Germany’s Kai Havertz had his penalty rebound disallowed against Peru due to an uncommon rule.
While other UEFA confederations have started their qualifying campaign for Euro 2024 during the recent international break, Germany can relax knowing they have automatically qualified as the host nation.
Instead, they will play a series of friendly matches while the qualifiers take place.
Werder Bremen striker Niclas Fullkrug dominated the evening on Saturday, scoring two goals in the first half to secure a 2-0 win for his team as they took on Peru at the Mewa Arena in Mainz.
In the second half, Germany was awarded a penalty in the 68th minute which could have led to a hat-trick for Niclas Fullkrug.
However, Kai Havertz opted to take the penalty and missed it after hesitating before hitting the post for the second time in recent times.
Fortunately, the ball bounced back to him and he managed to score on the rebound to make it 3-0.
It’s worth noting that Havertz hasn’t had the best penalty record, having missed one recently in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund, though it was retaken.
VIDEO: Havertz misses penalty before scoring rebound
— James John (@JamesJohn2427) March 25, 2023
Why was Havertz’s goal disallowed?
Immediately, the referee disallowed the goal.
But why?
Well, it’s a rule that we hardly ever see in football.
According to the rules, “The kicker must not play the ball again until it has touched another player.”
Even if a player’s shot hits the post, they are not allowed to touch the ball again until it has been touched by another player.
This rule also applies when a player accidentally kicks the ball twice, as demonstrated by Aleksandar Mitrovic’s penalty for Fulham against Newcastle in January.
Although the rule was known to many, numerous football fans confessed to having witnessed it being implemented previously.
Fans react to Havertz’s disallowed goal
“I’ve been watching football for over 40 years and this is the first time I see this happen,” one fan wrote.
“I’ve never heard of this rule lol,” added another.
A third asked: “Can someone explain the rule?”
“I don’t get it but ok,” commented another fan.