The Disgrace of Gijón: Algeria’s Early Goodbye 

The FIFA World Cup is on the horizon. This is one of the tournaments in the world that is more than just a sporting event. Even those who never watch a football match are waiting to watch the World Cup, including those whose nations did not qualify. There are many unforgettable moments in the history of the World Cup, as well as those that we should never forget.

To remind you of one story that we should never forget, we take you back to 1982. Algeria qualified for the World Cup for the first time. The whole nation was happy; they were waiting impatiently for summer to come to watch their team in the World Cup for the first time ever.

And summer came. Things started very well for the Desert Warriors; they won their debut game against West Germany, becoming the first African team to beat a European team in the World Cup.  On 17 June, they faced Austria and lost by two goals.

When the third matchday arrived, Algeria faced Chile. It was a crucial game; they either had a chance to continue their journey or would return home early. With the whistle of Rómulo Méndez, the match started. Algeria found an early goal, with Assad scoring in the 7th minute. Before going into the half-time break, they scored two more; in the 31st minute, Assad secured a brace, and four minutes later, Bensaoula scored. They went into the half-time break with a three-goal lead.

The second half started, and in the 59th minute, Chile won a penalty. It was Neira who took the spot-kick and made it count. In the 73rd minute, Chilean striker Letelier’s shot found the net, making it 3-2. That was the last goal scored in the match. Algeria won.

Winning against Chile did not mean they automatically qualified for the next stage; they still had to wait for the result of the game between West Germany and Austria. The match was scheduled a day later. IfWest Germany won by one or two goals, both teams would qualify, while any other result would see either West Germany or Austria eliminated.

In the city of Gijón, with the whistle of Bob Valentine, the match started. In the 10th minute, Horst Hrubesch of West Germany scored. Then, things started to get bizarre. Both sides stopped making any effort to score. It was as if the two German-speaking countries had spoken to each other before the game. After the goal was scored, the team in possession of the ball stayed in their own half and simply passed the ball between themselves without attacking. If anyone took a shot, they shot with no regard for accuracy.

They did not even try to hide their intention. This disgrace was widely deplored by all observers. At one point, West Germany’s ARD commentator Eberhard Stanjek refused to commentate on the rest of the game. Austrian commentator Robert Seeger bemoaned the spectacle and asked viewers to turn off their televisions. The game ended with a West Germany win by one goal. Algeria was eliminated due to having a lower goal difference. El Comercio, the local newspaper, printed the match report in its crime section. 

After this disgrace, there was a chaotic situation. The Algerian football officials lodged an official protest. However, FIFA considered that no rules were broken and declined to take any action. Both teams denied any collusion during the match. Even though FIFA didn’t take action regarding this specific match, they made permanent changes to the rulebook. From the 1986 World Cup onward, the final pair of group matches in World Cups always start simultaneously.