Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt: 2006

The 2006 World Cup final was marred by controversy after French star Zinedine Zidane headbutted Italy’s Marco Materazzi in the chest during extra time, which resulted in the former being sent off in his last-ever game. What could have been a perfect end to Zidane’s brilliant career ended in heartbreak as Italy beat France 5-3 on penalties. It was confirmed much later that Materazzi had provoked Zidane, but there was no going back.

Refereeing fiasco: 2002

The 2002 World Cup was heavily criticised for many poor and questionable refereeing decisions. Co-hosts South Korea in particular were at the centre of the scrutiny due to the favourable decisions they received in the knockout stage. In their Round of 16 match against Italy, referee Byron Moreno awarded a controversial penalty to South Korea, which Gianluigi Buffon saved. In extra time, with the score 1-1, Italian midfielder Damiano Tommasi’s apparent golden goal was ruled out for offside. Ahn Jung-Hwan ended up scoring the winning goal for South Korea. In their quarter-final, match official Gamal Al-Ghandour disallowed two valid goals by Spain. The match ended 0-0, South Korea winning 5-3 on penalties.

Deadly own goal: 1994

By far the craziest World Cup moment on the list, Colombian defender Andres Escobar’s own goal against the USA literally cost him his life! On returning home after getting knocked out of the tournament, the defender was shot dead. It is widely believed that the Gallon Henao brothers, notorious narcos, were behind the act as they had lost millions in bets as a result of his mistake. A tragic end.

Suarez bites Chiellini: 2014

In Uruguay’s final group game against Italy, Luis Suarez added another name to the list of his “victims” — Giorgio Chiellini. In the 80th minute, with the scores at 0-0, Suarez clashed with the Italian centre back while waiting for a cross. Though the striker initially claimed that the bite was “accidental”, the replays showed that he had lunged at Chiellini and bitten his shoulder. He was later banned for nine games. In 2010, as Ajax captain, he had bitten PSV’s Otman Bakkal on the shoulder, and in a 2013 Premier League game against Chelsea, he had dug his teeth into Branislav Ivanovic’s right arm, causing Liverpool much embarrassment. 

Rivaldo’s playacting against Turkey: 2002

Apart from controversial refereeing, what also caught everyone’s attention in the 2002 World Cup was Rivaldo’s playacting in the group stage match against Turkey. With Brazil already in the lead thanks to his late and controversial penalty, Rivaldo was struck on the leg by a ball kicked by Turkey’s Hakan Unsal in frustration. The Brazilian reacted by collapsing to the ground clutching his face, leading the match official to send the defender off. The replays clearly showed what had actually happened but Rivaldo shrugged the dispute off blaming “lack of sportsmanship” by the Turkish defender. He was fined 10,000 Swiss franc but escaped a ban as Brazil went on to clinch their fifth World Cup title.

Ronaldo’s wink at Rooney’s dismissal: 2006

When Wayne Rooney tangled with Ricardo Carvalho in England’s quarter-final versus Portugal, hurting him in the process, a booking was probably warranted. But his then Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo remonstrated with the ref and a red card soon emerged. What got England fans riled up even more was his cheeky wink to the Portugal bench thereafter. England lost on penalties, but R & R later made up.

Lampard’s disallowed goal: 2010

Goal-line technology has been useful at the World Cup this edition and the last. Back in 2010, Frank Lampard had no such thing on his side. In a Round of 16 match, Germany were 2-1 up late in the first half when England’s Frank Lampard appeared to have evened the score with a shot that hit the crossbar and bounced off the ground. But no call for a goal was made by the referee and the German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer quickly grabbed the ball and promptly hurled it forward for a counter-attack.  Germany ended up winning the match 4-1 but this “ghost goal” by Lampard became a major factor in the implementation of goal-line technology in 2012.

The Battle of Nuremberg: 2006

This ill-tempered Round of 16 showdown between Portugal and the Netherlands at Nuremberg saw an incredible 20 cards (16 yellow and four red). The four red cards issued still constitute the most expulsions ever in a single World Cup match, with each team having two players sent off. Though Portugal advanced, the card accumulation caught up with them as the tournament progressed and they eventually crashed out after losing to France in the semi-finals.

Caught taking a leak: 2002

Yes, you read that right! US winger DaMarcus Beasley did urinate in a World Cup match. In the Round of 16 match against Mexico, the cameras (and millions around the world) caught DaMarcus relieving himself while warming up as a substitute. He isn’t the only famous footballer to have done this though, with Mario Goetze (during the 2012-13 Champions League in Malaga) being a more recent culprit.

Suarez’s handball: 2010

Four years before he bit Chiellini, Luis Suarez had his own version of the “Hand of God” in the quarter-final clash with Ghana. In extra time following a 1-1 deadlock, Suarez stopped the ball on the goal line to prevent Ghana’s Dominic Adiyiah from scoring what would have been the winning goal. Ghana forward Asamoah Gyan missed the spot kick that followed, and the match went into a penalty shootout, which was eventually won by Uruguay. This action by Suarez received a mixed reception from fans all around the world, with many feeling that the African nation was cheated out of a spot in the World Cup semi-finals.

Germany rout Brazil: 2014

As the host nation with an illustrious past, Brazil were expected to win the 2014 World Cup.  And those expectations were shattered in the most extraordinary humiliation in World Cup history. In a heavily one-sided semi-final encounter, Germany were up 5-0 by half-time, destroying any chance of a Brazilian comeback. Germany scored two more goals in the second half before Brazil got a modicum of pride back with a 90th-minute compensatory goal. Germany ended up winning the World Cup while the misery worsened for Brazil as they were further humiliated in a 3-0 loss to the Netherlands in the third place play-off.