more football guff it was a northern irishman that invented the penalty The roots of historical events have a knack of being obliterated as the years go by, perhaps because the inventor and his contemporaries were not fully aware of the impact their creation would have over the years. Sometimes, through a stroke of luck, somebody comes up with a missing link to complete the chain of events. In 1932 an obituary appeared in a Northern Ireland paper in Milford, County Armagh, reflecting on the life of a highly respected local citizen and businessman. In it, a certain William McCrum was lauded as a brilliant scholar, storyteller and outstanding sportsman. Nothing unusual about that if it had not contained the reference to the fact that the deceased had been the inspiration behind one of the most momentous changes to the Laws of the Game. It was William McCrum who, in 1890, submitted a proposal for "a penalty kick" to the Irish Football Association. Twelve months later it was approved by the International Football Association Board which incorporated it in the Laws of the Game. fucking hell, at last summat we can be proud of, non of the beating the hosts in spain 82.....we didn't win it did we.
