WORLD CUP STORIES: A GOLDEN GOAL?

Scoring a goal has been described as an orgasmic experience, and anyone who has played football at any level can understand that. Imagine doing it at the World Cup Finals, in front of a watching television audience of millions of people, and knowing that you have become an instant hero back in your country.

Now throw one more thing into the mix. The goal you score is no ordinary goal. It gets voted by FIFA as the sixth greatest goal of the century. USA 94, Saudi Arabia v Belgium, a match played in Washington. Five minutes on the clock - in temperatures of 40 degrees centigrade, and this happens:



A golden goal? It took Saudi Arabia through to the second round, yes. But for the goalscorer Saeed Al-Owairan, it was the beginning of a nightmare.

On returning to Riyadh, King Fahd presented Al-Owairan with a luxury car and he discovered that he had become an overnight celebrity, for whom it seemed people would do anything. The lure of celebrity status and the lifestyle that can accompany it was too much for Al-Owairan. Certain aspects of the western-style nightlife that he started to enjoy were strictly forbidden by the strict Islamic laws that the monarchy of Saudi Arabia adhere to.

Al-Owairan admitted himself that the impact of his goal against Belgium was very much a double-edged sword. The final straw was when he was discovered by Saudi police reveling during Ramadan in early 1996, and a year-long ban from competitive football followed plus a jail sentence which lasted about six months.

Is there a moral to this story? Well, there are certainly goals, and then there are 'Goals'. Goals don't only change football matches and sporting history - they can change lives as well. Diego Maradona is another man who knows how true that is. And the most tragic example of that would have to be the Colombian player Andres Escobar - but that's another World Cup story for another day.