He ambles in to the six-yard box, wrongfoots the keeper, before nonchalantly slotting the ball into the net to bag a crucial last-gasp equaliser. The 89th-minute goal that drew the Brazilian side Santacruzense level 1-1 with their rivals Atletico Sorocaba, would have been OK, had it not been scored by a ball boy.
In one of the most appalling refereeing decisions ever to have afflicted a football match, the referee in charge of the Paulista football federation cup tie, Silvia Regina de Oliveira, allowed the goal to stand. Even a three-minute on-pitch inquest failed to get to the bottom of the incident, with the linesman seemingly as oblivious to proceedings as the woman in the middle. It can only be assumed the officials thought the goalkeeper had put the ball in his own net, as all the other players were well on their way towards the other end of the pitch at the time.
Ms De Oliveira, who tasted glory earlier in her career by becoming the first woman to ever referee a match in the Brazilian national championship, now reportedly faces a well-earned suspension.
The possible influence of ball boys on the result of a match has been acknowledged before - we at Guardian Unlimited seem to remember the pundit Jimmy Hill highlighting how the alacrity of a ball boy in returning a ball in a Blackburn v Liverpool FA Cup tie had a pivotal influence - but we can't help thinking this Brazilian chap has gone a little bit too far.
