Policeman scores for Gibraltar in 1-0 upset of Celtic

In case you missed it, Tuesday was host to one of the great soccer upsets of all-time.

The Gibraltar-based semi-pro team Lincoln Red Imps knocked off Scottish giants Celtic, 1-0, in the home leg of a Champions League qualifier. Champions pits all European pro and semi-pro teams against each other, so that a small team might win the championship of Europe. Gibraltar might be the new Iceland.

Celtic is a traditional powerhouse, having previously won a European Cup, a national team tournament.

Red Imps’ winning goal was scored by a full-time policeman. As incredible as those facts were, there were a couple of notes that underscore just how big an underdog the Red Imps truly were: Two of the players on the sidelines in Imps uniforms were 17 and 18, respectively. Gibraltar is a British territory of only a few square kilometres at the tip of Spain and the Iberian Peninsula.

No, neither Leon Clinton nor Leon Payas got into the match. Still, the fact that a 17-year-old Leon Clinton was one of the main midfield reinforcements available speaks to how relatively threadbare the Red Imps club is.

It was the biggest matchup in Red Imps history, and Clinton was one substitution away from jogging on to the field.

Yes, he has plenty of talent. Still, Clinton is still 17! There’s no doubt that both Clinton and Payas would have loved to get in the game, though that didn’t keep them from having a great time. Just check out Payas’ Twitter timeline for all the proof you’ll ever need.