A LIVERPOOL fan from Flintshire is the not-so-proud owner of the infamous beach ball that deflated his team’s title hopes after causing one of football’s strangest-ever goals.
Wayne Bate, originally from Carmel near Holywell, was sitting in the front row behind Pepe Reina’s goal at the Stadium of Light when Sunderland striker Darren Bent’s shot deflected off the rogue beach ball and into the distracted Liverpool keeper’s net.
The freak goal decided the game on Saturday and the beach ball has become a talking point across the football world, with experts lining up to claim the goal should have been disallowed.
Wayne, 41, who was at the match with his four-year-old son Callum, claimed the red ball which is emblazoned with the Liverpool crest as a souvenir and is now considering selling it.
He said: “I live in Thirsk in North Yorkshire now so Sunderland is a fairly local game for me.
“We were sat on the front row just at the right-hand side of the goal, near the Liverpool fans.
“After the goal went in one of the stewards picked up the beach ball, deflated it slightly and moved it right in front of me.
“I asked if I could have it and he said ‘fine’ but I would have to wait until the end of the match.
“By the final whistle there was quite a lot of interest and there must have been a queue of 30-40 people who wanted it as well.
“Being first in the queue and having a cute four-year-old son helped and the stewards let me take it home.”
He added: “It’s at home at the moment and I have no idea what to do with it.
“It hasn’t exactly got pride of place on the mantlepiece. I might sell it, I haven’t decided yet. I bet someone out there would pay a good price for it.”
Wayne leapt to the defence of the young Liverpool fan who has become an overnight celebrity after being spotted by TV cameras throwing a beach ball onto the pitch shortly before the mishap.
The former Carmel resident claimed it was actually a different beach ball that caused the goal and said the youngster was being vilified unfairly.
“I think it was probably a different ball to the one thrown by the lad to be honest,” he said.
“The irony is that when I got to the ground at about 2.30pm the Liverpool players were kicking loads of the beach balls into the crowd, giving them away as souvenirs.
“Quite a number of them were being kicked around before the match started and the ball that was involved started out in the back of the net and it was there when the match started. It started moving out in front of Reina’s goal.
“It was definitely the strangest goal I’ve ever seen.”
Football’s strangest goal?
- Official Liverpool beach balls have sold out after rival fans rushed to snap up the now infamous red ball.
- Manchester United fans will reportedly be searched for beach balls as they enter Anfield for Sunday’s match, with any found being confiscated.
- United supporters are apparently planning to taunt their rivals with a rendition of Nena’s 99 Red Balloons.
- The ball is being hailed as the ‘beach ball of God’ on Wearside, with Sunderland fans joking that it should be given the freedom of the city.
- Referee Mike Jones will be rested from Premier League games this weekend following the mistake and will take charge of Peterborough v Scunthorpe.
- His mistake has been criticised by former refs including Jeff Winter, Dermot Gallagher and Graham Poll.
- While Liverpool fans might feel hard done by, manager Rafael Benitez has been philosophical about the matter.