Scotland star Scott McTominay strikes out with world record bid as Guinness 'bottle it'

Scotland hero Scot McTominay has struck out in a bid to become an official world record holder.

Experts from Guinness World Records were examining his sensational overhead kick goal against Denmark.

But after a review by the organisation's Records Management Team, Guinness said he would not be recognised as having scored the highest overhead kick goal ever.

They said they would not present him with the award as similar accolades had not been given to other players previously.

No official record of the impact height of a ball during an overhead kick is held.

But fans were quick to go online and present the calculations behind their claims for McTominay's November 18 strike being a new world record.

The soccer sleuths calculated the ball was 253cm - 8ft 3.6ins - off the ground at the point of impact.

The Maroon Report also stated it was "the highest contact ever recorded" and the "longest measured hang time ever".

Andy Smith, Chair of fans association the Scottish Football Union, had also called for McTominay to be given the award, saying it would be "tremendous" if it would be officially recognised.

But the former Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Spartans player hit out at the news Guinness have denied McTominay a gong.

He said: "Guinness have bottled it. They had the chance to make history and make him the first player to be given this kind of award.

"Everyone knows it's a world record in its own right and he should have an award to mark it.

"It was an absolutely incredible goal on its own but the significance of it helping get us to our first World Cup in 28 years makes it even more remarkable.

"They said they would be happy to revisit it if FIFA confirmed it as a record, so fingers crossed this might not actually be the end of the line for McTominay's world record hopes."

A Guinness World Records spokesperson said: "Unfortunately, this one isn’t something we’d be able to recognise as an official Guinness World Records title.

"As goals of this nature haven’t historically been tracked in a consistent way across modern football, there isn’t a reliable basis for confirming it as the 'highest ever' with any certainty.

"Any potential record would also depend on having precise verification from multiple camera angles to calculate the height accurately - and even then, it would likely remain an estimate.

"Without an authoritative ruling from a governing body such as FIFA to establish it as a confirmed benchmark, we wouldn’t be able to approve it as a record.

"If that position changes and a governing body does formally verify it in future, we’d be very happy to revisit."

Other notable overhead kicks include former Real Madrid attacker Cristiano Ronaldo and Nigeria forward Paul Ebere Onuachu.

In September, Onuachu was hailed for having set a new world football record by netting for Turkish side Trabzonspor against Karagümrük in a Turkish Super Lig match.

The Sun Nigeria said the impact height was 2.41m, while Ronaldo's against Juventus in the 2018 Champions League was 2.38 meters, according to analysis by Spanish sports publication Marca.