Trying to put off an opposing player as he prepares to take a penalty is nothing new but Bolton Wanderers player Stelios Giannakopoulos took the art to new extremes against Reading on Saturday.

When Reading’s Kevin Doyle lined up his spot kick with his side trailing 1-0, Giannakopoulos produced a white balloon from somewhere, placed it on the turf in front of him and as Doyle was about to strike the penalty, stamped on it. It didn’t work, mind. Doyle duly equalised, and Reading went on to win 3-1.

A caller to a BBC radio phone-in said he saw the Greek international Giannakopoulos blow up the balloon, which suggests an element of pre-planning rather than a spontaneous act of mischief. If so it could lead to a whole new meaning to “gamesmanship” with keepers bringing along a selection of props like clown masks or comedy rubber hands.

Then again, former Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar managed without any gimmicks, just his own comic talent. He famously did the “rubber legs” dance during Liverpool’s European Cup final penalty shoot-out against Roma in 1984, putting off Francesco Graziani so much that he blasted his kick over the crossbar, helping Liverpool land the trophy.

As the nerve-ends get frayed in the final weeks of the season it will be interesting to see what lengths players are prepared to go to get an edge.

Martyn Herman is a Reuters sports correspondent based in London