Events and Consequences, Part Six

1- Event:

The wife and children of Argentinean defender Oswaldo Piazza involved in a car accident on April 8, 1978.

Consequence:

On April 6, 1978, Oswaldo Piazza arrived in Argentina after his French club Saint Etienne had granted his request to join Argentina training camp in time to be included for the World Cup Finals squad.

Two days later, due to the accident he had to go back to France.

He missed out on the chance to become a World Cup Champion on home soil.

Photo From: Mondial, old series, issue 25, December 1978

(Oswaldo Piazza with Saint Etienne, 1978)

2- Event:

The Falklands War between Great Britain and Argentina in the spring of 1982.

Consequence:

The disastrous tour of South America by the Republic of Ireland national Team.

The Republic of Ireland had arranged a match vs. Argentina and initially the FAI had no objections to the match, however political pressure and the refusal of many English clubs (as well as the players themselves) to release their Irish Internationals forced the FAI to drop the match.

The tour still went ahead, but only 15 players were available as the English based players had left on tours of their own with their respective clubs and the League of Ireland squad was touring New Zealand around the same time.

With a weakened side, Ireland succumbed to defeats to Chile (0 to 1) on May 21, 1982 and a heavy loss to Brazil (0 to 7) on May 27, 1982.

To make matters worse the money owed to the players at the start of the tour had still not been paid.

The mood within the camp was so negative that Liam Brady threatened to leave and return to Italy after the Brazil match.

In fact he initially stayed in Brazil to return home, while the rest of the squad traveled to Trinidad.

Assistant manager Terry Conroy had to stay behind to convince Brady to change his mind.

Ireland Manager Eion Hand threatened to resign unless the players were fully paid which was eventually done.

A third match was hastily arranged vs. Trinidad and Tobago on May 30^th, but a dejected Ireland lost that match as well (1 to 2).

Photo From: Mondial, new series, issue 19, October 1981

(Juventus based Liam Brady, one of the only top level Ireland players available for the disappointing South American tour of 1982)

3- Event:

Allan Simonsen’s injury collision with France’s Yvon Le Roux on June 12, 1984.

Consequence:

Allan Simonsen had been Denmark’s most famous player in the Seventies due to his exploits with Borussia Moenchengladbach and had even been France Football’s European Player of the year in 1977 and later joined Barcelona.

Due to the fact that Denmark was still not a footballing power his achievements had mainly been at the club level.

Now nearing the end of his career he got an unexpected chance to appear in a major Finals Tournament with his National team when a new generation of Danish stars plus Simonsen qualified to the UEFA European Championships in 1984. However, during the very first match vs. France on June 12, 1984 (1 to 0 France win), he was seriously injured in a collision with French defender Yvon Le Roux and missed the rest of the tournament.

In fact he was out injured for many months and once back was never the same player. He was included in Denmark’s 1986 World Cup Finals squad but in a peripheral role and retired shortly afterwards.

Photo From: L’Annee du Football, 1984

(Allan Simonsen and Yvon Le Roux after the collision, June 12, 1984, European Championships, France 1-Denmark 0 )

Photo From: Guerin Sportivo, June 20-26, 1984

(Allan Simonsen being stretchered off, June 12, 1984, European Championships, France 1-Denmark 0 )

4- Event:

France National team tying (one to one) with Cyprus in a World Cup Qualifier on October 22, 1988.

Consequence:

With World Cup Qualification in jeopardy with the accompanying loss of revenue, Bordeaux President Claude Bez, convinced French Federation President Jean Fournet-Fayard to replace Manager Henri Michel with former star Michel Platini.

Henri Michel was dismissed on November 1, 1988.

Michel Platini, with no coaching experience, had only retired as a player about a year before.

Gérard Houllier was also named as his assistant.

Photo From: Mondial, new series, issue 105, november december 1988

(Michel Platini’s first press conference as National Team Manager on November 3, 1988, left to right: Assistant Coach Gérard Houllier, Michel Platini, Federation President Jean Fournet-Fayard, Bordeaux President Claude Bez)

5- Event:

Chilean goalkeeper Roberto Rojas (‘El Condor’) feigning an injury during a World Cup Qualifier vs. Brazil on September 3, 1989 that Brazil was winning one to zero.

This led the Chile squad to walkout during the match.

Consequence:

During the match a firecracker from the stands landed near Rojas. Rojas immediately fell down and held his face as if the object hit him.

His teammates came near him, as did the team doctor. As he was being ‘treated’, the doctor poured Mercurochrome on him to give the impression that the object had bloodied him.

Clearly the purpose was to fake an injury to have the result overturned in Chile’s favor.

The Chilean players carried Rojas out and refused to play and walked out.

After a few minutes the referee ended the match.

Photos clearly revealed the trickery and Chile and Rojas were punished.

On December 8, 1989, FIFA handed out the sentences for Chile’s walkout.

Chile was to be excluded from the 1994 World Cup.

International bans were handed out against Chile Coach Orlando Aravena and player Fernando Astengo for leading the team out of pitch.

Roberto Rojas was banned for life for his trickery attempt by feigning injury.

Incidentally, it was former Brazilian Manager Tele Santana that gave a lifeline to Rojas’ tattered career by appointing him as São Paulo Futebol Clube’s goalkeeping coach in 1994.

The person who threw the firecracker was 23-year-old Rosemary Mello. She later posed for the Brazilian Edition of Playboy to pay the fine.

Photo From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 71, December 1994

(The instant of firecracker landing near Rojas)

Photo From: Foot Magazine, October 1989

(Photos that appeared at Brazil’s Placar Magazine, showing the trickery)

Photo From: Calcio 2000, Issue 25, December 1999

(Rojas holding his face in apparent pain)

Photo From: France Football, Issue 2265, September 5, 1989

(Chilean players carrying out Rojas)