11 Most Ridiculous Excuses For Losing Football Matches

8. "My Socks Were Too Rough"

Along with weather, ground conditions and frogs, the team's kit is another one of those areas that tends to get a lot of stick when a side are on the wrong end of a drubbing, making the life of mild-mannered kit men across the country unfathomably stressful. At Euro 2004, the Italians - who remember took exception to the balls at the World Cup in 2010 - dazzled the world with a mind-numbing opening 0-0 draw with Denmark (also not a fan of round balls), and promptly blamed various elements of their footwear. Both Francesco Totti and Gennaro Gattuso claimed their boots simply weren't right, the former saying it was like having his feet on boiling sand, and the latter claiming his feet were "smushed" - presumably suggesting that grown men are not capable of choosing or testing their own shoes anymore - and Christian Panucci claimed the thread of his socks was too rough.