Awana's goal: Schoolboy prank or genius?
UAE footballer Theyab Awana may have raised the ire of officialdom with his freak backheeled penalty in an international friendly against Lebanon.
But the 21-year-old Baniyas midfielder has scored one for the free spirited idealism of sporting stars who aim to be different.
Awana stole the headlines in UAE's 7-2 victory on Sunday for his 78th-minute penalty, which he slotted home with his heel after running backwards towards the spot.
He would have become a laughing stock if he had failed to score but instead has become an Internet star with his incredulous kick getting nearly five million hits.
The match itself was played to near empty stands in the Khalifa Stadium at Al Ain and would have gone into the dustbin of history if not for Awana's heroics.
Even Awana could not have imagined that his kick would earn him cult status being compared with incredible penalties taken by legends such Johan Cruyff and Zinedine Zidane.
One wonders whether it was a mere schoolboy prank or a flash of genius.
Awana was shown a yellow card at the time although his offence was unclear.
Coach Srecko Katanec was also unimpressed, immediately substituting the player after the penalty, just 10 minutes after sending him on.
"This is not respect, okay? I am unhappy. My reaction was normal - I took him out," he said.
Team manager Ismael Rashed also hinted at further sanctions largely for showing disrespect to the opposition.
The player has since expressed remorse for his actions possibly for fear of jeopardising his career.
Rashed added: "The player, he is very sorry. He said: 'I did wrong. I made a mistake. Tell the team I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry I did this thing'."
It requires a cool head to kick the ball from the spot facing the goal. Undoubtedly it requires greater skill to aim it accurately virtually blindfolded somewhat similar to a scissor kick.
Sport is about entertainment and football would be pretty mundane if the likes of Awana did not come along once in a while.
His backheel kick may be something akin to a reverse sweep in cricket.
It is moot whether he showed disrespect to the opposition with his audacious strike.
Lebanon coach Emile Rustom played down the incident when he said: "I didn't feel it was an insult and this is my attitude. This is a personal decision the player made and it has nothing to do with the way the UAE plays its football."
He has certainly earned the admiration of fans around the world though football pundits might beg to differ.
There is no ground for Awana to be punished for offending the opposition or rather outsmarting the goalkeeper with a perfectly legal strike albeit with his backheel.
It may be against the spirit of the game.
But a little bit of showmanship on occasion adds spice to the world of sport.
UAE penalty 'star'
escapes sanction
Earlier story: Is this the craziest
goal ever by any footballer?