Post by Alex on Jun 30, 2006 23:55:17 GMT -5
World-class Controversies, Tragedies
Over the years, the World Cup has had its share of problems
Although the World Cup is about sportsmanship and unity on and off the pitch, controversy and tragedy have been a part of the tournament from the beginning. Nations, squads, players, referees, and even FIFA's president have all had troubles.
1930: Only four European teams (Yugoslavia, Belgium, France, Romania) participate in the first World Cup held in Uruguay, because of the distance involved in sailing to South America. Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, England, and Spain do not make the journey.
1934: Uruguay becomes the first and only champion not to defend its title when it boycotts the 1934 competition in protest over some European nations' refusal to go to Uruguay for the previous World Cup.
The British football associations are also at odds with FIFA, and thus none of them enter the qualifying rounds. Italy's fascist ruler Benito Mussolini makes use of his nation's status as a World Cup host for political ends. Italy wins 2-1 against Czechoslovakia, adding fodder to his propaganda machine.
1938: War looms over Europe for a second time.
The 1942 and 1946 tournaments are eventually canceled.
Argentina and Uruguay still boycott the World Cup. Argentina's reason stems from not having been given the honor of hosting the 1938 tournament. Only Brazil steps up to represent South America.
1950: India withdraws from competition because FIFA won't let them play in bare feet.
1954: Hungary beats Brazil 4-2 in the quarterfinal. The game goes down as one of the most brutal World Cup matches on record, eventually being dubbed "the Battle of Berne." Three players -- Hungary's Jozsef Bozsik, and Brazil's Djalma Santos and Humberto Tozzi -- are sent off, and the violence continues after the match.
1958: The English national team is decimated when eight Manchester United players are killed, and many other injured, in a plane crash in Munich.
Wreckage of the plane crash that killed several Manchester-United players in 1958.
The English Football League had threatened the club with fines if it did not return in time for English matches early that year. So they chartered their own plane to avoid delays from Belgrade, refueled in Munich, and did not want to stay overnight on account of bad weather.
The pilot aborted the first two takeoff attempts due to heavy snow, but manager Matt Busby gave the go-ahead for a third attempt, which ended in disaster.
As the plane left the runway, it went through a fence, crossed a road, and smashed into a house.
Twenty-three people were killed, including Manchester United players Roger Byrne, 29, Geoff Bent, 25, Eddie Colman, 21, Duncan Edwards, 21, Mark Jones, 24, David Pegg, 22, Tommy Taylor, 26, and Billy Whelan, 22.
1962: Argentina and Chile vie for the 1962 hosting. Argentina was in a better financial situation to host, but then in May 1960 Chile was hit by a number of massive earthquakes, killing at least 5,000 people and impoverishing many thousands more.
Carlos Dittborn, president of the Chilean Football Association, pleas to FIFA to be awarded the 1962 World Cup hosting, saying, "We have nothing. That is why we must have the World Cup."
Eduard Dubinski, playing for the Soviet Union in their first match, severely breaks his leg and later dies from his injury.
1966: The Jules Rimet trophy is stolen during a public exposition just before the tournament. It is recovered by Pickles the dog, now famous in World Cup history, who finds it under a bush in south London, earning his owner, Dave Corbett, a £5,000 reward.
1970: Many European delegates are unhappy with the choice of Mexico as a sporting venue in light of Mexico's high altitudes and intense daytime temperatures, which could put some teams at a disadvantage. Extra measures for acclimatization are implemented to ensure fair play.
1974: Brazil and Yugoslavia open the tournament in a violent match with 46 free kicks.
1978: The star of Netherlands' push to the final in 1974, Johan Cruyff, refuses to play in this Argentina-hosted tournament due to concerns about the 1976 military coup which ousted Isabel Peron and led to years of human rights abuses and "disappearances" of political opponents and innocents.
1982: Argentina, the defending champion, is beaten 1-0 in its opening game against Belgium.
France and Kuwait meet in a first-round match that ends 4-1. A controversy surrounds Soviet referee Miroslav Stupar's disallowance of four French goals.
1983: The World Cup trophy is stolen for a second time in Brazil and is never recovered. It is suspected the thieves melted the trophy down.
1986: With a minute remaining in a match pitting Iraq and Paraguay, controversy erupts when Iraq's Ahmed Rhadi heads in the ball to tie the match 1-1 just a second after referee Edwin Pikon-Ackong of Mauritius blows the whistle, indicating the end of the match.
Mexico and Paraguay draw 1-1 in a violent match that includes 55 fouls, officiated by English referee George Courtney. Uruguay's Jose Batista is sent off just 55 seconds into a match with Scotland.
Portugal's players threaten to take strike action during the Cup in protest of their low bonuses.
1990: In a qualifying match between Chile and Brazil, Chilean goalkeeper Robert Rojas pretends to be hit by a flare thrown from the crowd. Since Chile is down 0-1 and needed at least two goals to qualify with only 20 minutes left in the game, the "injury" is suspect. The Chilean team refuses to play on, and the entire squad is disqualified from the tournament.
1994: Colombian Andres Escobar is murdered just 10 days after returning home from the World Cup. Many suspect the killing was in revenge for his own-goal in the 33rd minute of a match against the United States, which eventually led to his team crashing out of the U.S.-hosted finals.
German Stefan Effenberg makes rude gestures at fans in a first-round match against Korea. He is sent home and never again selected for the national team.
The Brazil squad dedicates its World Cup victory to Ayrton Senna, Brazil's beloved Formula One race-car driver who was killed in an Italian race earlier that year.
1998: After a bitter struggle with rival Lennart Johansson, Sepp Blatter takes over the helm of FIFA from Joao Havelange.
Twenty-two red cards are issued in the tournament, a huge increase from previous Cups.
2002: Sepp Blatter, FIFA's president, is controversially re-elected amid accusations of financial irregularities during his previous four-year term. He is booed by the crowd at the opening ceremony in Seoul and stops his speech mid-sentence to ask for "fair play, please."
France is knocked out of the first round in one of the worst performances by a defending champion in the history of the Cup.
2006:Togo's coach Otto Pfister resigns just days before the team's first group match over a dispute about bonus payments for players.
Over the years, the World Cup has had its share of problems
Although the World Cup is about sportsmanship and unity on and off the pitch, controversy and tragedy have been a part of the tournament from the beginning. Nations, squads, players, referees, and even FIFA's president have all had troubles.
1930: Only four European teams (Yugoslavia, Belgium, France, Romania) participate in the first World Cup held in Uruguay, because of the distance involved in sailing to South America. Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, England, and Spain do not make the journey.
1934: Uruguay becomes the first and only champion not to defend its title when it boycotts the 1934 competition in protest over some European nations' refusal to go to Uruguay for the previous World Cup.
The British football associations are also at odds with FIFA, and thus none of them enter the qualifying rounds. Italy's fascist ruler Benito Mussolini makes use of his nation's status as a World Cup host for political ends. Italy wins 2-1 against Czechoslovakia, adding fodder to his propaganda machine.
1938: War looms over Europe for a second time.
The 1942 and 1946 tournaments are eventually canceled.
Argentina and Uruguay still boycott the World Cup. Argentina's reason stems from not having been given the honor of hosting the 1938 tournament. Only Brazil steps up to represent South America.
1950: India withdraws from competition because FIFA won't let them play in bare feet.
1954: Hungary beats Brazil 4-2 in the quarterfinal. The game goes down as one of the most brutal World Cup matches on record, eventually being dubbed "the Battle of Berne." Three players -- Hungary's Jozsef Bozsik, and Brazil's Djalma Santos and Humberto Tozzi -- are sent off, and the violence continues after the match.
1958: The English national team is decimated when eight Manchester United players are killed, and many other injured, in a plane crash in Munich.
Wreckage of the plane crash that killed several Manchester-United players in 1958.
The English Football League had threatened the club with fines if it did not return in time for English matches early that year. So they chartered their own plane to avoid delays from Belgrade, refueled in Munich, and did not want to stay overnight on account of bad weather.
The pilot aborted the first two takeoff attempts due to heavy snow, but manager Matt Busby gave the go-ahead for a third attempt, which ended in disaster.
As the plane left the runway, it went through a fence, crossed a road, and smashed into a house.
Twenty-three people were killed, including Manchester United players Roger Byrne, 29, Geoff Bent, 25, Eddie Colman, 21, Duncan Edwards, 21, Mark Jones, 24, David Pegg, 22, Tommy Taylor, 26, and Billy Whelan, 22.
1962: Argentina and Chile vie for the 1962 hosting. Argentina was in a better financial situation to host, but then in May 1960 Chile was hit by a number of massive earthquakes, killing at least 5,000 people and impoverishing many thousands more.
Carlos Dittborn, president of the Chilean Football Association, pleas to FIFA to be awarded the 1962 World Cup hosting, saying, "We have nothing. That is why we must have the World Cup."
Eduard Dubinski, playing for the Soviet Union in their first match, severely breaks his leg and later dies from his injury.
1966: The Jules Rimet trophy is stolen during a public exposition just before the tournament. It is recovered by Pickles the dog, now famous in World Cup history, who finds it under a bush in south London, earning his owner, Dave Corbett, a £5,000 reward.
1970: Many European delegates are unhappy with the choice of Mexico as a sporting venue in light of Mexico's high altitudes and intense daytime temperatures, which could put some teams at a disadvantage. Extra measures for acclimatization are implemented to ensure fair play.
1974: Brazil and Yugoslavia open the tournament in a violent match with 46 free kicks.
1978: The star of Netherlands' push to the final in 1974, Johan Cruyff, refuses to play in this Argentina-hosted tournament due to concerns about the 1976 military coup which ousted Isabel Peron and led to years of human rights abuses and "disappearances" of political opponents and innocents.
1982: Argentina, the defending champion, is beaten 1-0 in its opening game against Belgium.
France and Kuwait meet in a first-round match that ends 4-1. A controversy surrounds Soviet referee Miroslav Stupar's disallowance of four French goals.
1983: The World Cup trophy is stolen for a second time in Brazil and is never recovered. It is suspected the thieves melted the trophy down.
1986: With a minute remaining in a match pitting Iraq and Paraguay, controversy erupts when Iraq's Ahmed Rhadi heads in the ball to tie the match 1-1 just a second after referee Edwin Pikon-Ackong of Mauritius blows the whistle, indicating the end of the match.
Mexico and Paraguay draw 1-1 in a violent match that includes 55 fouls, officiated by English referee George Courtney. Uruguay's Jose Batista is sent off just 55 seconds into a match with Scotland.
Portugal's players threaten to take strike action during the Cup in protest of their low bonuses.
1990: In a qualifying match between Chile and Brazil, Chilean goalkeeper Robert Rojas pretends to be hit by a flare thrown from the crowd. Since Chile is down 0-1 and needed at least two goals to qualify with only 20 minutes left in the game, the "injury" is suspect. The Chilean team refuses to play on, and the entire squad is disqualified from the tournament.
1994: Colombian Andres Escobar is murdered just 10 days after returning home from the World Cup. Many suspect the killing was in revenge for his own-goal in the 33rd minute of a match against the United States, which eventually led to his team crashing out of the U.S.-hosted finals.
German Stefan Effenberg makes rude gestures at fans in a first-round match against Korea. He is sent home and never again selected for the national team.
The Brazil squad dedicates its World Cup victory to Ayrton Senna, Brazil's beloved Formula One race-car driver who was killed in an Italian race earlier that year.
1998: After a bitter struggle with rival Lennart Johansson, Sepp Blatter takes over the helm of FIFA from Joao Havelange.
Twenty-two red cards are issued in the tournament, a huge increase from previous Cups.
2002: Sepp Blatter, FIFA's president, is controversially re-elected amid accusations of financial irregularities during his previous four-year term. He is booed by the crowd at the opening ceremony in Seoul and stops his speech mid-sentence to ask for "fair play, please."
France is knocked out of the first round in one of the worst performances by a defending champion in the history of the Cup.
2006:Togo's coach Otto Pfister resigns just days before the team's first group match over a dispute about bonus payments for players.