5 of the most bizarre moments in World Cup history

The history of the World Cup is littered with some of the most memorable moments in football history, from Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick in the 1966 final to Diego Maradona’s legendary performances in 1986, all the way up to Germany’s 7-1 demolition of Brazil in the 2014 tournament.

Of course, with 20 tournaments now behind us and a myriad of different nations having taken part over the course of those tournaments, there have been plenty of bizarre moments that have been equally memorable, too. Here are 5 of the most bizarre moments in World Cup history.

#1: Mwepu Ilunga finds a unique way to stop a free-kick, World Cup 1974

The country of Zaire – now the Democratic Republic of the Congo – have only ever appeared in one World Cup tournament, in West Germany back in 1974. Unlike some other one-timers though, they provided the football audience with one of the most bizarre moments in World Cup history.

After losing their first two group games to Scotland and Yugoslavia, they were faced with holders Brazil in what looked set to be another one-sided loss. With 10 minutes to go, Brazil were duly 2-0 up when they were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box. With Rivelino appearing to line a shot up, the referee blew the whistle, only for Zaire defender Mwepu Ilunga to sprint out of the wall and boot the ball up the field.

It was a genuinely bizarre moment that was put down to “African ignorance” by commentator John Motson, who assumed that Ilunga simply didn’t know or understand the rules. The defender received a yellow card for his actions, which also appeared to baffle him.

Later on, Ilunga explained that he was attempting to be sent off in a protest against the fact that his country’s dictator was refusing to pay the players, but as he only received a yellow card it didn’t quite work out, and it remains one of the most replayed comical clips in World Cup history.

#2 Kuwaiti prince invades the pitch and disallows the goal, World Cup 1982

Given Kuwait were already 3-1 behind against France when this incident happened, you’d have expected their fans – a handful of Kuwaiti royalty included – would’ve thrown the towel in by the time Alain Giresse apparently added a fourth goal. As the French players celebrated the goal, however, the Kuwaiti defenders began to protest.

Initially, it was thought that they were trying to claim Giresse was offside, but then it became clear that the players were trying to suggest that they’d stopped playing because they’d heard the sound of a whistle, apparently from the stands, that they’d confused as being the referee’s.

The official initially appeared to be unmoved – until Sheikh Fahad, a member of the Kuwaiti royal family, headed onto the pitch to remonstrate with him. And sure enough, with Kuwait’s players apparently ready to abandon the game, the goal was struck off, leaving the French players gobsmacked.

France went on to win the game 4-1 and so the incident didn’t really matter. Some 8 years later Sheikh Fahad invited France’s Michel Platini to Kuwait to apologise for his unethical behaviour. Unethical or not, he’d inadvertently provided the watching public with one of the World Cup’s all time bizarre moments.

#3 Rene Higuita decides to play outfield, World Cup 1990

Cameroon had already caused a stir in the 1990 World Cup by defeating holders Argentina in the opening game of the tournament, but after surprisingly winning their group, it was expected that their run would come to an end in the second round against Colombia. However, fans hadn’t taken into account the presence of the original sweeper-keeper in Colombia’s goal – Rene Higuita.

Higuita was already renowned as somewhat of a bizarre character – with his wild perm and huge moustache, he’d earned the nickname ‘El Loco’, or ‘The Crazy One’ – as he had a tendency to come high up the pitch, even dribbling the ball at times, forcing his defence forward and making Colombia a more attacking side.

Against Cameroon though, this tendency caught up with him badly. After the game ended 0-0 after 90 minutes, extra time began and midway through, 40-year old striker Roger Milla opened the scoring for the African side.

With Colombia chasing an equaliser, Higuita decided to attempt one of his bizarre dribbles while well out of his goal. Milla stole the ball from him and slotted it into the empty net, giving Cameroon a 2-0 lead, and although Colombia pulled a goal back, they were eliminated.

Somehow the incident didn’t deter Higuita from more bizarre behaviour – after spending time in jail, forcing him to miss the 1994 World Cup, he then performed the legendary ‘Scorpion Kick’ during a 1995 friendly with England.

#4 John Aldridge loses his cool, World Cup 1994

The temperature and humidity levels at the World Cup in 1994 – taking place in the USA – were a point of contention early on in the tournament, as no lesser than Diego Maradona spoke out against the timing of the games – claiming FIFA were being unfair to the players. It was Ireland’s John Aldridge though who had the most bizarre meltdown.

In the boiling 101-degree heat of Orlando’s Citrus Bowl, Ireland boss Jack Charlton wanted to introduce Aldridge into the game to replace Tommy Coyne, as his side trailed Mexico by two goals. Coyne left the field, but for some unknown reason, a FIFA official prevented Aldridge from entering the fray, leaving Ireland playing with 10 men.

And so in the heat of the moment, Aldridge snapped, aiming a foul-mouthed tirade at the official, all of which was caught on camera. Eventually, the striker got onto the pitch, and then it was Charlton’s turn, as he exploded into his own rant – eventually earning himself banishment from the touchline, as he’d already railed at FIFA officials for not allowing his players to drink water during a previous game in more searing heat.

It didn’t all end badly for Ireland, though – the fired-up Aldridge scored a header to make the game 2-1, and the goal was enough to send his side through into the second round via goal difference at the expense of Norway.

#5 Graham Poll books Josip Simunic three times in the same game, World Cup 2006

England’s 2006 World Cup didn’t go perfectly – they were eliminated by Portugal in the quarter-finals – but it still went better than their refereeing equivalent, Premier League official Graham Poll. He provided the World Cup with an all-time classic bizarre moment by somehow booking the same player – Croatia’s Josip Simunic – three times during a group game with Australia.

Firstly, Poll issued Simunic his first yellow card for a foul on Harry Kewell in the 61st minute. The game was already threatening to descend into chaos when both Brett Emerton of Australia and Croatia’s Dario Simic were sent off with minutes to go, but nobody could’ve predicted what happened next.

Initially, Simunic was shown his second yellow card in the 90th minute – but somehow wasn’t sent off, and when Tim Cahill appeared to have scored a winner for Australia, Simunic went crazy and angrily confronted Poll. Cahill’s goal was struck off as Poll had already blown for full time, but Simunic’s reaction earned him a third yellow – and thus finally, a red card.

When the error came to light, Poll was naturally mortified – even more so when FIFA decided to send him home from the tournament after the group stage had ended.

His explanation for the incident? He’d incorrectly noted down Australia’s Craig Moore for the second booking, likely due to Simunic’s Australian accent. Realistically it was just a huge error and it signalled the end of Poll’s career as an international referee.