1966: An unusual venue
England, hosts of the 1966 World Cup, were placed in Group A. Every match of the group was scheduled in London. Of the six contests, five were played in Wembley, which also hosted England’s quarter-final and semi-final as well as the third-place playoff and the final.
The lone exception to this was a Group A match between Uruguay and France, on 15 July. This was hosted by the White City Stadium, a ground with little football legacy. You see, on the same day, Wembley were expected to host a greyhound racing event. No amount of negotiation, discussion, not even the importance of the World Cup could convince anyone for a switch.
A mongrel, Pickles, had helped retrieve the World Cup trophy just before the tournament had gone underway. He would have been happy.
1970: The Bogotá Bracelet
Bobby Moore had been hailed a national hero when he led England to their first — and till date, only — World Cup triumph, in 1966. The 1970 edition was scheduled in Mexico. To prepare for the high altitudes, the English footballers decided to practise in Bogotá, Colombia.
One evening, Moore and Bobby Charlton visited the Fuego Verde, a jewellery shop near Hotel Tequendama, where the squad had been put up. Here, a shop assistant accused Moore and Charlton of stealing a bracelet. The police took a statement, but released them. Everyone moved on.
After beating Colombia 4-0 and Ecuador 2-0, the English squad was supposed to fly out to Mexico City. There was a four-and-a-half-hour halt in Bogotá, and they checked into the same hotel as before.
Now, the Colombian Police arrested Moore for theft. New witnesses had apparently surfaced. Moore was kept under house arrest, and was allowed to practise in the presence of police. He was interrogated for four hours. In Mexico, left with little choice, England appointed Alan Mullery captain, while Norman Hunter assumed his role in the defence.
Moore was eventually released after four days. He received a guard of honour when he met the team in Guadalajara. In Colombia, the Fuego Verde closed down not too long afterwards.
No evidence has ever been found of Moore’s guilt, or even the fact that such a bracelet even existed. Some theorise that the entire arrest had been part of a plan to demoralise the defending champions. These, too, have not been proved.
1974: Zaire steal a free-kick
In 1974, Zaire became the third African nation (after Egypt in 1934 and Morocco in 1970) and the first from sub-Saharan Africa to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. As part of the celebrations, Zairean president Mobutu Sese Seko rewarded every footballer with a house and a car.
Zaire fought hard in their 0-2 defeat against Scotland, but Yugoslavia obliterated them in the next match. They lost 0-9: the nine-goal margin has never been bettered in the history of the tournament. As is often the case, Blagoje Vidinić, their Yugoslavian coach, was panned by the media back home.
Mobutu’s stance changed as well. He threatened the footballers — though his expectations were realistic. If Zaire lost to Brazil by four or more goals, the players would not be allowed back home.
Brazil soon went 2-0 up, and were awarded a free-kick outside the Zaire penalty box. As Valdomiro, Nelinho, and others prepared for the shot, Zairean defender Mwepu Ilunga confused everyone by sprinting out of the box and kicking the ball away. Nicolae Rainea, the Romanian referee, booked him immediately.
There are several theories behind Ilunga’s kick. Some say he did not understand whose free kick it was. A logical alternative is that he tried to waste time. Had that indeed been the case, it worked. Valdomiro scored almost immediately to make it three-nil, but Zaire did not let Brazil stretch the margin further. They returned home without scoring a goal — but, at least, they could return.
A similar incident had taken place in Mexico in the 1970 edition. El Salvador had crossed numerous hurdles — including a full-fledged war — to qualify for the first time. Against Mexico, they had been awarded a free-kick, but the hosts stunned everyone by taking the free-kick themselves. Javier Vladivia scored, the Salvadorians protested, and the Egyptian referee Ali Kandil responded by signalling for half-time.
1978: France go green
France have traditionally played in blue, and Hungary in red. This should not have been a problem for the teams or the spectators at the ground, but television coverage posed a problem. Black-and-white television — the norm back then — could not distinguish between red and blue.
So, France had no option but to borrow the green-and-white-striped jerseys from Kimberley de Mar del Plata, a local club. The Kimberley jerseys were numbered 2 to 11, and 13 to 16, which led to some footballers donning shirts with numbers different from what had been registered with FIFA. Dominique Rocheteau, Olivier Rouyer, Claude Papi, and Didier Six, respectively, used 7, 11, 10, and 6 instead of the usual 18, 20, 12, and 19 — though their shorts bore the usual numbers.
This was not a first in World Cup history. Austria and Germany, both in whites, met in the third-place playoff in 1934. Austria lost a toss and played in light blue Napoli shirts. In 1950, Mexico, usually in burgundy, took field in the blue-and-white stripes of Cruzeiro, against Switzerland, who also wore red. Similarly, Argentina had to use IFK Malmö’s yellow shirts against West Germany in 1978.
In all three cases, there was an actual clash in shirt colours — unlike 1978, where television was the reason. And all three cases, the teams switching jerseys lost — unlike 1978. Christian Lopez and Marc Bedroll soon put France ahead, and though Sándor Zombori pulled one back for Hungary, Rocheteau helped seal the final 3-1 margin.
1982: The whistle blower
Kuwait made their only appearance in the 1982 edition. They held Czechoslovakia to a 1-1 draw and lost to England by a solitary goal, but in between these two matches, France overran them.
Already up by 3-1, France attacked again in the second half. The Kuwaitis froze the moment they heard a whistle, and Alain Giresse scored for France. However, it soon transpired that the whistle had been blown by a fan in the stands and not Myroslav Stupar, the Russian referee.
The Kuwaitis obviously protested. Prince Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah strode on the ground to join them. After a frantic conversation, the goal was annulled. It did not matter, because Maxime Bossis made it 4-1 anyway.