Overview:
FIFA ruled Lenny Joseph’s apparent World Cup shot an “own goal,” but Haitians still celebrate the historic moment. For them, that one goal in the 2026 World Cup was all that mattered. And it opened the gate for one more.
ATLANTA — Striker Lenny Joseph’s backkick shot, a historic moment in the Haiti team’s 2026 World Cup run that spread euphoria to fans across the globe, is being footnoted in FIFA’s official record books as an ‘own goal.’ The organization credited the goal to a Morocco player soon after Wednesday night’s match ended 4-2.
When Joseph flicked Jean-Kévin Duverne‘s inch-perfect cross toward goal with an audacious backheel in the 10th minute of the tournament’s last match-up in Group C, Haitian fans erupted inside Atlanta Stadium and around the world. But after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review, FIFA ruled that Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou’s touch redirected the ball into the net.
The goal was officially recorded as an own goal. It counts towards Haiti’s total of two goals, but denies Joseph what would have been his first World Cup goal.
FIFA’s ruling also sparked frustration among Haitian supporters, many of whom argued he deserved credit for creating the scoring play.
“The goal should belong to Lenny,” said Carl-Henri Valbrun, a Miami resident. “He controlled the ball brilliantly and finished it with his backheel.”
Jean Wilson Amorin, who drove from Nebraska to cheer on Les Grenadiers in Atlanta, questioned the decision. Like many Haitians, the VAR decision was about more than a disputed goal. It became the latest flashpoint in a World Cup marked by controversy for Les Grenadiers.
“Why can’t they give us a break?” Amorin said. “After everything Haiti has gone through in the World Cup, one of our players finally finds the net, lifts our spirits, and they credit the goal to the other team because of a deflection.”
Before the tournament even kicked off, FIFA had Haiti remove design elements that supporters said reflected the country’s revolutionary history and identity from its team jerseys — sparking accusations that the world’s soccer governing body was erasing Haitian heritage.
In the first match of the competition against Scotland, fans and some analysts questioned several officiating decisions they believed consistently went against Haiti. Erasing Joseph from the scoresheet because of a deflection, many supporters say, is another painful slight — one that denied the striker a place in Haiti’s World Cup record books.
Why FIFA ruled it an own goal
John Stephenson Octave, a FIFA-licensed referee who officiates in Haiti, said the decision comes down to the ball’s initial trajectory.
“Based on the ball’s trajectory after Joseph’s backheel, it was going wide,” Octave told The Haitian Times.
“Although Joseph made the first touch, it was not heading into the goal. The ball then struck the Moroccan goalkeeper’s back and deflected into the net.”
Under FIFA’s scoring guidelines, if Joseph’s shot had already been on target, he would have been credited with the goal even if it had deflected off the goalkeeper. Because the goalkeeper’s touch redirected the ball into the net, the goal was recorded as Bounou scoring against his own team.
History still made, pride still reigns
While Joseph’s name disappeared from the scoresheet, Haiti’s breakthrough on the soccer’s biggest stage did not.
Joseph was also denied the distinction of becoming the first Haitian player to score in a men’s World Cup since Emmanuel “Manno” Sanon famously scored against Italy in 1974. That milestone instead went to Wilson Isidor, who restored Haiti’s lead in the 44th minute with a powerful strike from about 30 meters.
Together, the two goals tied Haiti’s all-time 2026 World Cup total at two, matching the mark set during the country’s only previous appearance in 1974.
For many supporters, however, FIFA’s ruling cannot erase Joseph’s role in the successful play that fans much-hungered for. He will always be remembered as the player who ignited one of the most memorable moments in Haitian soccer history.
“We scored. That’s what matters,” Carlo Mezil, a Nebraska resident, said. “Whether FIFA gives it to Joseph or calls it an own goal, Haiti made history.”
Eliane Voltaire in Port-au-Prince agreed.
“After Haiti went blank in the first two matches, all we needed to celebrate was one goal before officially exiting the competition,” she said. “We got it after just 10 minutes of play, toe to toe with Morocco.”
