Doha, Qatar: The sport of football has not been without its share of controversy. Match-fixing, athlete doping, and big football stars going to prison have all been scenarios that have besmirched the name of the beautiful game.
However, some of the controversies that plagued the game of football were more bizarre than egregious.
From a ludicrous number of own goals to a weird golden goal rule, the following football matches are among the most peculiar the sport has ever witnessed.
● Barbados 4 – 2 Grenada
The 1994 Carribean Cup is our first entry and has featured perhaps the most ludicrous end to a regular time game in the history of the sport.
Barbados was pitted in a group of 3 that featured both Grenada and Puerto Rico alongside it. Barbados lost the opener to Puerto Rico 1-0, who then went on to lose 2-0 to Grenada, therefore Barbados needed to win by 2 goals to advance to the second round.
During the match, Barbados managed to score the two goals needed during regular time, but Grenada managed to pull one back during the last 10 minutes of the game.
The Barbados players then hatched a plan; they would score an own goal deliberately to tie the score and move the game to extra time. The 1994 Carribean Cup implemented a golden goal rule in which the goal would not only win the game but would also count as two goals.
So, in the 83rd minute, Barbados player Terry Sealey kicked the goal into his own net to give Grenada the tie.
What followed next was among the most outrageous scenes in football with the Grenada team defending its goal while also defending the Barbados team goal as another own goal would make the score 2-3 and would not suffice the +2 goal margin needed for qualification.
The game eventually went to extra time, with Barbados getting the golden goal and making it through.
● The Disgrace of Gijon
A match that would live in World Cup infamy, the 1982 FIFA World Cup saw third placed West Germany beat Austria 1-0 to guarantee qualification from the group stage into the next round. The group consisted of aforementioned teams as well as Algeria and Chile.
Algeria was second before the match and would have qualified had both teams drawn or West Germany would have lost.
The match saw West Germany score in the first 10 minutes, and then no other chances for the next 80 minutes. Austrian footballer Reinhold Hintermaier had later admitted that both sides had fixed the match.
The result angered the Algerians, who felt cheated by the score and lodged a complaint with FIFA. The football governing body however ruled that neither team had overtly broken the rules and therefore Algeria’s case was refused.
● 1998 ASEAN Championship
The 1998 ASEAN Football Federation Championship, known as the 1998 Tiger Cup, was no stranger to controversy also, particularly that in Group A.
Group A had Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, and Myanmar. Indonesia comfortably climbed on top of the group. Thailand needed to draw or win to qualify alongside Indonesia and after Myanmar had secured enough points for qualification after beating the Philippines.
The winner of the group would face the runner up in the other group, while the runner up would face the winner of the other. Singapore won Group B and Vietnam came second.
Both Thailand and Indonesia did not want to face Vietnam and both wanted to face Singapore, who were the surprise group winners and a team both of them considered an easier match-up than Vietnam.
With the game tied 2-2, Indonesian defender Mursyid Effendi successfully scored a deliberate own goal into his team’s net despite two Thai attackers trying to stop him. Indonesia lost 3-2 and ended facing the opponent they desired, Singapore.
Both teams were fined $40,000 for their antics, and Effendi would be banned from international football for life.
Thailand emerged top of the group and ended up facing Vietnam and losing. Indonesia’s matchup however was not as easy as they thought it would have been.
In the most unimaginable plot twist to the 1998 Tiger Cup championship, Indonesia ended up losing to Singapore, who then went on to beat Vietnam in the final 1-0 and crowned the 1998 champions.
● AS Adema – SO l'Emyrne
The final entry holds the Guinness World Record for the most goals scored in a single game— a football match between Madagascar sides AS Adema and SO l'Emyrne. AS Adema ended up winning the match 149-0 and claimed the league title in the process, as SOE players would, after every kick-off, kick the ball back to their goal and score own goal after own goal.
The 2002 top flight championship in Madagascar saw SOE soaring with a string of excellent performances that led them to the round-robin playoff tournament at the end of the season. They faced DSA Antananarivo, and were up 2-1 and headed to an anticipated final showdown with AS Adema for league title.
Antananarivo, however, were handed a dubious last-minute penalty, which was successfully converted to seal a 2-2 draw. AS Adema won the league following the final whistle but would not be lifting the trophy until after their final match against SOE.
SOE players and coaches arrived enraged, having planned a protest on the eve of Adema's crowning. During the protest, the runners-up scored a rapid fire string of own goals into their net. When the final whistle went off, AS Adema hoisted the league title trophy having just won 149-0.
The Malagasy Football Federation fined and banned the SOE team coach and three players for their actions (behaviour/display).
