VIDEO: 'Worst thing I've ever seen in football' - Guiseley have previous for controversial lack of sportsmanship

In their match against Braintree, Guiseley scored what can only be described as an unfortunate goal.

Braintree keeper Tom King was expecting to get the ball back from Guiseley’s Ollie Norbury, after it had been put out of play to allow a player to receive treatment.

Norbury was wayward with his chip back to the keeper however, sending it high over him into the net.

Not a problem, you’d think, Guiseley will just let Braintree walk the ball into the net to make amends.

Not so.

Referee Tom Nield asked the question, and Guiseley boss Mark Bower said his side would not yield.

To try and benefit from this kind of situation is shameful.

Braintree boss Danny Cowley said: “It was the worst thing that I’ve seen on a football pitch.”

But it’s not the first time Guiseley have been guilty of this.

Six years ago, Guiseley were taking on Worksop Town in the UniBond Northern Premier League, when something very similar took place.

Worksop’s Steve Hawes went down injured, and almost everyone on the pitch stopped as his team-mate Rob Austin half heartedly played the ball back in the direction of goalkeeper Jon Kennedy.

With the Worksop team static, looking to the referee to allow the physio onto the pitch, Guiseley’s Steve Burton nipped in and rolled the ball into the unguarded net – and celebrated.

Tigers were furious, believing the game was to stop to allow Hawes to be treated.

And when Guiseley manager Steve Steve Kittrick refused to let Worksop walk in a goal, the mood turned very ugly.

Bad sportsmanship or win at all costs?

The lesson to learn perhaps is that you cannot always expect the right thing to happen on the football pitch, and like boxers are told, protect yourself at all times.

But it would be a shame to see teams putting the ball out of play as high up the pitch as possible, so they don’t concede in the manner Braintree did on Saturday.

Or maybe we need referees to take the situation entirely in hand and just stop play every time a player goes down – which of course opens the game up to even more feigning of injuries.

Alternatively, teams could just show the most basic level of sportsmanship, and avoid this kind of shameful controversy.