Miscellaneous desk
< October 27	<< Sep \| October \| Nov >>	Current desk >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Miscellaneous Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is a transcluded archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

October 28

Curiosity football goal

Is it possible that before they were abolished from the major leagues and competitions, football goals with elbow supports (see the link below the request) were still in common use in, let's say, such poor countries, where they could not afford more advanced systems? For example, I have seen Greek league matches from the 1980s, and 95% of Greek pitches adopted such goals. Can this reasoning of mine be feasible? Thank you very much. https://www.google.it/search?q=porta+reggirete&sxsrf=AOaemvICHcKZ7lY1x5pha4uVw-tHiRs5Cg:1635366468436&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiyt7brtuvzAhWFC-wKHe3SDFkQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1964&bih=985&dpr=0.9#imgrc=q_pE7d-UBks3yM — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.41.97.254 (talk) 09:53, 28 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

By elbow supports, do you mean "stanchion", a word much-beloved of football commentators? I'm still not sure what you're asking... you seem to be asking if it's possible that goals that you've seen have existed, but surely you already know the answer? --Dweller (talk) Old fashioned is the new thing! 10:21, 29 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

My best guess is that this refers to the triangular handle-like backward extensions at the top of the goalposts seen in the first image of Scoring in association football, reminiscent of a person's arm shape when they raise an arm and place the hand, palm down, on the top of their head. Who abolished them when? Was it because of a rule or safety recommendation issued by FIFA? Of course it is possible that they were in common use before they were abolished, and if they were seen in common use in league matches, not only is this a possibility, but also an actual fact. --Lambiam 12:40, 29 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Standardization of equipment such as goal posts, etc. is a relatively recent phenomenon both in football and other top-level sports. Equipment that would be non standard today was used within living memory. There was a famous controversy about a European Cup final regarding whether the shape of the goal posts (square and not round) affected the game's outcome (see Hampden Park square goalposts). This was before such minutia was strictly regulated. Xuxl (talk) 12:37, 29 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

It should be worth noting that even today, the dimensions of the Football pitch are not standardized. There are minimum and maximum x and y dimensions, but there is some variability allowed, even at the highest levels of the sport. This is unlike sports like basketball, american football, or ice hockey, where the dimensions are fairly rigidly standardized. --Jayron 32 16:51, 29 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

In some of the older hockey arenas, the width and length were not necessarily the same as the recommended standard. I recall in some old NHL guides they would list the stats for each venue, including the dimensions of the rink itself. The one constant was that it had to be 60 feet from goal line to blue line. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:07, 29 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Curiously, that "60 feet" is no longer true. In those days the 200-foot length of the rink was divided into 10 feet behind each goal line and 60 feet for each of the three zones. More recently all four lines were moved away from the center of the rink, as shown here. Also, international games played outside North America use a wider rink. Again, see that diagram. --184.144.99.72 (talk) 06:12, 30 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

This manufacturer calls them "elbow net supports" or "elbow brackets". Neither the FIFA Laws of the Game for goals nor the English FA's goalpost safety guidelines mentions that they are banned at any level. Alansplodge (talk) 17:49, 29 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

That's right, that's what they're called. These soccer goals have now been supplanted by more modern systems. I don't know, maybe it has nothing to do with the economic resources of a country or a federation, everyone at the time adopted the systems they preferred most, usually everything was the prerogative of the managers of the structure. Hypothetically they could adopt any system, but if in 95% of the Greek stadiums there were football goals with elbow supports, it means that they were simply the "preferred" systems and therefore adopted those. We can agree on this, I guess. This is my discussion. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.41.96.198 (talk) 21:00, 29 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

By the way, you can usually remove most of the fields from such long links; this gives the same result: https://www.google.it/search?q=porta+reggirete&tbm=isch —Tamfang (talk) 02:51, 1 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]