Faiz's goal in-line with laws of physics: Dr Kairi

KUALA LUMPUR: The notion that 2016 Puskas Award finalist Mohd Faiz Subris' goal, which was deemed as 'defying the laws of physics', has been contradicted by National Sports Institute (ISN) chief executive officer Dr Mohd Khairi Zawi.

The goal marked history in Asian football, making the diminutive midfielder the first Asian player nominated among three finalists for the prestigious award by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (Fifa).

Khairi, when contacted by Bernama, said after seeing the replay, he found the kick was in-line with 'Newton's Third Law of Motion'.

He said the diversion of the ball which baffled Pahang goalkeeper Nasril Naurdin was caused by the 'magnus effect', taking place when the ball kicked by Mohd Faiz spinned, creating a force by and against the movement of the ball.

"Shots like that happen a lot in big footballing countries, and it is acceptable to the human mind as it meets the laws of physics, only that in Malaysia, it probably happened for the first time.
"Actually in Newton's Third Law of Motion, the mechanics of the movement of a ball like that has been described in detail.

"He (Faiz) just kicked the ball with the outside of his right foot to curve the ball, so as to produce a force known as 'magnus effect'," he said.

In the meantime, Khairi also explained the actual technique used by Mohd Faiz was the 'curveball' rather than 'knuckleball' as discussed by many people.

"The knuckleball technique does not result in a curve, but rather the ball will move in a 'zigzag' manner due to the impact of 'turbulence' resulting from buoyant force," he explains.

In the meantime, Mohd Khairi, who is a renowned expert in sports science, said to produce a kick like that, a football player must possess high technical skill, in addition to knowledge of physics.
"The footballer must fully master the kicking technique through adequate training, in addition to understanding the mechanics of how they wish to move the ball," said Khairi.

The 'magical' goal was scored by Mohd Faiz while helping his team Penang record a 4-1 victory over Pahang in a Super League match at Stadium Bandaraya, Penang, on Feb 16 last year.

Fifa, through its official website, www.fifa.com in December announced Mohd Faiz's goal was shortlisted as one of the world's three most beautiful goals of the year for the 2016 Puskas Award.

As of 10am today, the video of Mohd Faiz's goal uploaded on the FIFATV YouTube channel on Nov 21, has been viewed 2,267,219 times.

The number far exceeds that of his two main competitors, namely Johnath Marlone Azevedo da Silva of Brazil (1,411,472 views) and female player, Daniuska Rodriguez of Venezuela (1,106,190 views).

Local football fans have the opportunity to vote for Mohd Faiz's goal through Fifa's official website www.fifa.com before the winner is announced at the Fifa Football Awards in Zurich, Switzerland on Jan 9, based on the number of votes received. — Bernama
Vote for Faiz here :
http://www.fifa.com/the-best-fifa-football-awards/puskas-award/