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A World Cup is a competition which brings out many positive emotions in players and fans like team spirit, unity, concentration, joy, pain and willpower along with countless other feelings. However there have been a few incidents that have left a negative impression of peoples minds. Here is a list of 5 incidents that shouldnt have taken place in sports biggest competition.
#1 Zindane\'s sending off versus Italy
The Frenchman, who is considered as one of the finest midfielders ever, had a brilliant run in the 2006 World Cup scoring 3 goals including 1 in the final against Italy but will also be remembered for being sent off in the dying minutes of extra time. Zidane wasnt too happy with Italy defender Marco Materazzis close marking and remarked If you want my shirt I will give it to you afterwards. Materazzi then replied Id prefer your sister. Zidane head-butted him for the hurtful remark and was immediately shown a red card in the 110th minute.
A Zidane deprived France lost the penalty shootout to Italy, ending their captains hopes of lifting a second World Cup. Zidane will always be remembered for his magical performances with Juventus and Real Madrid but the headbutt incident will always be a blot on his illustrious career.
#2 Maradona\'s Hand Of God
Argentine legend Diego Maradona scored two goals against England in quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup and while the second goal was a pure master piece the first one was an utter disgrace. Maradona scored the "Hand Of God" six minutes into the second half after England’s Steve Hodge failed to clear the ball. The midfielder ran into the Three Lions penalty area and used his left hand to hit the ball past Peter Shilton. The referee did not see the handball and allowed the goal despite the angry protests by the England players.
Maradona spoke of the incident later saying "I was waiting for my teammates to embrace me, and no one came... I told them, 'Come hug me, or the referee isn't going to allow it.'". England manager Bobby Robson called the goal “the hand of a rascal” and most of the English press labelled Maradona a cheat. Football relationships between England and Argentina have been strained ever since.
#3 Rivaldo\'s play acting versus Turkey
The World Cup winning Brazilian who recently hung up his boots will go down as one of the finest attacking midfielders of his generation but his antics against Turkey in the Group Stage of the 2002 World Cup will be always be an ugly blot on his distinguished career. The incident happened during the closing stages of the matches. Brazil won a corner and Rivaldo asked Turkish left back Hakan Unsal for the ball but the defender kicked it toward him instead of just rolling it.
The ball clearly hit Rivaldo on the knee but the midfielder fell to the ground clutching his face in a bid to get Unsal sent off. The ruse worked and Unsal was shown a second yellow card by the referee. The replay was seen later by FIFA who fined Rivaldo 11,670 Swiss Francs for the incident. Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari named Rivaldo as the best player of the tournament but his theatrics earned him quite a few critics.
#4 Ronaldo\'s wink versus England
The infamous quarter-final match between England and Portugal during the 2006 World Cup wont be forgotten anytime soon. England striker Wayne Rooney, who was known for his fiery temper during his younger days, wasnt getting much of the ball and stamped Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho in frustration. Cristiano Ronaldo, who was Rooneys team-mate at Manchester United, ran over to the referee and appeared to call for Rooneys dismissal. The referee gave in and Rooney was shown a red card for his behaviour. Cameras captured Ronaldo winking at the Portugal bench following the red card which led English media to blame him for Rooneys sending off.
The repercussions were enormous and Ronaldo was deprived of the tournaments Best Young Player Award due to negative feed back from England supporters. Ronaldo was emotionally affected by the negativity and stated that he wished to move from Manchester United to Real Madrid in order to get a fresh start. Sir Alex Ferguson and his assistant Carlos Queiroz eventually convinced the winger to stay at Old Trafford and his Real Madrid move was delayed by three years.
#5 Beckham\'s kick on Diego Simone
This infamous incident during the Round of 16 match against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup will haunt the England midfielder forever. Beckham, who was then with Manchester United, was badly brought down by Argentine midfielder and current Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simone and the Englishman retaliated by kicking Simone on the calf muscle. Simone theatrically fell down and appealed to the referee to send Beckham off soon after.
The ploy worked and Beckham was shown a red and the Three Lions eventually lost the game on penalties. Simone later admitted to play acting but many England fans blamed Beckham for Englands exit from the competition and the midfielder even received death threats which caused him to stay in the USA for a while as he feared for his life. The abuse continued right into Euro 2000 but eventually died down after newspapers appealed to the public to forget the incident.
