🧤 II · Hands of God & Controversy
The handballs, the ghost goals, the offside flags that didn't go up. Where the World Cup's greatest dramas turned on a referee's blind spot — and a nation's grievance was born in a single instant.
Part of World Cup
12 moments in this segment.
- — Did it cross the line? Hurst's 1966 final goal. In extra time of the 1966 final, Geoff Hurst's shot bounces down off the bar and is given as a goal — England 3, West Germany 2. Whether the ball fully crossed the line is still debated nearly 60 years later.
- — A Kuwaiti prince halts the match vs France. When France scored a fourth in 1982, Kuwait's players stopped, claiming they'd heard a whistle. A Kuwaiti prince came onto the pitch; the referee bizarrely disallowed the goal — one of the strangest scenes in World Cup history.
- — The Hand of God. Diego Maradona punches the ball past Peter Shilton and into the England net, then claims it was scored "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God." The most infamous goal in World Cup history.
- — Maradona's failed drug test. After his wild-eyed celebration against Greece, Diego Maradona fails a drug test for ephedrine at USA '94 and is thrown out of his last World Cup — a sad coda to football's most turbulent genius.
- — Rivaldo's theatrical dive vs Turkey. Hit on the leg by a ball from Hakan Ünsal, Brazil's Rivaldo clutches his face and collapses — getting the Turk sent off. The blatant playacting was caught on camera and earned Rivaldo a FIFA fine.
- — Byron Moreno and Italy vs South Korea. Italy's 2002 exit to co-hosts South Korea is mired in controversy: a disallowed golden goal, a soft sending-off of Totti for diving, and referee Byron Moreno at the centre of Italian fury for years afterward.
- — The handball that wasn't — 2002 final. In the 2002 final, a Germany free kick struck a hand on the line in the box and went unpunished; debate over the missed call lingered as Brazil's Ronaldo went on to settle the match.
- — The Battle of Nuremberg. Portugal vs Netherlands 2006 descends into chaos: referee Valentin Ivanov shows a World Cup record 16 yellow cards and 4 reds. FIFA president Sepp Blatter said the referee himself deserved a yellow.
- — Thierry Henry's handball denies Ireland. In the qualifying playoff for 2010, Thierry Henry controls the ball with his hand twice before setting up the goal that sends France to the World Cup and breaks Irish hearts — a scandal that reached the French parliament.
- — Frank Lampard's ghost goal vs Germany. Lampard's shot crashes off the bar and lands a clear half-metre over the German line — and is not given. The non-goal that finally forced FIFA to adopt goal-line technology.
- — Argentina 1978 and the 6–0 controversy. Host Argentina needed to beat Peru by four goals to reach the 1978 final — and won 6–0 amid lasting suspicion, given the military junta's involvement, that the result was not entirely sporting.
- — The Disgrace of Gijón. West Germany beat Austria 1–0 in 1982 — a result that conveniently sent both through at Algeria's expense. The teams passed the ball around for 80 minutes; the outrage led FIFA to play final group matches simultaneously ever after.
