It's claimed Australia goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne threw his opposite number's bottle containing penalty instructions into the stands during his country's win against Peru.
Australia secured their spot at this year's World Cup in Qatar by beating Peru in a penalty shootout in the Middle Eastern nation on Monday evening. Neither team managed to score inside 120 minutes at the Al-Rayyan Stadium before the Aussies won 5-4 on penalties.
Redmayne, 33, was the hero for Australia. He was brought on for former Arsenal shot-stopper Mat Ryan in the 120th minute and saved Alex Valera's decisive penalty. The result means Graham Arnold's side have qualified for their fifth consecutive World Cup finals.
Fans on social media believe Redmayne chucked Pedro Gallese's bottle into the stands shortly before Australia's third penalty, which was scored by Craig Goodwin. Peru had made a promising start to the shootout, with Gallese saving Martin Boyle's first spot kick.
A video clip before Goodwin's penalty appears to show Gallese drinking some water and looking at his bottle. Redmayne is then seen throwing something over the advertising boards, although it's unclear exactly what the object was and how far he threw it.
One Twitter user insists Gallese's bottle was nowhere to be seen after that moment, while a spectator inside the stadium claims Redmayne threw the bottle into the stands.
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"I was at the match yesterday, and I think it has been overlooked that the Peru keeper had instructions written on his water bottle for penalties," tweeted the fan. "At the first chance Redmayne threw it into the stand behind the goal."
Regardless of whether Redmayne threw the water bottle into the stands, he has become an instant legend in Australia. The Sydney goalkeeper has spent his entire professional career in his homeland and won just his third senior cap on Monday evening.
Redmayne has enjoyed plenty of success in Australia, winning four A-League titles. The A-League is the highest level of domestic football in the country. Redmayne was named the A-League's Goalkeeper of the Year in 2019-20 for his efforts.
"He's a very good penalty saver and I did something that could affect them mentally," Arnold said when asked why he brought Redmayne on. "They were probably asking themselves the question, 'Why is this guy being brought on, he has to be good'.
"Maybe that was the reason they hit the post. It's a one per cent mental effort to trouble the Peru penalty takers. It was a risk but it worked out."
Redmayne added: "This idea was floated pre-selection that this might eventuate in these kind of circumstances and for the two or three weeks we've been here, I've kind of had that in my min. I've been working on a few things in training but at the end of the day it's a flip of the coin, it's either right or left. I'm no hero, I just played my role like everyone did tonight."
