In addition to being one of the world’s most popular sports, football over the years has also witnessed an unending streak of controversies and conflicts. Religiously followed by billions of people across the globe, every rivalry and controversy in the world of football garners enormous attention from the fans as soon as it blows off. Although controversies and conflicts have been an inseparable part of every sport, modern-era soccer has been plagued by numerous spine-chilling incidents and controversies that have taken the world aback by a deafening storm numerous times.
In this article, we will take a closer look at the top five biggest controversies in the history of football.
Andres Escobar Shot Dead
Colombian football player Andres Escobar’s brutal murder is still considered to be one of the biggest controversies in the history of football that shocked the entire world. The 1994 FIFA World Cup turned out to be one of the biggest nightmares for the Colombian football player who ended up scoring an own goal against his team, Colombia which led the United States to a formidable victory of 2-1.
Andres Escobar’s fateful move on the field caused numerous gambling losses and also exposed him to a lot of brutal hate and criticism. A week after the dreadful Switzerland game, Andres Escobar was shot six times in his chest outside a nightclub in Medellin and although the footballer was immediately rushed to the hospital, he was declared dead shortly after reaching the hospital.
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Legal Charges for Sexual Assault on Neymar & Cristiano Ronaldo
Our list of the top five biggest controversies in the history of football also includes a shocking instance that involved the two most popular and prominent football stalwarts, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar who were accused of sexual assault. Back in June 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo was accused of sexual harassment by a resident of Las Vegas named Kathryn Mayorga who alleged that Ronaldo tried to sexually assault her in a hotel room.
However, due to a lack of evidence, the case was dropped by a local court in 2019. In a similar turn of shocking events, Neymar was also accused of sexual misconduct by a Brazilian woman named Najila Trindade. However, later when the investigation was carried out by the São Paulo Police, Neymar was found innocent and Najila Trindade was charged with extortion and conspiracy against the football player.
The Calciopoli Scandal
The history of football witnessed one of the biggest and most infamous controversies, “the Calciopoli Scandal” in 2006 that involved Serie A clubs like Fiorentina, AC Milan, Reggina, Lazio, and Juventus. The club’s alleged match-fixing scandals and concrete evidence in the form of call recordings were registered by the Italian investigating authorities that exposed the Italian football clubs manipulating and cracking match-fixing deals with the referee’s panel.
After being found guilty, the Juventus football club was relegated to Serie B and was stripped completely of their Serie A titles in 2005 and 2006. The entire Calciopoli scandal of 2006 exposed the deep-rooted corruption in the Italian football association and raised numerous speculations regarding all their victories.
Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’
The quarter-final match of the iconic 1986 World Cup between England and Argentina garnered a lot of attention for all the wrong reasons and earned its place in the list of the top five biggest controversies in the history of football. One of the most prominent football players of Argentina, Diego Maradona ended up punching the football with his hand to score a goal beating the English defender Peter Shilton.
Although it was a clear foul, the referee, Ali Bin Naseer allowed the goal to stand. The referee’s decision was brutally criticized by the fans of the English football team. Although Argentina ended up defeating the England football team, Diego Maradona continued facing an unending streak of brutal criticism by the fans for his alleged foul play that led Argentina to a formidable victory.
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The “Stolen” Trophy at the 1996 World Cup
Often hailed as one of the greatest hosting venues in the world, England witnessed a spine-chilling and shocking incident during the 1996 World Cup Tour. The trophy of the 1996 World Cup was stolen from a special venue, Central Hall Westminster, London.
The unfortunate incident soon became an international affair and although the trophy was found by a mixed-breed dog named “Pickles”, the incident raised numerous speculations about the safety and security standards of England as the venue where the trophy was kept for an exhibition had no metal detectors and no surveillance cameras making it hard for the authorities to catch the criminal.
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