Top 10 Plays of the World Football Weekend

Leo Messi kept scoring, Real Madrid got away with one and the title race in England took yet another twist.

And that's just the start. It was another exciting weekend of world football, and to mark the occasion, we've rounded up 10 of the best plays from around the world, right here in one spot.

But while Messi once again brought the sublime, not every play in this list was quite so transcendent.

What does that mean? You'll have to read on to find out.

The Goal That Wasn't

By now you've heard about Clint Hill's goal that wasn't for QPR against Bolton on Saturday.

The incident happened in the 19th minute, when Hill headed over the line before Bolton keeper Adam Bogdan punched it back out. The referee waved play on, but video evidence clearly shows how wrong he was.

QPR lost the match 2-1, so Hill's goal would have been valuable. Not surprisingly, the goal that wasn't has turned into the latest rallying call for goal-line video technology.

If QPR are relegated at the end of the season, the non-goal could become even more controversial.

The Handball That Wasn't

You've seen the goal that wasn't. How about the handball that didn't happen?

In the video, you can clearly see Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos handling the ball in the box during the closing minutes of Real Madrid's 3-2 win at Real Betis on Saturday.

Real won the match 3-2 and as a result maintained their 10-point advantage over Barcelona in the La Liga table. But it could have been so different had the referee spotted this infraction.

The introduction of goal-line technology seems more inevitable by the day. But what about other refereeing errors?

Like this one, for instance.

Dos Más Para Messi

Lionel Messi averaged a goal a day this week, and he only played twice.

The miniature maestro added two more goals Sunday as Barcelona beat Racing Santander 2-0. Messi now has 30 league goals—and 50 in all competitions—on the season.

As you may remember, Messi scored five goals against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday in the Champions League.

Softest Red Card

Lukas Podolski is supposedly all but an Arsenal player, so Gooners will probably be interested to know how the German striker earned a red card this weekend while playing for Cologne.

So, what did he do? See for yourself.

Most Deserved Red Card, Pt. I

Nope, it's not the red card you're thinking of.

Anyway, here's how you get your money's worth for your red card. The lesson comes courtesy of Ghanaian defender Derek Boateng of Ukrainian club Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, who really can't stop hitting people.

Who's next?

Most Deserved Red Card, Pt. II

Here's the other contender for the weekend's top sending-off.

Surely you've seen it by now. If you haven't, go get a bag full of ice and place it between your legs.

Best Miss

Everybody loves a good miss. That's the No. 1 reason Fernando Torres still has a job.

Alas, Torres couldn't bring the goods this weekend. Instead, the weekend's top honor goes to Luiz Adriano of Shakhtar Donetsk.

Shakhtar managed to win the game anyway, 2-1 over Illichivets.

Best Refereeing

We've already seen some amazing refereeing in this slideshow, but this incident deserves its own category.

First, the referee sends off a player during a Vietnamese match between Hai Phong and Thanh Hoa. Then he changes his mind.

Thanh Hoa won the match 3-0.

Most Ambiguous Cross/Goal

Fast forward to the 0:37 mark of the video. What do you see?

Is that a cross or a shot? Only Matias Diaz will ever know.

Diaz's goal came during a 3-3 draw between Defensa y Justicia and River Plate. Diaz scored Defensa's first in the ninth minute.

In equally mysterious news from this game from Argentina's National B division, David Trezeguet scored twice for River Plate. There are so many things wrong with that sentence.

Best Title-Race Shifter

Luke Moore's headed goal for Swansea City against Manchester City on Sunday wasn't world-class or even particularly beautiful. But it did throw a wrench in the English title race.

With that goal, Swansea beat Manchester City 1-0 and sent Manchester United to the top of the table. At the end of the season, this could be viewed as a turning point.

It also made one very wimpy City fan cry. Just keep watching. You'll see him.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeCummings37