Disgrace Of Gijón
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The Disgrace of Gijón () is one of many names given in hindsight to the
1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national footbal ...
football match played at the El Molinón stadium in
Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality by population in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coa ...
, Spain, on 25 June 1982, with
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
beating
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
1-0 and both teams advancing to the next round while Algeria was eliminated by the goal scoring tie breaker mainly due to having played its last game a day earlier without knowing how many goals would be needed. In
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, the match is known as (lit. "
Non-aggression pact A non-aggression pact or neutrality pact is a treaty between two or more states/countries that includes a promise by the signatories not to engage in military action against each other. Such treaties may be described by other names, such as a t ...
of Gijón") or (lit. "Disgrace of Gijón"), while in
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
it is called (, "Scandal of Gijón"), and in French: (lit. "The Shameful Match"); it has also been satirically referred to as the (a reference to the annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938). The Algerian team had beaten two-time World Champions and reigning European Champions Germany 2-1 in the first round, then had lost to Austria 0-2 before beating Chile 3-2 after leading 3-0. As the last game of the first-round
Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal The alkaline earth metals are six chemical elements in group (periodic table), group 2 of the periodic table. They are beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), barium (B ...
was scheduled a day later, the two German-speaking teams had an advantage in knowing that a low-score West German win would qualify both, while they were eliminated following their WC 1978 meeting. After a German goal early in the game, the match remained competitive before the teams in the second half started to "defend" the 1-0 score as there was little benefit for each side in trying harder. Many spectators, mostly Algerians, were not happy about the perceived lack of effort, and accused the West German and Austrian teams of manipulation. After Chile had lost all of its three games, and the other three teams had beaten each other up to now, West Germany was in a "do or die" situation to catch up. A win over Austria would cause a Mexican standoff between three teams, with the difference of goals scored and allowed being the tiebreaker in the group stage. With Algeria being at 0 in this category, and the others both positive mainly due to wins against Chile, they had an undeserved advantage due to playing later, plus a partially deserved advantage in the tie breaker. A West German win by one or two goals would ensure that both Austria and West Germany advanced to the next round. After West Germany scored the only goal in the first 10 minutes of the match, the game remained exhilarating until the hitherto dominant Germany slowed down to play on the counterattack towards half-time. The first audible unrest occurred after 52 minutes after a long pass back to the halfway line. The game progressively deteriorated to a virtual standstill in the second half. Despite widespread condemnation and a formal complaint lodged by
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
– who were consequently eliminated –
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
ruled that neither team had broken any rules. Following this match, along with similar matches at the previous World Cup in Argentina, FIFA subsequently revised the group system for future tournaments so that the final two games in each group would be played simultaneously. This change made it highly impractical for teams to engage in any form of match-fixing, since they would not know what result was required ahead of time.


Background

*Note: 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw, first tie-breaker is
goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...
. Algeria began their campaign by recording a surprising 2–1 win over West Germany on the opening day, described as the "greatest World Cup upset since
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
beat
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
in
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
", and as "one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history". Algeria became the first African or Arab team to defeat a European team at the
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
. They then went on to lose 0–2 to Austria before beating Chile 3–2 in their final match. Algeria's victory over Chile made them the first ever African or Arab team to win twice at a World Cup. As Algeria played that final match the day before West Germany met Austria, the two European teams knew what result they needed in order to qualify for the next round. Any West German win by one or two goals would see both West Germany and Austria qualify based on goal differential tiebreaker. A West German victory by four goals or more would see West Germany and Algeria qualify. A West German win by exactly three goals would send Austria and Algeria to the next tiebreaker (goals scored), where Austria would need to score at least two goals in defeat to advance in this scenario. West Germany would not advance without a victory.


Match


Summary

After ten minutes of furious attack, West Germany succeeded in scoring through a goal by Horst Hrubesch after a cross from the left. After the goal was scored, the team in possession of the ball often passed between themselves in their own half until an opposition player came into the vicinity of the ball, then the ball was passed back to the goalkeeper. Isolated long balls were played into the opposition's half, with little consequence. There were few tackles, and both sets of players flamboyantly missed with apparently no attempt at accuracy whenever they shot on goal. The only Austrian player who seemed to make any effort at livening the game up was
Walter Schachner Walter "Schoko" Schachner (born 1 February 1957) is a football manager and former player, who played as a forward. He made 64 appearances scoring 23 goals for the Austria national team. As he always brought chocolate to the games when he was ...
, though he had little success, while one of the few serious attempts on net was made by
Wolfgang Dremmler Wolfgang Dremmler (born 12 July 1954) is a German former Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. A trained Metalsmith, metalworker, Dremmler was part of the Germany national football team, West Germany team that reached the ...
of West Germany. This performance was widely deplored by all observers. West German ARD commentator Eberhard Stanjek at one point refused to commentate on the game any longer. Austrian commentator Robert Seeger bemoaned the spectacle, and asked viewers to turn off their television sets.
George Vecsey George Spencer Vecsey ( ;
, a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' journalist, stated that the teams "seemed to work in concert", though added that proving such would be impossible. '' El Comercio'', the local newspaper, printed the match report in its crime section. Original link location: http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/4/blog/post/1922852/germany-wont-repeat-1982-mistakes Likewise, many spectators were not impressed and voiced their disgust with the players. Chants of "" ("Out, out!"), "" ("Algeria, Algeria!"), and "" ("Let them kiss, let them kiss!", which is commonly used at weddings) were shouted by the Spanish crowd, while angry Algerian supporters waved banknotes at the players. The match was criticized even by the West German and Austrian fans who had hoped for a hot rematch of the 1978 World Cup match, the so-called " Miracle of Córdoba", in which Austria had beaten West Germany; one West German fan burned the national flag in protest.


Details


Aftermath

With West Germany's 1–0 victory, they joined Austria and Algeria with four points in three matches. The teams were separated by goal difference, with West Germany and Austria progressing to the next round of the tournament at the expense of Algeria. The
match-fixing In organized sports, match fixing (also known as game fixing, race fixing, throwing, rigging, hippodroming, or more generally sports fixing) is the act of playing or officiating a contest with the intention of achieving a predetermined result, v ...
saw Austria give up their opportunity to be first in the group (by winning or drawing the match) in exchange for a sure opportunity to advance. The bargaining positions of the two teams were affected by West Germany being in danger of elimination if they failed to win, but also being the better team. By coming second in the group, Austria's second-stage group was France and Northern Ireland. West Germany's opponents were hosts Spain and England who had previously beaten France. Also, for three of the starting players ( Horst Hrubesch for West Germany, Josef Degeorgi and Roland Hattenberger for Austria), an additional incentive to avoid aggressive play was that they had been previously booked in their respective teams' first two games. Under the rules then in force, an additional yellow card for any of them in the final group match would have resulted in them serving an automatic one-match ban to start the second round. After the match, the West German team went back to their hotel where they were met by furious spectators who threw eggs and other projectiles at them; the West Germans returned fire with water bombs. German and Austrian television commentators were so appalled at the match that they urged viewers on live television to stop watching the match and watch something else. The Algerian football officials lodged an official protest. In addition, the president of the
Algerian Football Federation The Algerian Football Federation (AFF); () is the governing body of Association football, football in Algeria. Formed in 1962 and was based in the capital Algiers. It has jurisdiction on the Algerian football league system and is in charge of th ...
opined that referee Bob Valentine should have intervened and his failure to do so was worthy of complaint. However, FIFA considered that no rules were broken as a result of the match, and declined to take any action. Both teams denied any collusion during the match. West Germany manager Jupp Derwall defended his team from the criticism, pointing out that Uli Stielike and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge were both unfit. The West Germans made it to the final, where they lost to
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
3–1. Austria fell at the next group stage, to the benefit of eventual fourth-place finishers
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. As a result of the game, from the
World Cup 1986 The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...
onward, the final pair of group matches in World Cups always start simultaneously. Later journalists have taken another look at the match, wondering if claims of "non-aggression" are exaggerated. In ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'', Rob Smyth wrote that "The 10 minutes after Hrubesch's goal would even be described as exhilarating in some cultures, with
Wolfgang Dremmler Wolfgang Dremmler (born 12 July 1954) is a German former Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. A trained Metalsmith, metalworker, Dremmler was part of the Germany national football team, West Germany team that reached the ...
forcing a fine save from Friedrich Koncilia (the second and final shot on target in the match) and
Paul Breitner Paul Breitner (; born 5 September 1951) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and left-back. Considered one of the best full-backs and midfielders of all time, and one of the best players of his era, Breitner was n ...
missing two good chances. The game slows down towards half-time, principally because the hitherto dominant Germany start to play on the
counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "Military exercise, war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objecti ...
. Hrubesch would have had a clear shooting chance in the 57th minute had he not hopelessly miscontrolled Felix Magath’s expert chip. As late as the 77th minute, when the game was losing what edge it had,
Bernd Krauss Bernd Krauss (born 8 May 1957) is a retired football player and manager. Born in West Germany, he represented Austria at international level. His most recent spell he had as technical director and head coach of Tunisian club Étoile Sportive d ...
broke into the box and forced a desperate clearance from
Hans-Peter Briegel Hans-Peter Briegel (born 11 October 1955) is a German former professional football player and manager who played as a defender or midfielder. One of the most popular German players in his days, Briegel's original sport was athletics, being su ...
. A goal then would have put West Germany out." Almost all participants denied an outright agreement to fix the match. Austrian player Reinhold Hintermaier described the situation on the pitch as follows: "It somehow took on a life of its own - everyone just thought that they wanted to get ahead".


Similar cases in football

* 1982 World Cup - Spain vs Northern Ireland In the aftermath of the Disgrace of Gijón during the 1982 World Cup, another suspicious incident occurred in the match between Northern Ireland and Spain on June 25, 1982. Similar to the controversial West Germany versus Austria game, both teams knew that a narrow victory for Northern Ireland would secure their advancement to the knockout stages; Spain was level on points with Yugoslavia and a loss by a margin greater than one goal would eliminate the hosts. After Gerry Armstrong scored the decisive goal in the 47th minute, the game witnessed a significant drop in intensity, with neither side making substantial efforts to score, raising concerns about the competition's integrity and prompting calls for FIFA to reconsider World Cup rules to prevent collusion. * Thailand 3–2 Indonesia, where an Indonesian defender deliberately scored an own goal so his team did not have to face the host
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
in the semi-finals of the 1998 Tiger Cup. *
AS Adema 149–0 SO l'Emyrne AS Adema 149–0 SO l'Emyrne was an association football match played with on 31 October 2002 between two teams in Toamasina, Madagascar. It holds the world record for the highest scoreline in any association football match, recognised by '' Th ...
, where SO l'Emyrne players deliberately scored 149 own goals in protest of refereeing decisions that had gone against them in the previous match. * Barbados 4–2 Grenada, where a Barbadian defender deliberately scored an own goal so his team could win by two goals in extra-time, according to an unconventional golden goal rule that FIFA had implemented. * Coventry City 2–2 Bristol City, the final match for both sides in the 1977 English First Division. With five minutes remaining, players received news of a
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
defeat which meant a draw would save both Coventry and Bristol from relegation. Both sides stopped attempting to score for the final five minutes. * Peru 1-1 Colombia, where Colombian and Peruvian players accorded a draw which benefited both teams in the 2018 World Cup qualification. Colombia qualified directly, Peru defeated New Zealand in a play-off and Chile was eliminated, being the victim of this pact. * The 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament match between
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
and
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, which ended in a 0-2 result, drew controversy due to allegations of match manipulation. Both teams, led by Japanese coaches, appeared to benefit from the outcome: Japan avoided a potential playoff against
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, a formidable opponent, while Uzbekistan maintained a chance for a playoff berth due to the low scoreline. Japan scored two goals within the first 15 minutes, after which both teams exhibited notably passive play for the remaining 75 minutes, with no shots attempted by either side. This result effectively eliminated
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
from contention. Japan subsequently qualified for the
2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...
by defeating
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
in a playoff match.


See also

*
Austria v West Germany (1978 FIFA World Cup) The 1978 Austria v West Germany (known in Austria as ''Das Wunder von Córdoba'' (''The Miracle of Córdoba'') and in Germany as ''Die Schmach von Córdoba'' (''The Disgrace of Córdoba'')), describes the game of football between Austria and defe ...
* Austria at the FIFA World Cup * Germany at the FIFA World Cup


References


External links


Video highlights of the game
on
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(UK only) {{DEFAULTSORT:Disgrace of Gijon 1982 FIFA World Cup Association football matches in Spain D
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
1982A D Austria–Germany relations D Aus D 1982 controversies Sport in Gijón Controversies in Germany Controversies in Austria June 1982 sports events in Europe Nicknamed sporting events