From Maradona's Hand of God to Zidane's headbbutt, FIFA WC's controversial moments from history

November 19, 2022

Sports Tak Staff

The stage is set for FIFA World Cup 2022 which is slated to kick of from November 20 in Qatar.

Here's a look at five of the most controversial moments from previous editions of the FIFA World Cup.

On June 4, 1938, in the FIFA World Cup  Italy were forced to wear a white kit after the diktat of the dictator Benito Mussolini.

The Italians came out wearing a black kit, which was the symbol of the hated Italian fascist paramilitary. This only enraged the French crowd who hated Fascist Italy anyway. Italy would win 3-1 and go on to win the tournament.

One of the most infamous matches in tournament history, the ‘Battle of Santiago’ took place in 1962 between Chile and Italy. Both sides proceeded to assault each other in a myriad of ways. Punches, kicks, and numerous scuffles led to police intervention. Chile won the match 2-0.

Arguably the most incredible moment in World Cup history, Diego Maradona’s blatant handball to lift the ball over England goalkeeper Peter Shilton put his Argentina side 1-0 up in the quarter-final. A truly incredible moment of cheating by one of the greatest players ever.

Despite being instrumental in getting France to the final of the FIFA World Cup 2006, Zinedine Zidane embarrassed himself on the final day when he aggressively headbutted Marco Materazzi, leaving France down a player for the rest of the match. Italy ultimately won the World Cup on penalty shootouts.

Uruguayan striker Louis Suarez is quite infamous for several instances of biting during a football game. But the most notorious one arrived in the 2014 WC when he went on to assault Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini in a group-league match. He had to face a ban of four months and 9 international matches.

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