In a post-match interview with reporters, Russian coach Fabio Capello blamed his team’s 1-1 draw with Algeria on a laser pointer fired at his goalkeeper during Thursday’s World Cup match.

"[Goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev] was blinded by the laser beam. There are pictures, and you can see that in the footage," he said. "About the lasers it is not an excuse. The goalkeeper was unable to do his job. The laser beam was in his face."

Video footage clearly shows Akinfeev being hit by a green laser moments before Algeria launched its corner kick and then scored its only goal of the game in the sixtieth minute.

FIFA, soccer’s official worldwide governing organization, already bans laser pointers from stadiums, but being so small, they're easy to smuggle in. Such incidents have been reported worldwide, especially frequently during European club matches.

In 2012, French site Foot01.com reported (Google Translate) that a fan of Olympique de Marseille who targeted Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) players was sentenced to one month in prison.

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo (who plays for Real Madrid) was targeted in 2013, and at least twice during the 2010-2011 season alone—the first time was at a match in Lyon. As punishment, the European football governing body, UEFA, punished (Google Translate) Olympique Lyonnais with a fine of 5,000 Swiss francs ($5,600) because its supporters had used laser beams.

Lionel Messi, the Argentine star player on Barcelona, was also famously struck by a green laser in 2011.

In 2008, two PSG fans were sentenced (Google Translate) to three months in prison for having fired a laser. They were forbidden from attending PSG matches and had to present themselves to police before each match.

Having failed to win any of its three games during the group stage, including the tie to Algeria, Russia has been eliminated from the 2014 World Cup—but it will host the next World Cup in 2018.

In the United States, lasers have not been a big issue in sports—for now—but the federal government has taken an increased interest in prosecuting laser strikes against aircraft, particularly in California.