Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand has been given a Guinness World Record for the longest throw ever recorded in an official football match.
The 29-year-old shot-stopper currently plays in the Portuguese Primeira Liga for Boavista, on a season-long loan from Royal Antwerp.
His remarkable feat came back in a 2016 clash against South Korea where he shocked the footballing world while playing for his country.
Beiranvand took matters into his own hands by launching a mammoth throw that covered three-quarters of the pitch before kick-starting an Iranian counter-attack.
The javelin-like velocity he threw the ball with saw it bounce over the opposition defence and into the path of forward Vahid Amiri, who anticlimactically snatched his effort wide of the far post.
But five years on and Beiranvand’s 61.26m throw has finally been recognised as the official longest ever.
The plaque, which was handed to the goalkeeper on Thursday, read: “The further distance throw of a football (soccer ball) in a competitive match is 61m 26mm, (200 ft, 1.57in) and was achieved by Alireza Beiranvand (Iran) playing for Iran against South Korea at the Aradi Stadium, Tehran, Iran on 11 October 2016.”
Beiranvand is well-known for his mind-bendingly long throws and even launched an 80-yarder against Syria in September.
But he also reached hero-status in Iran for his more conventional goalkeeping skills, having saved Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty at the 2018 World Cup to secure Iran a point.
Beiranvand went on to concede just twice in a group that included Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
The goalkeeper’s story remarkably started with him sleeping rough in his home country and taking on various jobs which covered anything from pizza delivery driver to dress-maker.
He now has 49 caps for Iran and is set to feature at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as his side breeze through Asian qualification.
