Football Scandals Quiz
Test your knowledge on the biggest controversies football has seen through this trivia quiz.
Football scandals: Question 1
During the 1994 World Cup, Diego Maradona failed a drug test. What was the substance?
a. Cocaine
b. Heroine
c. Ephedrine
d. Methamphetamine
Football scandals: Question 2
During the 2010 World Cup, the French team refused to train before the game against South Africa. Who was the only player who stayed on the field for the training session?
a. The French captain Patrice Evra
b. The striker Thierry Henry
c. The winger Franck Ribery
d. None of them, the entire squad left
Football scandals: Question 3
How did the Colombian football player Andres Escobar die?
a. By heroine overdose during the 1994 World Cup in USA
b. By intracranial hemorrhage two days after he was elbowed by the Italian player Mauro Tassotti
c. Killed in a bar in Colombia several days after an auto-goal against team USA
Football scandals: Question 4
Why was the English striker Robbie Fowler banned for 4 games after a goal celebration?
a. He used the goal line to simulate the snorting of a cocaine line
b. He removed his short and showed his sex organ to Everton fans
c. He mouth kissed the opponent goalkeeper
Football scandals: Question 5
What is the name of Juventus’ general manager involved in the Italian league match fixing scandal in 2006?
a. Marcello Lippi
b. Luciano Moggi
c. Fabio Cappello
d. Franco Baldini
Football scandals: Question 6
How many cards were given by the Russian referee Valentin Ivanov during Portugal-Holland in the 2006 World Cup?
a. 15 cards (13 yellow cards + 2 red cards)
b. 18 cards (15 yellow cards + 3 red cards)
c. 20 cards (16 yellow cards + 4 red cards)
d. 22 cards (17 yellow cards + 5 red cards)
Football scandals: Question 7
What is the nickname of Andoni Goikoetxea Olaskoaga, the player who shattered the left ankle of Diego Maradona with a violent tackle during a Liga game?
a. “Butcher of Bilbao”
b. “Knacker of Sevilla”
c. “Lawn mower of Madrid”
d. “Reaper of Valencia”
Football scandals: Question 8
After the Heysel stadium disaster in 1985, UEFA banned English clubs from European competition. How long was the initial suspension?
a. 3 years
b. 5 years
c. 10 years
d. Indefinite ban
Football scandals: Question 9
What countries were involved into the 1982 World Cup game nicknamed “game of shame” or “Non-aggression pact of Gijón”?
a. Spain & Portugal
b. West Germany & Austria
c. England & Scotland
d. USA & Mexico
Football scandals: Question 10
What is the immortal phrase uttered by Eric Cantona after he was sentenced a 1-year ban for kicking and punching the face of a Crystal Palace fan?
a. I don't want to be in Terminator. I don't want to go to Hollywood
b. When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea
c. I'm so proud the fans still sing my name, but I fear tomorrow they will stop. I fear it because I love it. And everything you love, you fear you will lose
d. I am not a man, I am Cantona
Answers to the soccer controversies quiz:
Soccer controversies: Answer 1
Ephedrine
After a 15-month ban for cocaine use in 1990, Maradona looked like he was in good shape again as he led Argentina to the 1994 World Cup. But his frenzied goal celebration after scoring in the opening game showed that something was not right. After playing only two games, “El Diego” was sent home for testing positive with ephedrine, a substance which increases endurance and causes aggressive behavior. But Maradona reasoned that the he failed the drug test because of a power drink given to him by his trainer.
Soccer controversies: Answer 2
None of them, the entire squad left
French players refused to train the day after Nicolas Anelka was sent home for a clash with manager Raymond Domenech. Teammates say it is their way of showing support to the striker. The incident caused a huge scandal in France and will forever leave a very dark mark in the French football history.
Soccer controversies: Answer 3
Killed in a bar in Colombia several days after an auto-goal against team USA
Colombia was one of the favorites in the 1994 Football World Cup, but they were eliminated in the tournament group stage after a defeat to the USA.
Escobar’s own goal was blamed for the 2-1 defeat to USA and it would cost him his life ten days later in a local bar in Medellin, Colombia. He was shot 12 times by Humberto Muñoz Castro, who worked for members of a Columbian drug cartel that lost huge money because of Columbia’s early elimination. It was reported that Castro shouted “Gol!” each time he fired a shot to mock the auto goal by Escobar.
Soccer controversies: Answer 4
He used the goal line to simulate the snorting of a cocaine line
In 1999, Robbie Fowler was fined £60,000 for getting down on all fours along the goal line and imitating the snorting of a cocaine line. It is widely believed that this unusual football goal celebration was a mockery of the drug abuse accusation to him in the tabloids.
Soccer controversies: Answer 5
Luciano Moggi
In 2006, it was found that then-Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi had conversations with Italian football officials to arrange “favorable” referees for Juventus matches. Because of his huge involvement, this football match-fixing scandal was punned “Moggiopoli.”
Soccer controversies: Answer 6
20 cards (16 yellow cards + 4 red cards)
The round 2 match between Holland and Portugal in the 2006 World Cup saw the most numbers of red cards in a Mundial match with four. It also equals the most number of cards issued in the tournament with 20, a record first set in the 2002 fixture between Cameroon and Germany. Referee Valentin Ivanov was heavily criticized after the match, which is dubbed “The Battle of Nuremberg”. Portugal won the match 1-0.
Soccer controversies: Answer 7
“Butcher of Bilbao”
Goikoetxea was a central defender noted for his aggressiveness which earned him the nickname “Butcher of Bilbao”. He became infamous in 1983 for tearing Maradona’s ankle ligaments with a vicious tackle from behind during a Liga game. Goiko reportedly kept the boots he used to butcher Maradona in a glass case at his home.
Soccer controversies: Answer 8
Indefinite ban
On May 29, 1985, Juventus and Liverpool fans gathered at Heysel Stadium in Brussels to witness the European Cup final game between the two clubs. The tragedy began with fans from both sides taunting each other until a riot broke up with Liverpool fans storming Juve supporters, who were only separated by a thin wire fence. A stampede soon ensued, causing a masonry wall to collapse on a tightly packed crowd. 39 were left dead, 32 of whom were Juve fans, and 600 injured.
UEFA issued an indefinite ban on all English football clubs from all European competitions. The ban on English teams was lifted after five years, except for Liverpool which was barred for a year more.
Soccer controversies: Answer 9
West Germany & Austria
The final game of the first round, between West Germany and Austria, would decide which two teams would advance to the second round of the 1982 World Cup. A day before the “Shame of Gijon”, Algeria already put out Chile’s chance of qualifying to the next round.
It was known beforehand that if West Germany wins by a goal or two, both West Germans and Austrians would qualify at the expense of Algeria. In the game, the Germans scored in the tenth minute and after which, both teams began passing the ball around aimlessly until the final whistle.
Austria and West Germany indeed qualified while Algeria was sent home. The bad image that the match gave to football prompted the World Cup committee to change the format for the coming tournaments. Now, teams of the same group must play simultaneously the final game of each round.
Soccer controversies: Answer 10
When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea
Cantona uttered his most enigmatic quote after a trial for kicking a fan who was said to have verbally abused him when he was sent off in a game. He appeared before the media and after saying the famous line, strode off without explaining what it means. It is believed that the trawler represents Cantona and the seagulls are the media who kept sensationalizing his actions.
All the passages above were from Cantona, who was known for uttering some of the most famous quotes in football.