10 most “scandalous” moments in World Cup history

10. Battle of Santiago - 1962

The 1962 World Cup is not remembered for its professionalism or organization, but rather for the fact that the tournament was overshadowed by brawls and violence. The match between host Chile and Italy in the group stage is considered one of the “ugliest” matches in World Cup history when the two teams continuously “fought” on the field.

9. Patrick Battiston collapses on the field – 1982

In the 1982 World Cup semi-final between West Germany and France, a tragedy occurred when Patrick Battiston was left motionless on the pitch after a collision with goalkeeper Harald Schumacher. After that situation, the French player had to be hospitalized in a coma. He broke 3 teeth, cracked 3 ribs and several vertebrae were deformed. It took 6 months for Battiston to return to normal.

8. The “war of words” between Roy Keane and coach McCarthy – 2002

Ireland reached the 2002 World Cup final and at that time, Roy Keane was the only player worthy of world class and the people of this country placed all their hopes on the "leading bird". However, his cursing of the coach led to Roy Keane being sent back to his hometown by coach McCarthy.

7. “The Hand” of Luis Suarez – 2010

6. The Mystery of “Ronaldo” – 1998

With star Ronaldo "missing" for 90 minutes, Brazil lost half of its strength and the defeat came when Brazil had to accept a 0-3 defeat against France. Many Brazilian stars have revealed that the reason why "Fat Ronaldo" declined in the final match against France at the 1998 World Cup was because he had an epileptic seizure before.

5. Diego Maradona tested positive for drugs – 1994

Six hours before the Argentina-Bulgaria match, Diego Maradona, the “golden boy”, captain of the Argentina team, was found to be positive for five banned substances and was expelled from the tournament. This decision was so shocking that Argentina lost 0-2 to Bulgaria, which was rated lower.

4. “The Hand of God” by Diego Maradona - 1986

In the 1986 World Cup quarter-final between England and Argentina, Diego Maradona used his hand to flick the ball over goalkeeper Peter Shilton's head. This goal was later described by Maradona as "The Hand of God" and caused the England team to sadly say goodbye to the 1986 World Cup.

3. Geoff Hurst's "unbelievable" goal - 1966

The legendary English striker is the only player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final (England vs Germany). However, his goal to make it 3-2 in that final was controversial when the ball hit the crossbar and bounced off the line. However, the referee still recognized the goal, thereby helping England win the World Cup for the first time.

2. Zinedine Zidane's "Headbutt" - 2006

A player who was considered "good-natured" like Zinedine Zidane could not resist Materazzi's provocation. That was the biggest turning point of the 2006 World Cup final between France and Italy. The incident took place during extra time when Zidane suddenly ran in front of the former Inter Milan player and headbutted him. The former Real Madrid captain was then shown a straight red card by the referee and left the most attractive playground on the planet in his last appearance.

1. "The Tragedy" Andres Escobar – 1994

In the second round of the 1994 World Cup group stage between Colombia and the United States, Andres Escobar accidentally scored an own goal after attempting to block a cross from John Harkes. The goal caused the team that was considered a candidate for the 1994 World Cup championship to be eliminated in the group stage. Ten days after that match, Escobar's wrath was unleashed when he was shot dead outside the El Indio nightclub in the suburbs of Medellin.