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We’re fairly sure that Kevin MacAllister’s red card foir Union Saint-Gilloise this week did not require an intervention from the Belgian Pro League’s VAR. Anderlecht’s Kasper Dolberg was put through on goal in the first half and managed to ride one red-card challenge, staying on his feet, but MacAllister came in with some WWE-inspired antics to make sure the Dane was brought down. Heaven knows what he’s complaining about.

Fiorentina and Napoli had good seasons in Italy last year – reaching cup finals and winning the league repsectively – and one of the rewards for their efforts was to play out the Italian Super Cup semi-final in a half-empty stadium in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, this week. One of the lowlights from this miserable arrangement was Nanitamo Ikoné successfully conning the ref into a penalty and then making a total hash of the resultant spot kick. The 2034 World Cup should be a blast.

The walk of shame back from missing a penalty has to be one of the worst feelings for a footballer, particularly if said penalty is one of the most poorly executed panenkas you’re ever likely to see. Luckily for Antonie Mille his dreadful failure did not cost his Chateauroux side against Les Herbiers in their Coupe de France shootout

Middlesbrough’s Isiah Jones gets the 2024 ICYMI archive off to a strong start with this shocker of a miss away at Huddersfield. Luckily for Jones, Boro managed to take all three points and spare some blushes. 

Ajax's Steven Berghuis arrives late on the scene with a strong contender for miss of the year. They say to stay relaxed in front of goal but there's relaxed and then there's comatose.

Rennes thought they’d scored a dramatic 101st minute equaliser deep into injury time against Villareal – and it would’ve secured their progress to the last 16 of the Europa League. But an extremely eagle-eyed VAR (correctly) disallowed the goal because of one of the game’s more obscure laws.

Hamburg keeper Daniel Fernandes really made the worst of the bad conditions at St Pauli this week by making a total pigs ear of this attempt to play out from the back. Luckily for him and his equally-complicit defensive partners, Hamburg managed to claw the game back to draw 2-2. Sparing some, but not all, blushes.

You’d think a potential 0-0 between Barnsley and Wycombe Wanderers, midweek in November, would be a fairly forgettable affair but the punters present eventually got their money’s worth thanks to the heroics of Wanderers keeper Maksymilian Stryjek. An act of ineptitude that will be talked about for ages.

The spirit of the Rory Delap-style long throw lives on as Wales proved in Armenia this week. The Dragons salvaged a point thanks to this own goal brought about by an absolutely wicked long throw into the box by Conor Roberts.

We’ve featured goals from the top of the game to the grassroots and this week it’s the latter with Sunday League side Chells Rovers grabbing a ridiculous late winner. Hat-tip to ICYMI GOAT James Dart.

This week’s ICYMI – courtesy of Feyenoord against RKC Waalwijk – is all about those nagging feelings we have about modern football. A dive, a soft penalty, a farcical-multiple-minutes-long-drawn-out–VAR-review, an equally idiotic attempt at a panenka penalty. All the hits.

Dutch giants Ajax are currently near the bottom of Eredivisie and are having a terrible season by all accounts with just two wins. Their dreadful form culminated in a 5-2 thrashing at longtime rivals PSV this week and Brian Brobbey’s profligate finishing is hardly helping matters. Comedic stuff.

Grimsby Town may be five games without a win (and have lost the last two games 3-2) but there were still some laughs to be had at Blundell Park this week when Colchester conspired to score one of the best own goals we’ve seen in some time. Pure poetry.

For some reason Canada made a 10,000km trip to Niigata this only to be heavily beaten by hosts Japan. No doubt Alphonso Davies would have enjoyed the 18 hour flight home after an unlucky bobble and deflection of his own keeper’s face sent the reds toward a 4-1 loss.

VAR is extremely unpopular and if this farce from the Scotland game last night is anything to go by, it will remain so for the forseeable future. Scott McTominay’s superbly hit free-kick against Spain was ruled out because of some ethereal infringement – but no-one’s quite sure what. Ridiculous stuff from the officiating team.

There are times when we’re all narked by time wasting, but on other occasions we have to acknowledge the artstry of it. Daniel Batty’s sublime piece of time wasting for York City at Victoria Road is one such example. Hang it in the Louvre.

The insufferable one-two penalty thing has sadly returned to our screens this week, thanks to Galatasaray’s Muhammed Aktürkoğlu and Mauro Icardi. Needless to say, their daring and original feat was completely unsuccessful to the notable displeasure of manager Okan Buruk.

Former-Leeds United goalie Bailey Peacock-Farrell gets the dunce cap this week thanks to a horrific piece of keeping in the Danish top-flight. His catastrophic intervention sent AGF on their way to a 3-0 at home to Brøndby.

Aaron Lewis has scored what might be the goal of the season already. The Mansfield Town full-back completed his side’s 3-0 demolition of Accrington Stanley at the Crown Ground with this sensational volley, delighting the away fans behind the goal.

Belfast’s Cliftonville Ladies made their debut in European competition this week and it was a rough introduction to competition at this level as Benfica dished out an 8-1 thrasing. Cliftonville didn’t help themselves either with this calamitous own goal after the half hour.