Anything can happen within a 90-minute football match, which is why it’s often referred to as “the beautiful game.”
From the almighty comebacks with just minutes to spare to the underdogs taking home the title, as well as the devastating losses – we’ve seen it all over the years.
However, like any other game of football there can be certain events which make the match memorable. Not for the football but for the controversies and the unique circumstances that occur off the pitch.
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Here’s a list of six crazy football matches:
Arsenal v Dynamo Moscow — 1945
From time to time, weather can disrupt the match calendar if conditions are too treacherous to play in – but back in 1945, it seems that this wasn’t a concern at all.
Heavy fog had descended over White Hart Lane (it was played there as Arsenal’s Highbury ground was an air-raid control centre during the Second World War) yet despite the conditions, the referee decided not to cancel the game, Medium reported.
Within the first 33 seconds of the match, Dynamo took the lead but by halftime, they were behind 3–2. Although 55,000 spectators were unable to see the match, the players used the fog to their advantage. They made strong tackles that could have resulted in a red card.
Dynamo was also said to have played at least 12 players on the pitch (some claim it was 15). This is due to an error regarding substitutions.
Arsenal also flouted the rules as George Drury, Arsenal’s player, was sent out. But, eventually, he ran into fog and continued playing for most of the match.
Dynamo won the final match with their 12 footballers and took victory 3-4
Leicester City v Aston Villa 1976
While hitting the back of the net, is the main goal (pardon the pun) for any footballer, it goes without saying that it shouldn’t be in your team’s goal.
In 1976, during a Divison One match at Filbert Street between Aston Villa and Leicester City, Chris Nicholl, a central defender, scored four goals.
Although four goals sounds like a great win for Villa and Nicholl, Villa lost two goals to their own nets, which put Villa ahead twice. The match ended in a draw at 2-2.
Nicholl called the final goal of the match the third, which was an unstoppable header. “best goal I ever scored,”He told the Birmingham Post2006
What’s crazier is that his two own goals statistically made him Leicester’s fifth top goalscorer at the end of that particular season.
Kuwait v France – 1982 World Cup
After an impressive 1-1 draw against Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic and Slovakia), Kuwait were looking to achieve an upset by beating France in their second match at the 1982 World Cup, as Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the prince of Kuwait and also the President of the nation’s football association watched on in the stands.
It wasn’t to be as France led 2-0 in the first half before scoring the third goal in the 48th minute though Kuwait managed to defend and pulled a goal back in the 75th minute, though any hope of a comeback soon disappeared when France’s Alain Giresse scored their fourth goal.
As a result, Kuwaiti players and staff quickly complained about the referee and thought France’s goal should be disallowed because the Kuwait players stopped as they thought the referee blew the whistle when it was actually a whistle in the crowd.
Even Prince Fahid, the president of Kuwaiti FA, got up from his chair and joined in. Amazingly, the referee overruled his original decision and disallowed goal, much to the annoyance of the French team.
But in the end, it wouldn’t really matter since France would go on to score again in the 90th minute and win the match 4-1.
Consequently, referee Miroslav Stupar was banned from officiating, while Prince Fahid was fined £8,000 for his involvement.
Bena Tshadi v Basanga -1998
The tragic and unforgivable turn of events that occurred in October 1998 when Bena Tshadi v Basanga in Democratic Republic of Congo saw 11 Bena Tshadi members killed by lightning.
When a bolt of lightning struck, the game was tied at 1-1 between Basanga and Kasai visitors. The Guardian reported.
“Lightning killed at a stroke 11 young people aged between 20 and 35 years during a football match,”The daily newspaper L’Avenir in Kinshasa Report at the time.
During this time, another 30 people sustained burns. But the newspaper reported that the Basanga team was also being injured. “curiously came out of this catastrophe unscathed.”
Despite this report from L’Avenir, there are no similar reports of this story due to the fact there was a civil war in the country at the time.
Vitebsk v Naftan – 2008
Many enjoy a few bevvies when watching the football, however, you don’t expect the referee to be trollied on the job – but that’s exactly what happened in 2008 when Vitebsk played Naftan in the Belarusian Premier League.
The referee in question was Sergei Shmolik who had previously officiated at Wembley for England’s 6-0 win against Luxembourg in 1999 and just the year before was voted the best referee in Belarus.
The most bizarre part of this was the footage that showed Shmolik sitting backwards in the second period and not moving on the pitch to keep the game going. He instead refereed from the centre circle.
Things became more complicated when he started to randomly blow his whistle. “gesture like a clown”As people quickly realized the cause of his condition, an official confronted him and escorted him from the pitch. Shmolik waved at the crowd while he tried to stand alone, but the official was unable to stop him. Evening Standard reported.
Finaly, the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Shmolik was then taken to the hospital and tested for high blood-alcohol levels.
Shmolik was expelled from refereeing because of his drunken behavior.
Tunisia Vs Mali – 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
Recent headlines focused on the match between Tunisia and Mali at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. The referee whistled twice for full-time, and it was done so early.
But that wasn’t the only controversy as the match had two contentious penalties along with a red card. Ibrahima Kone took the penalty that gave Mali the advantage in the 48th minute. It was awarded because officials thought that Tunisia’s Ellyes Skhiri used his arm to block the shot.
Tunisia was awarded the second penalty in the 75th minute.
After 85 minutes of match, Janny Sikazwe, the Zambian referee, suddenly blew his whistle for full time. It caused confusion among both teams. Sikazwe pointed towards tunnel, signalling the end of play, but quickly realized his error.
Play continued as normal, but there was drama when Sikazwe gave El Bilal Toure, Malian midfielder, an unofficial red card.
Now down to 10 men, Tunisia was looking to bag a late equaliser, though this wasn’t to be as the game was abruptly stopped early once again as Sikazwe blew the full-time whistle even though 10 seconds of the 90 minutes still remained – and so no stoppage time was played either.
Footage from the aftermath shows Mondher, the animatedTunisia Manager, expressing his dissatisfaction with the decision made. In frustration at the delay, he tapped the watch to show his anger.
From start to finish, it was truly chaotic.