Some things in life are constant: death, change, and controversies. In a sporting competition, the chances of it ending without a spot of black is lesser than the ability of fishes to climb trees.
The Euro 2016 has only just begun, but it has already been marred by the tumult caused by fans’ behavior in the Russia-England game. As the tournament proceeds with some wonderful games, most of the talk is about the dark arts that have made fans worry about whether they should actually go and watch games, risking their lives in the process.
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It is not like this is the only Euro where the dark nebulous of hullabaloo has shrouded it with its ugliness. Almost every edition before this has had incidents that etched itself to the memories of fans, albeit in a not-so-good way.
And here are the 5 most controversial Euro moments…
#1 Spain’s denial by Franco
General Franco was one of the most notorious dictators of the last century. Despite not being as infamous as Hitler, he had his fair share of ruthlessness. Among many other things, he was an avid football fan and keenly followed the game.
However, he once became the biggest enemy of his country’s football team. In the 1960 edition of Euros, he banned the Spain national team from participating in the quarter-final of the tournament.
Why? Because Spain had to travel to the USSR in order to play their remaining fixtures—something that didn’t go down well with him due to political reasons. In the end, the Soviet Union won the tournament, much to the agony of Spain fans.
#2 When Ronald Koeman disgusted his own father
The Oranje and the English shared a great rivalry back in the 80s. Hence, emotions surrounding the England-Netherlands game ran high. By the time the match ended, the storm just rose to a peak level because of actions from Ronald Koeman.
Netherlands came from behind to win the game 2-1, something that was celebrated with great fervor. Marco van Basten’s winner brought joy to the hearts of the Dutch fans, but Koeman marred the celebrations when the defender pretended to wipe his back with Olaf Thon’s shirt, something he had just swapped moments ago with his own shirt.
This act was seen in a highly negative light, with even Koeman’s father condemning it.
#3 France’s helping hand
Refereeing decisions have caused a furor in almost every major tournament. It is perhaps impossible to find a competition which was known for impeccable officiating. The Euro 2000 wasn’t any different either as referee Guenter Benko caused an uproar with a decision that still gets the Portuguese people’s blood pumping.
With just 3 minutes to go in extra-time, David Trezeguet’s shot was saved by Vitor Baia. The rebound fell to Sylvian Wiltord, who shot it as well and beat the goalie in the process. However, Abel Xavier was there to save the day as he cleared the ball off-the-line, but couldn’t manage to get his hand out of the way of the ball.
He used his hand to support himself while trying to clear the ball. The referee whistled for a corner at first, but his assistant interrupted and suggested him to award a penalty—and the former obliged, much to the fury of Portuguese.
The resulting penalty was scored by Zinedine Zidane and France eventually went on to win the title, further aggravating Portugal’s wounds.
#4 Italy’s conspiracy theory
Italians are famous for many things. Some of them include pizza, defending and building their own conspiracy theories to play the victim after elimination from major tournaments. However, their Euro 2004 exit happened in such an unfortunate way that their frustration was perhaps justified.
With just a round of games to go in the group stages, Italy could only reach the next if they won against Bulgaria and if the other group game between Denmark and Sweden didn’t end up with a draw higher than 1-1.
As you may have already guessed by now, Italy won their tie, however, Denmark and Sweden played out a 2-2 draw. The game ended dubiously as Sweden’s equaliser came through Mattias Jonson in the 89th minute. The doubts were further deepened when it was revealed that the bookies had an unusually high amount of money placed on a 2-2 draw.
This didn’t go down well with the Italians with goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon even accusing the Nordic teams of fixing the game, something that was never proven.
#5 Russia hooliganism
And the most recent cause of clamor was the pathetic behavior from Russia fans during their nation’s clash against England. Trouble began when the Russians threw flares at the English end and climbed over the fence that divided these rivals.
Apparently, according to witnesses, the Russian were kicking and punching the fleeing English fans. According to the French prosecutors, the ruffians were ‘trained hooligans’ and had this planned out so well that they couldn’t be caught.
Meanwhile, 6 English fans were taken into custody for throwing bottles.
In total, 35 people have been injured as the prestigious tournament finds a dark spot on it even before starting properly.
