PARIS: Just over a year before the Second World War broke out, the defending champions Italy traveled to France, and their match with the hosts had a political undertone.
When the champion team took the field in the stadium close to Paris, fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, the leader of Italy at the time, was hooted. Undeterred, the Italians played while wearing black shirts, a nod to the attire of Mussolini’s infamous “black shirt” militia, and gave the crowd a fascist salute. Italy won the game 3-1 to take the championship.
Cold War battle: East Germany-West Germany, 1974
Between 1949 and 1990, when Germany was divided, this would be the only international game between the two national teams.
The traditional shirt change at the conclusion of the game was prohibited during the “battle of the brothers,” which was played during the Cold War’s height.
The game was labelled as having a high risk of terrorist attacks, and armed squads were stationed all around the stadium.
Although things quickly returned to plan and West Germany won the competition, East Germany, competing in their first World Cup, scored a sensational 1-0 victory.
England vs. Argentina in 1986, a Maradona moment Four years after Argentina was defeated by Great Britain in the Falklands War, a fierce conflict took place in Mexico.
Maradona’s moment: England v Argentina 1986
Four years after Argentina had lost to Great Britain in the Falklands War, this fierce conflict broke out in Mexico.
Diego Maradona scored twice in Argentina’s 2-1 quarterfinal victory as they exacted symbolic retribution, much to the delight of their supporters. His first goal was the infamous “Hand of God” goal in which he beat England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. The victory was then assured by an outstanding individual effort known as the century goal.
“It was like the final for us. Maradona said that the objective was to knock out the English, not to win the match.
Say it with flowers: Iran-USA, 1998 The United States and Iran’s pre-game fights at the 1998 World Cup were motivated by peace, not by war.
The Iranian players made a show of peace by handing their American rivals bouquets of white roses during what is regarded as one of the most politically charged games in the history of the sport.
Iran and the US have had a tense relationship ever since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Although the Americans were famously shocked by Iran, who defeated them 2-1 and eliminated them from the World Cup, the goodwill didn’t last long.
An eagle lands: Switzerland-Serbia, 2018
Serbia was extremely upset about this incident because two Swiss players of Albanian origin (Kosovo and Labnai) celebrated their goal by imitating the black eagle with a two-handed gesture, which Serbia views as a nationalist provocation.
Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008 and refuses to recognise Serbia, views the double eagle symbol as a sign of defiance.
After Granit Xhaka, a Kosovo-born player, gave Switzerland its opening goal, Xherdan Shaqiri repeated the gesture to seal a 2-1 victory. FIFA imposed a fine on the players, but they were not suspended. — AFP/APP
