The Biggest World Cup Scandals Ever

Controversies and scandals often linger on further in the history books. This article contains some of the biggest World Cup scandals ever. Similarly, some of these moments are the most memorable things about the tournament in that certain year.

It’s impossible to organize an international tournament and run it smoothly without any flaws. But sometimes things can get out of hand a bit and you could end up angering half the world. In honor of the 2022 World Cup, we put together a list of some of the biggest World Cup scandals ever. But if you’re more interested in the present than in the past, check out our World Cup betting guide for this year’s tournament.

Maradona might be the King of World Cup Scandals

What better way to start this list than with one of the most memorable World Cup scandals ever, the Hand of God? There are multiple controversies surrounding Maradona’s international career but this is the biggest one. Let’s jump back in time for a bit, it’s the 1986 World Cup and Argentina are playing England in the quarter-finals. The match ended in a 2-1 victory for Argentina but let’s break down the events a bit.

Maradona opened the scoring in the 51st minute with a goal that would be dubbed the Hand of God. England keeper Peter Shilton and Maradona challenged each other in the box for the ball. Shilton was 20 cm taller than the Argentine, yet Maradona reached the ball first.

To make the situation even hotter, three minutes later Maradona went on to score the Goal of the Century. The Hand of God will forever be remembered as one of the biggest World Cup scandals ever. You can check out our detailed article on Maradona’s scandals.

Zidane’s Last-ever Match Caused Some Headaches

This one is a more recent memory and so people could remember it better. France has produced some of the best footballers in the history of the sport and Zidane is considered to be among the top. What a player, what a career, and what a controversial way to lose a World Cup final. The midfielder already won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 Euros with France when he was leading his country in 2006.

The game was tied 1-1 during extra time when Italy defender Materazzi insulted Zidane’s sister. Zidane’s weakness was his temperament which many players knew. He sent Materazzi to the ground with a head-butt and got a red card for it. Italy won 5-3 on penalties and the midfielder was greatly missed as he was France’s best penalty-taker at the time.

Funnily enough, the Zidane incident became more popular than Italy lifting the trophy. To this day, this is one of the biggest and most memorable World Cup scandals ever. But France supporters should look on the bright side in 2022. They can follow the campaign of Les Blues on 20Bet Sportsbook while the same cannot be said for Italy.

Italy’s Fascist Decision – Biggest World Cup Scandals Ever

This was the third World Cup tournament and the birth of another Italian scandal. Well, the first Italian World Cup scandal to be more precise. Italy met France in the quarter-finals and there were some complications around the kits. France wore their iconic blue kits and they were also the host nation. This meant that Italy would be wearing their white away kits.

Under the orders of a certain Mussolini, the Italians stepped on the pitch wearing black shirts, a symbol of the fascist paramilitary. Additionally, the visitors also did their fascist salute before the game, and to rub even more salt into the French wounds, they beat the hosts 3-1.

Italy then went on to win the tournament and held the trophy until 1950 due to World War II. One of the weirdest World Cup facts revolves around the original trophy as well.

The Officiating is Still Remembered from the 2002 Tournament

The 2002 World Cup was the first tournament hosted by two nations. Japan took an exit in the Round of 16 but South Korea went on to be involved in some of the biggest World Cup scandals ever. The officiating at the 2002 tournament is still frowned upon today.

They met Italy in the Round of 16 where Ecuadorian referee Byron Moreno controversially booked Totti for a second yellow, leaving Italy with 10 men in extra time. Not too long after this, Moreno disallowed Tommasi’s potential golden goal after saying the Italian was offside.

Enter Egyptian referee Gamal Al-Ghandour in the quarter-finals against Spain and the scandals continued to pile up. The ref disallowed two Spanish goals and the team was given multiple offsides. The hosts progressed on penalties after their keeper saved a decisive shot by Joaquin. Too bad he was off the line, however.

South Korea collapsed against Germany in the semis and both referees were forced to retire soon after the tournament. Moreno was accused of match-fixing and Ghandour for apparently accepting a car as payment for his help. Well, we have VAR now which some like and some don’t. You can keep track of the 2022 tournament on 20Bet Sportsbook.

Referees Usually Cause the Biggest World Cup Scandals

While the story around Geoff Hurst’s hat trick in the 1966 World Cup final might not be the biggest scandal ever, it is one of the strangest. England was winning regardless of the referee’s decisions but the match would’ve ended in 3-2 instead of 4-2. In the 101st minute, Hurst hit the crossbar and the ball went out after touching the goal line.

Soviet referee Bakhramov signaled his colleague Dienst that the ball was behind the line and they counted it as a goal. A story emerged years later about this decision. According to online gambling news in Spain, Bakhramov was dead set on his decision and mentioned Stalingrad. Regardless of his decision, England was winning the final anyway as Hurst scored again in the 120th minute.

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