On 2 June 1962, during the FIFA World Cup, host nation Chile met Italy in a fixture that would go down as one of the most violent sporting events in history. Dubbed the ‘Battle of Santiago’, the match degenerated into such relentless hostility that armed police were forced to intervene on four separate occasions to quell physical brawls between players.

The venom had been brewing for days. Two Italian journalists, Antonio Ghirelli and Corrado Pizzinelli, had published scathingly disparaging dispatches describing Santiago as ‘a backwater dump where the phones don’t work, taxis are as rare as faithful husbands, and a letter takes five days to turn up’, whilst characterising the local populace as afflicted by ‘malnutrition, illiteracy, alcoholism, and poverty’. Chilean newspapers retaliated fiercely, branding Italians as fascists, mobsters, and drug abusers – referencing a recent doping scandal involving Inter Milan. The atmosphere became so perilous that the two Italian writers were forced to flee the country, whilst an innocent Argentine writer was beaten so severely in a Santiago bar after being mistaken for an Italian that he required hospitalisation.

When English referee Ken Aston blew the opening whistle, the hostility erupted instantly: the first foul occurred within thirty-five seconds of kick-off. In the eighth minute, Italian midfielder Giorgio Ferrini was sent off following a foul on Honorino Landa; when he refused to leave the pitch, armed police dragged him off by force. Shortly thereafter, Chilean left-winger Leonel Sánchez fractured Humberto Maschio’s nose with a left hook – an infraction Aston missed whilst escorting Ferrini from the field.

In the thirty-eighth minute, Sánchez – whose style mixed football with combat arts – once again appeared on the scene. He slapped Italian right-back Mario David in the face in retaliation for a foul committed seconds earlier. Although the linesman stood mere metres away, Sánchez evaded punishment once more. A few minutes later, David launched a flying kick towards Sánchez’s head. This time, the reckless challenge did not escape Ken Aston’s attention, and David was promptly sent off. As the two sides degenerated into further scuffles and spitting, armed police were forced to intervene on three further occasions. Chile ultimately won the match 2–0, courtesy of a header from Jaime Ramírez and a low, long-range strike by Jorge Toro.