Strangest football rule? Joe Hart had to explain bizarre Premier League incident in 2014 | OneFootball

Joe Hart is one of the greatest Premier League goalkeepers of all time.

The former England number one might have seen his career decline at a staggering rate of knots when Pep Guardiola arrived at Manchester City, but there was no denying the brilliance of his peak years.

Besides, we are talking about the man with the joint-most Premier League Golden Glove awards in history with his four wins across 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2014/15 only matched by Petr Cech.

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Hart's knowledge of the game

And one of the key contributors to Hart's success as one of the world's best goalkeepers in the early 2010s, as with any high-achieving footballer, was his intelligence and footballing IQ.

Hart might not have had the footwork that Guardiola was looking for at the Etihad Stadium, but he certainly couldn't have any complaints about the City legend when it comes to his understanding of the game.

Besides, Premier League boffins might remember an incident during Queens Park Rangers vs Manchester City in 2014 that demonstrated that Hart has a better knowledge of the sport's laws than most.

Strange football rules

Even the most seasoned of supporters and professional players can find themselves baffled by football's rules from time to time because there are always unique circumstances that can lead to quirky outcomes.

You only have to look at a question on The Chase about direct free-kicks going into a team's own goal resulting in a corner and not a change to the scoreline baffling Bradley Walsh to see what we're on about.

And the aforementioned incident in QPR vs City was so confusing that Hart actually had to explain the rules to Charlie Austin after the game so that he could understand why an earlier goal had been chalked off.

Bizarre football rule comes into play

That's because Austin was left bewildered when he latched on to a scuffed free-kick from Hart, lashed the ball into the back of the net, wheeled away in celebration and discovered that it couldn't stand.

Why? Because of the 'two kick' rule. Duh... right?

Of course it isn't obvious, but the fact that Hart scuffed his kick in a manner that he actually made two touches before the ball found its way to Austin to score changed everything.

According to the BBC, the laws of the game stated that free-kicks taken by the defending team in their own penalty area must be retaken if the first touch doesn't leave the box.

Had Hart played a free-kick with two touches anywhere else on the pitch, the free-kick wouldn't have been ordered for a retake, but rather would have been awarded as an indirect free-kick to the opposition.

Hart said of the bizarre incident at the time: "I knew the rules and touched it twice. I'd touched it twice with my feet obviously. It's a mistake and not ideal but rules are rules.

"I was looking at Mangala to pass to him because I was aware of Charlie and it hit my right foot and left foot and went straight to him."

According to the Daily Mail, Graham Poll elucidated the situation by explaining: "Hart's free kick was required to leave the box before the ball could be considered back in play - so by touching it for a second time, he prevented the ball from becoming live."

Hart explains the rule to Austin and Green

However, Austin wasn't so familiar with the quirkier laws of the game and footage that has amassed over four million views shows Hart explaining them to both him and Rob Green at full-time.

It just goes to show that you can live and breathe football every day of your life as either a fan or player and that doesn't stop the odd remarkable situation from popping up that makes you question your own knowledge.

We hadn't seen the 'two kick' rule beforehand, we haven't seen it since and who knows if we'll ever see it again, but that's what made the incident at Loftus Road as bizarre as it was.