Scotland star Scott McTominay to be given award for record-breaking overhead kick

Scott McTominay is to be presented with an award for his sensational strike which sent Scotland to the World Cup.

The midfielder's overhead kick is a world record-breaking goal, due to the height of the ball at the moment of impact.

The 29-year-old, who is 6ft 3ins tall, was a staggering 8ft 3ins off the ground when he made contact with the ball.

Experts from Guinness World Records were examining the strike against Denmark in November to see if he should be given a Guinness World Record gong.

After a review by the organisation's Records Management Team, Guinness said he would not be receiving a trophy as similar accolades had not been given to other players previously.

But fans association the Scottish Football Union will present him with an award for the goal to mark it as a world record.

Andy Smith, Chair of the Scottish Football Union, said it would have been "tremendous" if McTominay, who plays for Italian side Napoli, had been recognised officially.

And the former Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Spartans player said his organisation will present McTominay with an award of their own so his achievement doesn't go unrecognised.

He said: "Guinness World Records 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 official world record hopes.

"In the meantime, we're going to get an award made for him and we will present it to him when we can.

"It was a spectacular strike, it was of huge significance to the country, and it is a world record - nobody has ever done what he has.

"The least we can do is give him something to mark how special it was."

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

But online soccer sleuths calculated the ball was 2.53m - 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".

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.