UEFA Champions League: 4 most controversial finals of all time

For any player, the Champions League final is a pinnacle of his career as not everyone gets to play the match which is undoubtedly the biggest game in club football. 22 men will play tonight in yet another grand finale of the elite competition that we have become used to call the UEFA Champions League.

Real Madrid take on Juventus at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as the entire world will be glued to the action in Wales as Madrid's threatening attack goes against the peculiar mean Italian defence of Juventus.

Though the competition is synonymous with a stage where heroes become champions as is proved by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, there have been quite a few instances which have been controversial in nature and tarred the image of the tournament.

Right from the match-fixing scandals to the blasphemous refereeing decisions, we have witnessed it all. From Real Madrid's scandalous win over Bayern Munich this season to Barcelona's infamous win over Chelsea in 2009, Champions League has given us many controversial episodes.

Bookmark this – Real Madrid vs Juventus Live

Right here, on the day of the big final, we present you the most controversial finals in the Champions League/European Cup history.

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#4 Leeds United vs Bayern Munich - 1975 European Cup final

This was the chance where Leeds United were denied a goal

Don Revie's famous Leeds side reached their highest point when despite all odds, they reached the 1975 European Cup final after scrapping through four rounds of previous knockout games. Their opponents were the defending champions, Bayern Munich, who were led by the ever solid Franz Beckenbauer.

The Bavarians were favourites again that year but the referee, Michel Kitabdjian, turned out to be a crucial factor in the game rather than the players involved.

Leeds started the game on a high and were the dominating side. They had two penalty appeals denied, one when Beckenbauer handled the ball and other when he tripped Allan Clarke, but the referee deemed it fair.

The tensions boiled over when a valid Leeds goal scored by Peter Lorimer was denied as the referee adjudged one of his teammates offside in the build-up. Initially, the referee had given it as a goal but the Bayern players suggested him to have a word with his linesman, which prompted the sudden change of heart by Kitabdjian.

This angered the Leeds fans, who started a riot in the stadium, leading to a halt in the final. The match was resumed after a while but the refereeing decisions had broken the Leeds players who gave up and eventually lost 2-0.

Leeds fans created a ruckus in the stadium and outside of it as well, which prompted the governing body to ban the club from European competitions for four years. A ban, which was later reduced to two. The fans complained of cheating as they felt that it was their beloved Leeds who deserved to be champions of Europe in 1975.

#3 Real Madrid vs Fiorentina - 1957 European Cup final

This Real Madrid team controversially won the European Cup in 1957

Real Madrid were playing to defend their crown against Italian side Fiorentina at their home turf, Santiago Bernabeu. Over 100,000 people thronged the stadium to watch their team play in the final of the newly formed competition.

Madrid had won the previous year and repeated the feat as second half goals from Alfredo Di Stefano and Gento helped Real to their second European trophy.

But the victory was not all sweet and happy for Real Madrid as the first goal, which was scored by Di Stefano through a spot kick, was a controversial one. Madrid forward Enrique Mateos was judged offside by the linesman in the build up to the foul but referee Leo Horn decided to ignore the flag and award Real Madrid a penalty in the 69th minute.

It is also reported that the foul was committed outside the penalty area and many suspected foul play from General Franco - Spain's dictator at that time to help his favourite team, Real Madrid.

#2 Marseille vs AC Milan - 1993 Champions League final

Marseille chairman did match fixing before the Champions League final

At that time, Marseille were the most successful side in France and made it to the final of the newly named - UEFA Champions League. Their opponents were Fabio Capello's AC Milan side but the legendary Italian team were beaten 1-0 by the French champions of that time.

But the real storm came to the fore a few days later as it was revealed that Marseille chairman Bernard Tapie used unfair means a week before the game to keep his players fresh for the Champions League final and also for securing the club's fifth straight league title.

Tapie ordered club's general manager Jean-Pierre Bernes and midfielder Jean-Jacques to tap three of Valenciennes players and make them "go easy" on Marseille players in the league game, which the eventual-champions won 1-0.

One of the three Valenciennes players refused and complained to the French authorities which led the French FA to strip Marseille of their league title and relegate them to the second division.

Tapie was handed a jail sentence of two years and the players involved in the scandal were also given a ban of two years. Shockingly, Marseille were not stripped of their European title but the supporters of the club still do not consider that night as a memorable event in the club's history.

#1 Juventus vs Ajax - 1996 Champions League final

A still from the final in 1996

The last time Juventus won the Champions League, it was tainted with doubts of doping which led to a full-blown scandal. The final was played between Marcelo Lippi's Juventus and Louis van Gaal's Ajax. Juventus went on to win the match on penalties as the game was tied 1-1 after extra time.

The Dutch players were shocked to see the intensity of Juventus players as one of Ajax players, Finidi George, famously said, “Normally a player can do that maybe for 20 minutes. When you can do that for 90, 120 minutes, and at the end of the season, it is not normal.”

The allegations were proved when this matter went on trial in 2004 and Juventus club doctor, Riccardo Agricola, was sent to jail for providing players with performance-enhancing drugs. Though the players have maintained innocence over this issue, 20 years have passed but that team of Ajax still feel hard done by the doping incident.

Juventus players were labelled as cheats by the world media as despite winning the Champions League against a great Ajax side, they never got the recognition any champion before them (other than Marseille) received.