That pitch was mostly sand, but I imagine it was paradise when compared to the mud heaps so common back then. Imagine Besty playing on today's pitches and with the protection afforded to modern players. He'd be unstoppable, or, I should say, even more unstoppable. TOTAL LEGEND!

Always said it was a goal. A brilliant goal, at that.. I’m English, but I always supported Northern Ireland when George was playing!

WHEN YOU BEAT A GREAT GOALKEEPER LIKE GORDON BANKS AND TOO FAST FOR THE CAMERAMAN, YOU'RE A GENIUS. RIP BEAUTIFUL TO THE IRISH GENIUS GEORGE BEST ❤ LOVE FROM ENGLAND ❤

George really suits his name ! A football Legend !

George Best is one of the best examples of all game dominative player. On the same "shelf" with Di Stefano, Maradona, Cryiff Grigory Fedotov (forward from 1930-es).

The greatest footballer ever and the greatest goalkeeper ever

Absolutely a goal!...and VAR would’ve proven that it was completely out of Bank’s hands when Best got his boot to it...he was just too quick thinking for Banks!...and to nod it in was brilliant!...and I watched that game as I am an English man!...you didn’t have to be Irish to drool over the MAGIC OF GEORGE BEST....

George best was the first player i saw that made the game look fun and great to play. Even if anyone made a mistake george would smile. He made me want to play the game alot more than i did. In an area with alot of bullies that were shite, and it ruins so many natural talented boys. Like a team with 5 brothers in it. Others tried to get me away from all them and that and into a team that had contacts. But i didnt listen.

As a young man i was there great goal as best says the watched Banks and was waiting his opportunity. 🇬🇧👍

George Best didnt 'humiliate' Gordon Banks who was an incredible goal keeper. They were both legends in their own right and should be remembered as such.

I watched it live on TV and cheered that goal by Best. Most Anglofans still reckon it was a genius goal even 52 years on!

Great upload, love these old vids of legends like Best, Cruyff, Muller etc... Keep up the good work 👍

He was the most exciting player with the ball at his feet

I vividly remember watching this game as a teenager and knew straight away that it was, a legitimate goal. I mean, why else would Bank's have scrambled, then turned back and dived for the ball? Georgie was just being Georgie. The Best. R.I.P Georgie Best ⚽🙏🏻

Had the goal stood it would be just one of many in George’s catalogue. My dad described this goal to me as a kid in the 70s. Getting ruled out has given it that little bit extra for us to cherish.

I was in the stand that day and even today after being a FIFA Referee myself I cannot see why George was penalised.

George best era un genio

My first ever league game was Liverpool v Stoke City, Banks in goal. Next day he had the accident which ended his career.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that goal.

Yeaah.. Always loving britain football. ❤ La bise from Ardèche, France...and allez les verts.

What a legend

George Best was my hero when I was a lad and i remember watching this and thinking what a goal! Unfortunately The Laws of the Game state an indirect free kick is awarded if a player prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from the hands or kicks or attempts to kick the ball when the goalkeeper is in the process of releasing it. That's why it was disallowed.

What a player!! Today he’d be on the 100 million value or more.

When is a goal not a goal. When the Ref sees it differently from what I see. Anyway it’s undoubtably the greatest goal ‘never’ scored! R.I.P. George and thanks for the memories.

I take it the ref disallowed it because he had never seen it done before. Perfectly legitimate goal.

That goal should have stood. Piece of genius quick thinking. I can imagine a lot of pro's being annoyed with Best, trying to score from a lot of corner kicks and acute angles. Wasted so many opportunities.

Best had watched footage of Banks and knew how he kicked the ball from his hands. Robbed of a perfectly good goal, the man was a genius.

Goal all day long. And I'm English and Banks was my favourite keeper.

I can still remember the day on grandstands football focus when george best was the guest when bob wilson was the interviewer and analist on the show for a few years. It was in 1982 and i was age just 9, and they showed that goal that best scored here, and without any ov them saying a word just as best was about to be intruduced by bob. And i tbh didnt know what to think at first? As i had never seen any player do this before. So i was laughing at the cheek ov it and the clever fast thinking plus how fast george best managed to do it as he watched banks like an eagle slightly moving from side to side to try and get a clear kick at the ball then george struck like a viper, then he ran for it with banks chasing after him while trying to grabb his top or anything to stop him as george headed it into the net. It was just like watching two ov my friends in school with one chasing after the other to stop him. I was football mad at this age and time, so what happend was just so funny but brilliant, but was it a goal? i thought? I hadent a clue, Then asked my dad and older brother who saw it way back in 1971 when it happend live on tv. Then again when i saw it with them in 1982. They both aggreed it was a legit goal, at the time and it still was. But i wasnt sure as at the time and age just 9, it was really down to how much you knew the rules ov the game. And i just knew the basics like all kids my age, plus it happend so fast and unexpected. So when my friend got that goal on a video tape he sayed to me its clearly a goal, just watch as banks goes to kick the ball, then watch as he throws the ball into the air, then watch best as he kicks it over banks head and doesnt even touch him as he does it plus the ball is hardly 3 feet in the air. So as banks chases best its really banks that fouls best by trying to hold him back. And its all so true. Every one knows that IS a goal. After the game when the referee was asked why he didnt give the goal he said it was becouse he had never seen that done before? But what he is really saying is that he didnt know the rule or rules ov the game. Best did the same 3 weeks later to pat jeninngs and the goal was given. But even in 1971 for a proffesional referee to not even know the rules in a home international game is pathetic, or was pathetic. George always said the referees were very bad in the english leauge, that some decisions often left him speechless. As if it was a joke. That is one ov the greatest goals you will ever see in football. The audacity ov it and timing and speed, skill, and speed of thought, tenacity, flair, it had the lot. Plus a loved the way best was hitting long passes with both feet, and even when on the turn and with that strong wind, a noticed how he knew how to use the wind when against it. He was the greatest.

Used to love the home International games, couldn't tell who would win, they were so competitive

Best...what a player! And Banks...what a keeper! Those were the days!

Real, real shame that he could not get himself fit for the world cups in 1982 and 1986. What a player George Best was and even though he would have been in his thirties he would still have been a revalation and an inspiration not only for the team but for the world. And on the goal that never was that again shows how obtuse officials were and are today. Can you imagine that decision with VAR?

Great music

Definitely, 100%, a fair goal. I reckon the referee, for whom I have some sympathy (not that much of course), didn't see it properly and assumed that it was impossible to get the ball like that without fouling Gordon Banks. This would of course normally have been true, but this was George Best, in the midst of the last great year of his career. I remember so well watching it live on TV with my grandfather, who was old and ill and more a rugby man, and even he jumped up shouting that it was a goal! PS I wonder what VAR would have made of it?

What a work rate Simply the best.... better than all the rest 👍 had to turn the music off

Best is genius! Banks is the huge goalkeeper!

var please best said he watched players goalis all the time knew banks bounced it 3 times...a truely great player

George was the best. What ball skills not seen in this era. RIP football.

I can remember when I was a boy and George Best scored that goal, and my dad said to me that the only reason that goal never stood was that it was scored against Banks. I thought that had better mention my dad is English.

Legend

Did George look better in red, blue or green? He just always looked great.

George Best was a diamond.

Sorry to be pedantic but it was Northern Ireland, not Ireland, as Brian Moore kept calling them. But George is my favourite player of all time.

It seems my comment about this has been deleted for no reason. To repeat; The title of this piece is ludicrous- Best didn't ''humiliate'' Banks, he commited a foul against him and was penalised for it.

England fan here. I remember watching this as it hapened, the goal should have been allowed, nothing wrong with what George did.

Saw both Best and Banks playing for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

My favourite player all time❤❤❤❤❤❤

Yes, George had tricks and dribbling but he also had vision and could pass the ball very well.

The goal was rightly disallowed. Law 12 says 'A goalkeeper cannot be challenged by an opponent when in control of the ball with the hands'. The rules then (and now) were that raising a foot in that way when a keeper is about to clear the ball is a foul. The fact that there was no contact is irrelevant. If Banks had followed through with his kick then he would have broken his ankle. Having played in goal in local league football this rule is one that you remember! Not sure that the title is great. Both Best and Banks were fantastic players.

which music at the beginning?

Great background music too... nice Jazz... Which song is that ?

I THINK IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A GOAL TOO BUT RULE BACK THEN SAID YOU CANT RAISE YOUR FOOT AT THE GOALIÈ

Is there any section of the park best didnt play in?

the best player never to play in a world cup and as good as anybody that did for me they should have took him to the world cup finals 1982 he played great football the year before if picked he would have got himself fit he may have done a rodger miller

I was there guys and it was a goal never touched banks and the ball was out of his hands ....I'm english but that day supported n.ireland....

Great goal simply the best 😂

I think it was a legal goal in regards to the rules back then. Today it wouldn’t stand.

Will there ever be another

Best a complete two footed player!

100% a goal. Once the ball was thrown in the air it was free.

Cual seria el 11 de irlanda del Norte de todos los tiempos?

A meant to say. Thats the thing about the true greatest players in the world. Like george best, maradona, pele and beckenbuaer. They can all play in midfield and still be the best player on the park. Becouse they have the drive, skill, vision, two footed, brave, hard, amazing control, not just with the ball but also over there own body, timing, how to slow a game down to walking pace, george did it here a few times and when he made them look daft. And up front well what can you say? Banks waved no goal, so why then did he chase after best like a madman while grabbing at his top to then dive in to save it? But he already knew it wouldnt count, haahaa. Banks couldnt even look up becouse he knew the tv cameras were on him, he just looked down at the ground, even as best walked past him and bobby moore. It was a goal. But not all great forwards can play in midfield the way these guys i mentiond could. Best, maradona and pele were the 3 greatest i have seen!

Hardly a humiliation but good on him

I think Georgie was already declining here

The greatest player ever.

Nothing wrong with Georges goal. Goalkeepers have always been a protected species as far as referees are concerned.

What a sublimely skilled player George Best was…. D*mn that ref for disallowing the goal.

Banks always got protection.. look at Stoke v Arsenal fa cup semi final

It might have been humiliating if he’d pulled Bank’s shorts down. Seriously, if Bestie had been eligible to perform for a nation with a top international team, he might have been regarded in the same light as Pele.

Could you do some Glenn Hoddle compilations?

Best ever

Var would have given a goal!

When he came to Ipswich you just wanted to get the ball away from him

Those were the days when you could challenge the goalkeeper. If Best had been English they might have won another WC. He never had a supporting cast in the NI team. Almost like Ronaldo and Portugal.

The music is clashing the subject

So how did Best "humiliate" Banks ?

The playing style of Best was not like Cruyff, Maradona or Pelè. I see him more similar to Garrincha.

Bit of advice from an 'oldie' Harms... do your history mate! Best start at the beginning with Francis Peabody Magoun jr and his 'History of Football from the Beginnings to 1871'. Magoun was a deeply influential Harvard Professor in English and Medievel Literature who would never have made the heinous mistake of calling football 'soccer'! His definitive, historic and literal study of 'football' going back to the 8/9th century is a must read for those of us who really should know the authentic history of our beautiful game... old geezer rant over.... & out! Good luck!

When is suffering a 1-0 defeat a "humiliation" for the opponent...?

That looked a goal to me.. Best was the best(he was the Messi of the 1970' for sure!)

Mejores 3 jugadores de la historia de irlanda del Norte?

George Best had scored a perfect GOAL!! It's a great GOAL .... but was disallowed for no apparent reason by a very incompetent and dumb referee!! Shameful!!

establishment v anti-establishment ....

George Best kinda spent his whole footballing career, showboating, thats probably why Pele said that George Best was the best player he had ever seen.

I know he mainly played in the red of Man United . But didn’t he look great in the green.

Nice Irish strip.

England x irelannd????

Wtf the music ?

This a player who was playing more in midfield as he had to drop back for n,ireland as they wernt that great. And you can see how great a player he is just with the way he controls it then makes a great pass with any foot, his vision and skill and balance was second to none. You can see how great this man is no matter what position he plays in. Hes still the best player on the park. How many players can anyone say that about. Not that many, if any at all. Even up front chasing a long ball then bang goal?, best is better than messi, in the air then bang goal? best still beats messi, in short best is just a better player. All round greatest ever complete player to touch a ball. Messi is no where near a complete player, and he isnt as fast as best was. In full flow messi doesnt come near best. Maradona is the second best i have seen, becouse he too was magic in any position, especialy midfield. Pele comes third but best had more flair, he was harder and braver too. But beckenbauer can play in any position too, but isnt as great as best up front. And for me thats where it stops. But theres nothing better than watching a player thats so good with both feet that you cant even tell wich foot is his natural one, like best. Even at just 25 he looks a bit heavier here and maybe not as fast. Yes he was still the fastest man on the park but he was faster than that. I laughed a peter storey swinging around while holding on to bests top and trying to pull best down with him, and the referee thought that was ok? Mmm. Against england they always have 12 players especialy playing in britain like these old games. Best was getting angry and no wonder, by then he was used to england getting everything, if england had did that goal against big pat it would have been given, and george knew that. George did it 2 weeks later for man utd against spurs and big pat and the goal was given?

Ferenc bene did it bettet against benfica in 75. After his goal by head the uefa changef the rules😂 Up celtics Greeting from hungary

He wasn’t all that. His passing game was poor. Not many EPL teams would play him today.

It should have stood

Even George Best is/ was not allowed to do that to Banks and England .Think about it World side beaten by little old North Ireland 🙏🤣🤣👶 it was so in those times .Can't beat England .. 🤣🤣🙏☘️💚

There are those that will always say this was a legitimate goal. And then there are those that actually know the rules! Trust me, as an ex class 1 referee for 10 years, it was an offence and the award of a free kick was correct. No arguments....end of......

The goal was valid but where is the "humiliation" of Banks? Best did no wonder dribble or anything to beat the goalie hands down.

Great goal but nothing humiliating about it. Just a click-bait (worked for me)

In this video, Best had over 70% incorrect passes, no shots on goal except that irregular goal, unproductive dribbling, and the author talks about humiliating Banks?!

George wasn't the best he was the greatest ever British player

I`ve seen probably all Best`s games here on KZfaq and still can`t believe how BAD he was in a passing game! Remarkably inaccurate, especially in comparison with Di Stefano, Pele, Cruyff, Platini or Zico. Moreover, he was so slow and had such a poor acceleration, that it made impossible for him even to use a classic Stanley Matthews feint which made Garrincha a superstar. Grossly overrated and unbelievably egoistic winger

He humiliated himself more times than he humiliated his opponents.