Jun 30, 2024, 9:15 AM GMT+1
https://www.givemesport.com/most-controversial-moments-football-soccer-world-cup-history/
SUMMARY
- The World Cup has been laced with controversy since its inception in 1930.
- Red cards, disallowed goals and violent conduct have been the subject of debate for decades.
- England have scored and conceded some of the most controversial goals in World Cup history.
Every tournament is awash with controversy. In a sport watched by more than half the planet, there are always going to be fearsome debates. The World Cup was three days old when it endured the first of many divisive moments; both Argentina and France threatened to pull out of the inaugural competition in 1930 when their group game was mistakenly halted with six minutes remaining.
The drama has only intensified over the subsequent nine decades as the tournament has expanded. Here are some of the most controversial moments in the competition’s long history.
Ranking factors
Factors taken into consideration when ranking these controversial moments are as follows:
Ranking the 10 Most Controversial Moments in World Cup History
Rank
Incident
Match
Date
1
Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’
Argentina vs England
22nd June 1986
2
Peru’s Convenient Implosion
Argentina vs Peru
21st June 1978
3
Luis Suarez’s Handball to Deny Ghana
Uruguay vs Ghana
2nd July 2010
4
Geoff Hurst’s World Cup Winner
England vs West Germany
30th July 1966
5
Zinedine Zidane’s Headbutt
Italy vs France
9th July 2006
6
Frank Lampard’s Ghost Goal
Germany vs England
27th June 2010
7
Disgrace of Gijon
West Germany 1-0 Austria
25th June 1982
8
Battle of Santiago
Chile vs Italy
2nd June 1962
9
Harald Schumacher’s Collision with Patrick Battiston
West Germany vs France
8th July 1982
10
Whistle-Happy Clive Thomas
Sweden vs Brazil
3rd June 1978
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10 Whistle-Happy Clive Thomas
Date: 3rd June 1978
Brazil won a corner in the closing stages of their opening game of the 1978 World Cup against Sweden. The score was level at 1-1 as the ball sailed through the air. But just before Zico converted what he thought would be the winning goal, referee Clive Thomas fired off three sharp parps of his whistle to signal full-time.
9 Harald Schumacher’s Collision with Patrick Battiston
Date: 8th July 1982
Harald Schumacher’s brutal clash with Patrick Battiston in the second half of the 1982 World Cup semi-final left the French defender unconscious on the turf, missing two teeth and nursing three broken ribs. The West German goalkeeper was second in the race for a loose ball, protecting himself by jumping into a challenge which wasn’t classed as a foul. Schumacher remained on the pitch to save two penalties in the subsequent shootout to send West Germany to the final.
There’s no compassion among professionals. Tell him I’ll pay for the crowns.
8 Battle of Santiago
Date: 2nd June 1962
The English official likened his role to that of “an umpire in military manoeuvres”. Italy’s Giorgio Ferrini and Mario David were both sent off before the interval, while Chile’s Leonel Sanchez – embodying the outrage of a nation that had been slandered as World Cup hosts by the Italian press – remained on the pitch despite throwing two punches. In fairness, he had been struck himself.
7 Disgrace of Gijon
Date: 25th June 1982
The local Spanish press dubbed it “El Anschluss” – a crass reference to Germany’s enforced union with Austria ahead of the Second World War – and it soon came to be known as the ‘Disgrace of Gijon’. Germany’s Hans-Peter Briegel distanced himself from organised talks but described the spontaneous on-field arrangement as “a non-aggression pact”. FIFA weren’t impressed and reformatted all subsequent tournaments to conclude with simultaneous group-stage games.
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By Will Murray
6 Frank Lampard’s Ghost Goal
Date: 27th June 2010
Four months before the 2010 World Cup, FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke emphatically declared that the door to goal-line technology was “closed”. It had to be sheepishly reopened after Frank Lampard’s ‘ghost goal’ during England’s round-of-16 tie against Germany.
5 Zinedine Zidane’s Headbutt
Date: 9th July 2006
The effortless grace of Zinedine Zidane’s game has inspired libraries of books, reams of poetry and a painfully artistic documentary soundtracked by Mogwai. For all of his brilliance, there was a brutish edge to the Frenchman. Both sides were on full display in the 2006 World Cup final.
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GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic:Zinedine Zidane, along with Cameroon’s Rigobert Song, is one of only two players to have been sent off at two different World Cups (1998 and 2006).
4 Geoff Hurst’s World Cup Winner
Date: 30th July 1966
Roger Hunt, the nearest England forward to the incident, was so convinced it had crossed the goal line that he burst into celebration while the ball was cleared. But the scientific research concluded: “A conservative estimate has the ball still 6cm from being a goal.” Hurst completed his hat-trick to ensure England won 4-2 at Wembley and maintained years later: “The ball was at least one metre over the line.”
3 Luis Suarez’s Handball to Deny Ghana
Date: 2nd July 2010
2 Peru’s Convenient Implosion
Date: 21st June 1978
In a World Cup hosted by the nation’s murderous military regime, Argentina knew that they had to defeat Peru by four clear goals to move ahead of Brazil in the second group stage and advance to the final. Argentina conveniently won 6-0.
1 Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’
Date: 22nd June 1986
Diego Maradona’s complex blend of sublime skill and skulduggery was perfectly captured by the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England, one of the greatest individual performances in the competition’s history. Argentina’s talisman produced arguably the greatest goal in the history of football, leaving half the England team twisted in knots on the turf of the Estadio Azteca before stabbing the ball under Peter Shilton. But Maradona preferred his first of the afternoon.
