Strangest penalty ever? Croatia forward sent off for similar penalty to Messi's vs AC Milan | OneFootball

There are numerous ways to take a penalty kick in football.

There's the good old-fashioned short run-up and put your laces through it. You've also got the opportunity to follow in Paul Pogba's footsteps and take 97 small steps (slight exaggeration) before kicking the ball. Or if you're feeling really fancy, you can try a Panenka.

What you can't do, however, is go to take your kick, and then pause before eventually making contact with the ball. As Dinamo Zagreb striker Bruno Petkovic found out on Wednesday.

Leading 1-0 heading into the final minutes of their league game with Istra 1961, Dinamo were awarded a penalty, and the chance to wrap up all three points.

Petkovic stepped up, and went to strike the ball, but then delayed his kick before clipping the ball calmly into the net once the goalkeeper had already dived to the ground.

The referee was having none of it, and immediately brandished a yellow card, as reported by The Sun. The problem for Petkovic was that he had already been booked, and so a red card swiftly followed.

The 27-year-old could hardly believe what had happened, but had to accept the decision and trudge off the pitch.

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Watch the extraordinary incident play out in the video below...

Petkovic's controversial penalty technique evokes memories of Lionel Messi doing a similar thing against AC Milan in the Champions League back in 2011.

Much like Petkovic, Messi waited for the goalkeeper, who on this occasion was Christian Abbiati, to move, and then made a full swing of his leg to stroke the ball into the unguarded side of the net.

It all seems a little harsh, or in Petkovic's case, very harsh. Then again, there is an easy solution for the Croatia international: next time, don't try to be too clever, just run up and smash it as hard as you can and hope for the best!

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