An own goal is an event in competitive goal-scoring sports (such as association football or hockey) where a player scores on their own side of the playing area rather than the one defended by the opponent. Since own goals are often added to the opponent's score, they are often an embarrassing blunder for the scoring player, but in certain sports are occasionally done for strategic reasons.
In some parts of the world, the term has become a metaphor for any action that backfires on the person or group undertaking it, sometimes even carrying a sense of "poetic justice". During The Troubles, for instance, it acquired a specific metaphorical meaning in Belfast, referring to an IED (improvised explosive device) that detonated prematurely, killing the person making or handling the bomb with the intent to harm others.
A player trying to throw a game might deliberately attempt an own goal. Such players run the risk of being sanctioned or banned from further play.
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