Controversial referee decisions, internal conflicts among teams and condemned actions by stars have caused waves at past Euro tournaments.
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| Fierce debates in Euro history - sports photos |
Basile Boli's headbutt.During the match between England and France at Euro 1992, while Stuart Pearce was arguing with Jocelyn Angloma, Basile Boli suddenly appeared and headbutted the England defender in the face. Pearce was left bleeding from the cheek but did not condemn Boli after the match.
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| Fierce debates in Euro history - sports photos |
Gary Lineker and Graham Taylor.Also at Euro 1992, in the England vs Sweden match, star Lineker and coach Graham Taylor had a deep disagreement. England needed a win to advance in the final group match against the home team. When Sweden had just equalized 1-1, Taylor took Lineker off. The Tottenham striker showed his disappointment while Taylor remained cold as ice. But Sweden won that match and Taylor was criticized by the British press for being "inexperienced". |
| Fierce debates in Euro history - sports photos |
Spain team and referee.The home team is often favoured by referees, but England were given too much in their quarter-final against Spain at Euro 1996. Julio Salinas had a goal ruled out for offside despite moving legally. Then Jose Luis Caminero was brought down in the box as he prepared to take a shot. Spain were eventually knocked out on penalties. "We were not only up against 11 players and 70,000 fans, but also against three referees," said Salinas, fuming. "It was impossible to win." |
| Fierce debates in Euro history - sports photos |
Franco and the Soviet Union. Spain reached the semi-finals of Euro 1960 after a 7-2 win over Poland.That year, the Spanish team was very strong, with all the big stars in the squad and led by the great strategist Helenio Herrera. Spain met the Soviet Union in the quarterfinals. However, General Franco refused to let the Soviet team into Spain for political reasons. The Soviets were later awarded the victory and qualified for the finals of the tournament, which they later won. It was a sad end for Spain's golden generation of Ladislao Kubala, Alfredo Di Stefano, Luis Suarez and Francisco Gento. |
| Fierce debates in Euro history - sports photos |
Poor Poland. Trailing 1-0 to Poland in the Euro 2008 group stage match going into extra time, co-hosts Austria were in danger of being eliminated.. However, Howard Webb awarded Austria a penalty after thinking Marcin Wasilewski had pulled Sebastian Prodl's shirt in the box. Ivica Vastic converted to keep the hosts' hopes alive but also sent Poland crashing out. "I've never had a problem in 43 years of football, but this is incomprehensible," said Poland coach Leo Beenhakker. The controversy was so big that the Polish president jumped in to defend his team, but the "White Swans" were still eliminated after a 1-0 defeat to Croatia. |
| Fierce debates in Euro history - sports photos |
The British hurt the British.England were surprisingly eliminated from the group stages of Euro 1980, but it was not their performance that left the impression. During the match against Belgium, extremists in the stands forced the Italian police to intervene, using pepper spray to suppress them. Pepper spray even flew into goalkeeper Ray Clemence's eyes because of the chaos that took place right behind the England goal. The match was then delayed for five minutes and eventually ended 1-1. However, the actions of the England fans in the stands brought shame to the country.
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| Fierce debates in Euro history - sports photos |
Racism allegations in the Dutch national team.The scandal broke out at Euro 1996. The Netherlands were one of the favourites for the tournament but were eliminated early. A photograph of black players eating together sparked suspicions of racism within the Dutch team. However, several players, including Youri Mulder, denied the allegations. After the group stage win over Switzerland, Edgar Davids claimed that coach Guus Hiddink was too intimidated by captain Danny Blind. The Netherlands were eventually eliminated by France on penalties in the quarter-finals. |
| Fierce debates in Euro history - sports photos |
Ronald Koeman, who scored the equaliser for the Netherlands in their 2-1 win over Germany in the Euro 1988 semi-finals, was heavily criticised for his outrageous post-match behaviour. The former Barca defender swapped shirts with Olaf Thon and then pretended to wipe his back with it. Koeman's actions were seen as an insult, with even his father later calling it a farce. However, Koeman said he had no need to apologise. Despite escaping punishment despite his infamous actions and causing a diplomatic incident between the two countries, Koeman continued to play in the final and lifted the Cup with his teammates. |
| Fierce debates in Euro history - sports photos |
Suspected match-fixing among the Nordics.In the Euro 2004 group stage, Italy were certain to progress if they beat Bulgaria in their final game. That would have been reasonable, unless Sweden and Denmark drew by more than 1-1. In the end, Italy beat Bulgaria and the Nordic teams drew 2-2. Mattias Jonson scored the winner for Sweden in the 89th minute. Both on five points, Sweden and Denmark advanced on goal difference. Bookmakers later provided data showing a suspiciously large amount of money bet on a 2-2 result in the final minutes. Goalkeeper Buffon said: "Someone should be ashamed, not us." |
| Fierce debates in Euro history - sports photos |
France and Portugal were about to go into a penalty shootout in the Euro 2000 semi-finals when Sylvain Wiltord kicked the ball into the hands of Abel Xavier. Referee Guenter Benko initially awarded France a corner kick but after consulting with his assistant, he decided it was a penalty. Zidane converted the kick and France reached the final. Meanwhile, the Portuguese players continued to surround the referee and react violently. Their actions were later widely criticised, while Xavier maintained his innocence.According to VNE
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