pretty much the last kick of the game, and Valencia claimed the three points to maintain their hopes of qualifying for the Europa Conference League.
As for Osasuna, they stay in 11th place and Budimir is left with a football clip that he is likely to never live down.
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