The Hand of God (1986)
The scene: The 1986 World Cup quarterfinal between Argentina and England, just four years after the Falklands War. The tension was palpable. Fifty-one minutes into a scoreless match, Argentine superstar Diego Maradona chased a looping ball into the English
penalty box. As goalkeeper Peter Shilton came out to punch it clear, Maradona, eight inches shorter, leaped with him and cheekily punched the ball into the net with his left fist. The Tunisian referee, Ali Bennaceur, missed the infraction and awarded the goal. The English players were apoplectic, but their protests were waved away. Maradona would later score one of the greatest goals in history in the same game, but it was his first, wickedly illegal goal—which he famously attributed to “the hand of God”—that cemented his legacy as both a genius and a cheat. England went home, Argentina went on to win the Cup, and an entire nation's sense of sporting justice was shattered.
Frank Lampard’s Ghost Goal (2010)
If the Hand of God was the crime, this was the karmic blowback for England. In the 2010 World Cup Round of 16, England was trailing Germany 2-1. Just before halftime, midfielder Frank Lampard launched a beautiful, arcing shot from outside the box. The ball struck the crossbar, flew down a full yard behind the goal line, and spun back out. It was a clear goal to everyone in the stadium and the millions watching on TV. Everyone, that is, except referee Jorge Larrionda and his linesman. They waved play on. Instead of going into halftime tied 2-2 and with all the momentum, a deflated England went on to lose 4-1. The call was so unequivocally wrong and consequential that it became the single biggest catalyst for FIFA finally implementing goal-line technology. For England fans, it was a bitter, but ultimately productive, injustice.
The Heist in Daejeon (2002)
Most controversial games feature one bad call. The 2002 World Cup match between co-host South Korea and Italy had a whole collection. Ecuadorian referee Byron Moreno seemed determined to ensure an Italian exit. He disallowed a perfectly good golden goal from Damiano Tommasi for a phantom offside call. Earlier, he had awarded South Korea a dubious early penalty. The peak of the absurdity came in extra time when he gave Italy’s star forward, Francesco Totti, a second yellow card for diving—when he had clearly been tripped in the penalty area. Reduced to ten men, Italy eventually conceded and was eliminated. The performance was so widely condemned that it sparked conspiracy theories and prompted an official FIFA inquiry. For Italian fans, it wasn't a game; it was a mugging.
Thierry Henry’s Double Handball (2009)
This wasn't in a World Cup finals match, but it decided who got there, and the crime was caught in pristine HD. In a 2010 World Cup playoff between France and the Republic of Ireland, the score was tied on aggregate, sending the game to extra time. French legend Thierry Henry controlled a long ball near the Irish goal line, but it was bouncing awkwardly. He stopped it with his hand, then tapped it again with his hand to settle it before crossing to William Gallas, who scored the winning goal. The Irish players surrounded the referee in a furious, desperate plea, but he hadn't seen the blatant violation. France went to the World Cup; Ireland went home. Henry later admitted the handball, but the result stood, leaving a permanent stain on the integrity of the qualification process and breaking Irish hearts.
