Even if you do not follow the 2014 World Cup matches closely, you have probably heard about the biting row which was started by Uruguay’s Luis Suarez. The footballer was banned from playing for four months and lost a sponsorship deal after for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chellini. However, this is not the only shocking episode that the World Cup has seen in its long history. If we look back to the past, we will see that there are even stranger moments that took place during the biggest football tournament.
Maradona’s Hand of God
In 1986, Maradona won the golden shoe after scoring the most goals during the World Cup in Mexico. However, a golden glove award could have been more appropriate for him. That is because Argentina won its match against England after the famous footballer scored a goal using his hand. Although the entire world saw the infringement, the referee did not.
Another Suarez Drama
Uruguay’s Suarez seems to want the victory at all costs. At the 2010 World Cup, the footballer decided to take the role of a goalkeeper and used his hands to prevent Ghana from scoring their winning goal. Although he was ordered to leave the match, Suarez was smiling proudly from ear to ear for keeping Uruguay in the tournament.
World Cup at its Worst
Suarez’ biting and goalkeeper efforts cannot be compared to what happened the 1994 World Cup. Colombia’s defender Andres Escobar was murdered for scoring an own goal during the championship. Although this tragic event happened after the tournament, it managed to tarnish the 1994 edition of FIFA’s World Cup and illustrate exactly how far football passion can go.
Anti-Pele Union
The year is 1966, the place – England. That edition of the World Cup will go down in history as the year of the anti-Pele union, which consisted of three countries – Bulgaria, Portugal and Hungary. It all started with a goal scored by Pele against the team of Bulgaria. Bulgarian footballers were so angered by the possibility of losing the game that they throughout the remaining part of the match, they focused all of their energy in kicking and fouling Pele. Bulgaria’s team work against Brazil’s star was successful since Pele was not able to participate in the next match of its country against Hungary. As a result, Brazilians suffered an embarrassing defeat. In order to stay in the tournament, Brazil’s team had to win against Portugal. However, Portugal decided to use Bulgaria’s tactic and Pele was once again pushed out of the game and Brazil – out of the 1966 World Cup.
Card Record
It is not unusual for a football match to include yellow and red cards. However, at the 2006 World Cup, the referee Valentin Ivanov got carried away during the match between Portugal and the Netherlands. Ivanov gave a total of 16 yellow cards and 4 cards. Later, he received a lot of criticism from FIFA itself and the match became known as “The Battle of Nuremberg.”
It seems that Suarez’ biting shocker was not such a shocker after all. World Cup tournaments have seen better, but they have also seen worse.
