50 Years On: The Iconic Panenka Penalty That Changed Football Forever

Fifty years have passed since one of football's most celebrated moments — the 1976 European Championship final played in Belgrade, where Czechoslovak midfielder Antonín Panenka invented the audacious chipped penalty kick that now bears his name. The June 20 anniversary marks half a century since Panenka coolly chipped the ball down the centre of the goal as the goalkeeper dived away, sealing Czechoslovakia's victory over West Germany in the shootout and giving birth to a technique that has since been replicated by some of the world's greatest players, including Zinedine Zidane and Andrea Pirlo. A notable detail revisited on the anniversary: had the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology existed in 1976, a foul in the build-up to play during that final might have altered the course of the match entirely — meaning the legendary Panenka moment might never have occurred. The 1976 final remains one of the most iconic matches in European Championship history, and Panenka's penalty is widely regarded as one of the most daring and influential acts in the history of the sport.