6 of the biggest refereeing mistakes in World Cup history

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Lampard’s reaction after the disallowed goal

#4 Rudi Voller’s dive – West Germany vs Argentina 1990

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Rudi Voller dives after a challenge

Argentina had somehow scraped through to the final of the 1990 World Cup after winning through penalty shootouts in two of the knockout matches. In the final, they were facing the mighty West Germany in Rome and were riding their luck in probably the dullest World Cup final ever.

However, towards the closing stages of the match, two horrific decisions by the referee shut out all possibilities of a second consecutive World Cup for the Argentinians. First, Pedro Monzon was shown the red card after a challenge on Jurgen Klinsmann, who clearly made the most of it.

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With five minutes remaining on the watch, Rudi Voller dived in the penalty box after a seemingly harmless challenge. Andreas Brehme did not fail to find the back of the net from the resulting spot kick as West Germany went on to lift the World Cup.

Monzon became the first player to be red carded in a World Cup final ever. For many, it was poetic justice, but the Argentinians cried foul. They claimed that it was a conspiracy as they had ousted hosts Italy in the semi-finals.

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