10 of the most talked about matches in the last ten FIFA World Cups (excluding the final)

#4 The refereeing partiality for the hosts

A couple of refereeing howlers detained Spain from reaching the FIFA World Cup semi-final

After a rather three peaceful World Cups, controversy came back in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The South Korean fans might tell you that they reached the semi-final by merit but the Spanish fans will detest this thought process.

The first half was goalless but Spain had come close to scoring a couple of goals. In the 49th minute, Ruben Baraja headed home a swinging ball through a free kick but the referee disallowed the goal for shirt-pulling by Fernando Morientes.

Some terrific goalkeeping by Casillas and brilliant defending by the South Koreans ensured that the scoreline remained 0-0 in full time. In the second minute of extra time, Fernando Morientes headed home a cross in an empty net. However, the linesmen disallowed the goal claiming it to be off-side.

When the game went to the penalties, it was all even, until Joaquin missed for the Spaniards, and the Koreans scored the subsequent penalty. South Korea won 5-3 on penalties and became the first Asian team to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup in a controversial manner.

After the match, Spain's Ivan Helguera said this: "Everyone saw two perfectly good goals. If Spain didn't win, it's because they didn't let us win."