Zaire's World Cup Underperformance Protest

After Zaire, now known as DR Congo, lost all their matches at the 1974 FIFA World Cup, the players were forbidden to leave their home country to prevent them from playing for European clubs with offers that came in after the World Cup. The team, although genuinely quite skilled, was promised payments that their government failed to provide. In response to this unmet commitment, they deliberately underperformed during the tournament.