How match fixing robbed Algeria in 1982, and changed the World Cup forever
Algeria was on the cusp of qualifying for the second round at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, but an infamous match between West Germany and Austria robbed them of that chance, changing the way the tournament would be played forever.
The game started off exciting enough, with West Germany scoring a goal in the tenth minute - as Horst Hrubesch steered the ball into the net from close range.
But from that point on the game began to slow.
And at half time, things drastically changed.
The players stopped running. Tackles weren't made. The two European teams spent most of the game passing the ball sideways or backwards, as whistles accompanied every pass.
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It didn't take long for the fans or the announcers to realise what was going on.
West Germany and Austria had in fact realised that a narrow West German win would allow both teams to progress in the tournament at the expense of Algeria.
Because Algeria had played their final game against Chile the previous day, Austria knew that as long as they didn't lose by three goals or more they would still pip the Desert Warriors to second place in Group 2 on goal difference.
'I refereed the game in front of me. It's all I could do'
- Bob Valentine, referee
Scottish referee Bob Valentine said he realised at around the 30 minute mark that Austria had no incentive to secure a draw.
Speaking to The Scotsman in 2011, he said: "It took me about 30 minutes to realise that the game was not going anywhere. I refereed the game in front of me. It's all I could do."
The 41,000 spectators jeered and hissed as they watched the players running through the motions of a live game.
One announcer told fans to turn off their televisions and refused to speak. Another pundit lamented, even saying the names of players "that roll off my tongue at the moment and leave a nasty, nasty taste".
The following day, Gijon newspaper El Comercio even printed its match report in its crime section.
The French daily L'Equipe said there should have been 22 red cards shown to the players of both sides.
'Scandalous and immoral'
The Players from both sides, however, defended their performance, despite the match going down in history as the "Disgrace of Gijon".
When pressed on his performance, West Germany's goalkeeper said: "I saved everything I had to save. Two balls came my way; one backpass and one throw-in. What should I have done? Run up front and throw myself on the ball?"
Hans Tschak, the head of Austria's Fifa delegation, also defended the players' actions as "tactical", and didn't try to disguise his contempt for Algeria.
"If 10,000 'sons of the desert' here in the stadium want to trigger a scandal because of this, it just goes to show that they have too few schools. Some sheikh comes out of an oasis, is allowed to get a sniff of World Cup air after 300 years and thinks he's entitled to open his gob," Tschak said.
Benali Sekkal, president of the Algerian Soccer Federation at the time, called the game "scandalous and immoral".
Algeria's complaint to Fifa after the match, calling for both West Germany and Austria to be suspended from the tournament, was rebutted.
In the end, neither Austria nor West Germany won the World Cup. The Germans lost the final to Italy 3-1.
However, the Disgrace of Gijon continues to resonate today, with all final group stage matches in the World Cup played at the same time, to prevent teams from rigging games.
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