26WWII Foggy Fabricated Football
During World War II, there was an Edinburgh derby football match that was shrouded in such dense fog that neither the commentator nor the spectators could discern the action. The commentator refrained from mentioning the fog to prevent potential eavesdropping by Germans. Instead, he fabricated details of a fictional match, which purportedly ended 6-5.
27. Drug lords Pablo Escobar and El Mexicano once wagered $2 million on a soccer match. Each handpicked a dream team of professional soccer players and flew them to Escobar's residence to compete on his private field.
28. In a 1972 World Cup qualifier, an error by the U.S. Soccer Federation left the U.S. team shorthanded, necessitating the inclusion of a fan from the stands to start the game.
29. Heavy fog in 1937 forced the cancellation of a football match in the UK shortly after it started. While everyone else departed, goalkeeper Sam Bartram, unaware of the referee's decision, silently guarded his goal for 15 minutes until a policeman informed him of the cancellation.
30. The Death Match was the nickname given to a historic World War II football match between the occupying German forces, Falkelf, and a team of Ukrainian locals. The aim was to demonstrate the dominance of German sportsmanship. However, they lost 5-3, not realizing that the opposing team was made up of former Dynamo Kiev players.
Latest FactRepublic Video:
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
31Soccer Match Sparked 100-Hour War
A football match between Honduras and El Salvador in 1969, which El Salvador won to secure a World Cup spot, started a war between these countries that lasted 100 hours, with more than 2000 people losing their lives.
32. In 1954, a soccer match in Italy between Fiorentina and Pistoiese was suspended because multiple unidentified flying objects were spotted above the stadium and the whole city of Florence. After a while, a white, sticky substance started falling from the sky. What happened is still a mystery.
33. In 1967, the two factions involved in the Nigerian civil war declared a 48-hour ceasefire in order to watch Pele play in a football (soccer) match.
34. In 1994, during a football match between the national teams of Barbados and Grenada, a bizarre rule stipulating that goals scored in extra time counted double meant it was more advantageous for Barbados to score an own goal. Grenada then attempted to score an own goal to nullify this advantage, forcing Barbados to defend against both goals simultaneously in order to win.
35. Match-fixing got so out of control in Canadian soccer that one pro match in 2015 ended early after the home team's attempts to score an own goal were repeatedly thwarted by the away team.
