"Not so much a football match as an international incident," was how legendary sports write Hugh McIlvanney described the 1966 World Cup quarter-final between England and Argentina. England came into the match after a series of solid but unspectacular performances in the group stages - par for the course for an England team. Argentina were in an incendiary mood after some robust displays which had led to a FIFA warning. This warning, combined with the referee-selection process and the so-called "European" style of officiating, stoked a mood of paranoia ahead of the clash with England. When the match came, there was a massive combustion, with Antonio Rattin (Argentina's captain) and Rudolf Kreitlein (the German referee) at the centre of the drama. The fallout from the Wembley quarter-final would echo down the years.
@MatthewOkot
@WorldCupRamble
