World Cup: strangest moments in history

The FIFA World Cup, which began over ninety years ago, is one of the most prominent tournaments to have witnessed bizarre incidents—whether funny or painful—with these events remaining etched in the memory of football history.

The strangeness of World Cup events has not faded with the passing of time; rather, it has become even more ingrained in the minds of fans of this most important and popular tournament in the world of football.

For this reason, any event that takes place during the tournament remains fresh in the memory, no matter how many years pass. Fans of the World Cup, which is held every four years, look forward to its most notable events, as its stories are renewed with every new edition. In this report, the Canary reviews the strangest events in World Cup history.

World Cup history – a national team wearing Napoli shirts

In the third-place play-off at the 1934 World Cup, which pitted Germany against Austria, a unique incident occurred. The match was held at the Napoli stadium, and at that time each team had only one kit.

Due to the similarity in the colours of the two teams’ kits (white shirts and black shorts), it was impossible to distinguish between the players, leading to the match being temporarily halted. Following intervention by the referee and the crowd, a draw was held to determine which team would change their kit, and the choice fell on the Austrian team, but they did not have an alternative kit. A quick solution was found, with an official from Napoli providing the Austrian team with the club’s shirts, which they wore to complete the match, which ended in a 3-2 victory for Germany.

World Cup stolen twice

The theft of the World Cup is one of the strangest incidents, as the trophy, which was known as the Jules Rimet Cup after the tournament’s founder, was stolen twice, first in 1966 and then in 1983. Since then, the original versions of the trophies have not been found, prompting the organisers to produce three identical replicas to prevent a repeat of the incident.

From prison to the podium

At the 1982 World Cup held in Spain, an extraordinary story emerged involving Italian star Paolo Rossi, who was released from prison in the same year as the tournament to lead his national team to victory over West Germany.

Rossi scored six goals in the last three matches, including the opening goal in the final, a hat-trick against Brazil in the quarter-finals, and two goals in the semi-final against Poland.

A valid goal disallowed in a World Cup match

The match between Kuwait and France at the 1982 World Cup witnessed a unique moment, as play was halted after the French team scored a valid goal. The Kuwaiti team was participating in the World Cup for the first time in its history as the first Arab-Asian team.

The incident occurred after a spectator blew a whistle, leading the Kuwaiti players to believe the play had ended, so they stopped, whilst the French team continued playing and scored a goal. This angered the Kuwaiti players, prompting Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to take to the pitch demanding the goal be disallowed, which indeed happened, before the match resumed and ended in a 4-2 victory for France. This incident led to Soviet referee Miroslav Stopa being permanently banned from refereeing.

Maradona’s handball goal

The goal scored by the hand of Argentine legend Diego Armando Maradona against England in the quarter-final of the 1986 World Cup is considered one of the defining moments of Argentina’s victory in that tournament, and a major turning point in the striker’s career, which subsequently took him to the world stage.

Tunisian referee Ali Ben Nasser, who officiated the match, awarded Maradona’s handball goal against England, despite its illegality, as he did not see Maradona’s hand when he struck the ball and it entered the net; however, Maradona later apologised to the referee during a visit to his home in Tunisia.

Player sent off after 3 yellow cards

In the match between Croatia and Australia at the 2006 World Cup, player Josip Šimunić received three yellow cards before being sent off, due to an error by English referee Graham Poll, who recorded the first booking in another player’s name, causing the player to remain on the pitch until he received his third booking.

Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt

The 2006 World Cup final between France and Italy witnessed a famous incident when star player Zinedine Zidane delivered a powerful headbutt to the chest of Marco Materazzi following a verbal altercation between them, resulting in his sending-off with a red card in his final match.

Zidane later justified his actions by citing an insult he had received, and the incident remains one of the most famous moments in World Cup history.

Suárez bites Chiellini

In the group stage match between Italy and Uruguay at the 2014 World Cup, a bizarre incident occurred when Luis Suárez bit defender Giorgio Chiellini in the 40th minute, which astonished everyone and sparked widespread controversy in the world of football.