The Disgrace of Gijón () is one of many names given in hindsight to the 1982 FIFA World Cup football match played at the El Molinón stadium in Gijón, Spain, on 25 June 1982, in which West Germany beat Austria 1–0. Both teams advanced to the next round while Algeria were eliminated by having the lowest goal difference. Algeria had played their last game a day earlier, unable to achieve the four-goal victory margin that would have seen them through regardless of what happened in this match. In German, the match is known as ( "Non-aggression pact of Gijón") or ( "Disgrace of Gijón"), while in Algeria 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 Nazi German annexation of Austria in 1938).
The Algerian team had beaten two-time World Champions and reigning European Champions West Germany 2–1 in the first round, then had lost to Austria 2–0, before beating Chile 3–2. As the last game of the first-round Group 2 was scheduled a day later, the two German-speaking teams had an advantage in knowing that a West German win by fewer than three goals would qualify both, while any other result would see either Austria or West Germany eliminated. After a German goal early in the game, the match remained competitive before the teams started to "defend" the 1–0 score in the second half, as there was little benefit for either side to try harder. Many spectators, mostly Algerians, were unhappy with the perceived lack of effort, and accused the West German and Austrian teams of manipulation.
Despite widespread condemnation and a formal complaint lodged by Algeria – who were consequently eliminated – FIFA ruled that neither team had broken any rules. Following the tournament – with similar controversy regarding Argentina vs Peru in the previous World Cup – FIFA revised the group system for future competitions 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.
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 beat Italy in 1966", 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. They then went on to lose 2–0 to Austria before beating Chile 3–2 in their final match. Algeria's victory over Chile made them the first ever African 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. An Austrian victory or a draw would result in Austria and Algeria advancing. West Germany could only advance by winning, which would leave all three teams on four points, at which point tiebreaker rules would come into effect. A West German win by either one or two goals would allow both West Germany and Austria to qualify based on goal difference. A West German victory by four or more goals would make West Germany and Algeria qualify. With a West German win by exactly three goals, West Germany would qualify and leave Austria and Algeria to be separated by the next tiebreaker (goals scored). In this scenario, Austria would need to have scored at least two goals in defeat (e.g., lose 5–2, 6–3, etc.) to advance.
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, although he had little success, while one of the few serious attempts on net was made by Wolfgang Dremmler 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, a New York Times journalist, stated that the teams "seemed to work in concert", although he 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,Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: while angry Algerian supporters waved banknotes at the players. The match was criticized even by West German and Austrian fans who had hoped for an exciting rematch of the 1978 World Cup match, the "Miracle of Córdoba", in which Austria had beaten West Germany. One West German fan was so disgusted at the effort that he burned the national flag in protest.
Details
GK 1 Toni SchumacherSW 15Uli StielikeCB 20Manfred KaltzCB 4 Karlheinz FörsterCB 2 Hans-Peter BriegelRM 11Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (c) CM 6 Wolfgang DremmlerCM 3 Paul BreitnerLM 14Felix MagathCF 9 Horst Hrubesch CF 7 Pierre LittbarskiSubstitutes:GK 22Eike ImmelDF 5 Bernd FörsterFW 8 Klaus Fischer FW 13Uwe ReindersMF 18Lothar Matthäus Manager:Jupp Derwall GK 1 Friedrich KonciliaSW 3 Erich Obermayer (c)CB 2 Bernd KraussCB 5 Bruno PezzeyCB 4 Josef DegeorgiRM 6 Roland HattenbergerCM 19Heribert WeberCM 8 Herbert ProhaskaLM 10Reinhold Hintermaier CF 7 Walter Schachner CF 9 Hans KranklSubstitutes:GK 22Klaus LindenbergerDF 12Anton PichlerDF 13Max HagmayrMF 14Ernst BaumeisterFW 20Kurt WelzlManagers:Felix LatzkeGeorg Schmidt
Linesmen: Ebrahim Al Doy (Bahrain) Arnaldo Cézar Coelho (Brazil)
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 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 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 3–1. Austria fell at the next group stage, to the benefit of eventual fourth-place finishers France. As a result of the game, from the World Cup 1986 onward, the final pair of group matches in World Cups always start simultaneously.
Later journalists took another look at the match, wondering if claims of "non-aggression" are exaggerated. In The Irish Times, Rob Smyth wrote: "The 10 minutes after Hrubesch's goal would even be described as exhilarating in some cultures, with Wolfgang Dremmler forcing a fine save from Friedrich Koncilia (the second and final shot on target in the match) and Paul Breitner missing two good chances. The game slows down towards half-time, principally because the hitherto dominant Germany start to play on the counterattack. 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 broke into the box and forced a desperate clearance from Hans-Peter Briegel. 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 Coventry City 2–2 Bristol City, the final match for both sides in the 1976–77 season of English First Division. With five minutes remaining, players received news of a Sunderland defeat which meant a draw would save both Coventry and Bristol City from relegation. Both sides stopped attempting to score for those final five minutes.The day a Bristol City game led to claims of match fixing, a bitter 40-year feud and a reprimand for a famous football personality by Philippa Jenkins 05:00, 19 May 2017 at bristolpost.co.uk. 19 May 2017
Uruguay 1–1 Argentina, played during the final matchday of CONMEBOL's qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Argentina had already secured qualification well in advance. On November 14, 2001, the national team visited the Estadio Centenario to play against Uruguay, who needed to earn a point and hope that Colombia did not beat Paraguay by a margin of five goals or more in order to be in the playoff that would allow them to access the World Cup. The match ended 1–1 and Uruguay therefore secured their place in the next round against Australia, despite Colombia's 4–0 victory over Paraguay. The match was repeatedly accused by some of being fixed, as there were few attacks from either side in the final fifteen minutes.El Argentina - Uruguay sospechado de arreglo en las Eliminatorias que enfureció a Bielsa at tycsports.com.ar In 2004, Uruguayan Juan Ramón Carrasco confirmed a pact between both sides to allow Uruguay qualify to the World Cup, saying "it's common knowledge. Everyone here knows that they fixed the match to draw because Argentina had already qualified".Confirman partido arreglado entre Argentina y Uruguay at infobae.com. 6 Oct 2004