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| Most Shameful Moments in World Cup History |
| From Italian immigrants to crushed sleeping pills |
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Marcelo Mackinnon (pelarco)  |
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Published 2006-03-17 14:15 (KST) |
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 |  | | | | | | ©2006 Till Achinger | FIFA's Football World Cup is undoubtedly the most popular sporting event of all, a joyous gathering that grips the attention of millions of people all over the globe. But not all has been fun and excitement, since its first edition, the World Cup has been scarred by some shady occurrences. These are the most memorable.
Uruguay 1930:
Along with Argentina, this South American country had been going through a period of tremendous prosperity. It was known as "the bread basket of the world" and had been feeding millions of hungry Europeans after the first World War. Millions of immigrants had arrived in these countries, the majority from Italy. Of course, they brought the game with them, and during the World Cup final both the local and Argentinean teams were comprised mostly of Italian nationals.
At the end of the first half, Argentina was winning 2-1 and seemed sure to come out on top. However, during the break some men barged into the Argentine dressing room and had a few words with the players. The best Argentine striker was Luis Monti, and the men were especially harsh on him. The match ended in a 4-2 victory for Uruguay and when the news reached Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, an angry mob destroyed the Uruguayan embassy. Some years later a version about the events accused the Italian Mafia of threatening the players since Benito Mussolini wanted some of the Argentineans to play for Italy in the next edition of the World Cup.
Italy 1934:
As expected, many of the Argentinean and Uruguayan players, including Monti, were now part of the Italian team, and since Mussolini needed a sporting victory as propaganda to boost his fascist regime, the local team took the honors.
England 1966:
The final of the event was played at Wembley Stadium between the home team and West Germany, as the country was then known. The first 90 minutes ended 2-2, and for the first time ever, the match went on to extra time. Ten minutes later England striker Geoff Hurst took a very hard shot that hit the underside of the bar and bounced down and then out of the visitor's goal. The German players argued that the ball had not gone in, but the Swiss referee, Gottfried Dienst consulted with Soviet linesman Tofik Bakhramov, who said that it had crossed the goal line. The goal was given and England went on to win 4-2. The controversy rages on until today.
West Germany 1974:
During the first round, the home team had to play its last match against its neighboring communist state, the German Democratic Republic. West Germany had already qualified to the next round, and the G.D.R surprisingly won the match by 1-0. This result avoided that West Germany play against world champions Brazil, and so the locals continued winning through the final where they became champions by beating Holland.
Argentina 1978:
In the semifinal, Argentina had to beat Peru by a difference of four or more goals. Peru's goalkeeper was a nationalized Argentinean, Ramon Quiroga, and the match ended in a 6-0 victory for the locals. After returning to Peru and escaping an angry crowd at the airport, Quiroga admitted that he had received payment along with three other teammates to "give Argentina a hand."
Spain 1982:
The last match of the group that included West Germany, Austria, Algeria, and Chile had to be played between the two European neighbors. Algeria had a good chance of continuing on to the next round and West Germany could be knocked out unless it defeated Austria by a one-goal difference. This match will be remembered as one of the most boring in World Cup history. Horst Hrubesch scored for West Germany after 10 minutes, and from then on neither team attempted to change the scoreboard. Obviously both countries qualified for the next phase.
During the semifinals, West Germany was losing to France by 2-0 and during a counterattack, French striker Patrick Battiston was on his way to score a decisive third goal when he was viciously fouled by German goalkeeper Tony Schumacher. As a result, Battiston was knocked out, suffered a broken jaw, and lost three teeth.
Mexico 1986:
A quarterfinal match pitted England against Argentina. The Argentinean players sworn they would get revenge at all costs, and it was their star player Diego Maradona that made it happen. During the second half, an English player kicked the ball towards his own goal, and Maradona hit the ball with his hand over goalkeeper Peter Shilton's head. It all happened so quickly that the referee, the 80,000-strong crowd at the stadium, and millions of international TV viewers were fooled as Maradona and his teammates celebrated.
Italy 1990:
Archrivals Brazil and Argentina were to play a decisive match and the winner would continue onto the next phase. It was played under very hot conditions and the Argentine assistants politely gave bottles of water to their rivals. In 2005, Diego Maradona admitted that the water given to the Brazilians had been mixed with sleeping pills. Argetina won the match 1-0 and went on to play the final against Germany.
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©2006 OhmyNews
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