25/11/2022
WHO NEEDS VAR? JUST BRING ON A PRINCE!
On a hot June afternoon some 40 years ago I was watching the FIFA World Cup and looking forward to watching France Vs. Kuwait.
it was the second match of this group's stage and Kuwait had shown real determination in their previous match against Czechoslovakia which ended 1-1
France were a very good side with some legendary players like Giresse, Girard Tigana, Six and a certain M. Platini. However, France had lost their first group match against Poland, so they needed blood and points in their second.
France dominated from the off and were leading 3-0. Kuwait got one back and France who didn't mince about in those days went for the kill. They duly scored a 4th, but at this point Prince Fahd Al-Ahmed Al-Shabah, The President of the Kuwait F.A. (and brother to the big boss of Kuwait) walked on to the pitch to stop play and have a quiet chat with Mr.Stupar the Soviet referee.
The match was suspended for some 20 minutes.
The official line is that the Kuwaiti players stopped playing as they had heard a whistle which they thought had signalled off side, but in reality it was from the crowd!
Outraged Prince Fahd, who by all accounts wasn't too happy how the game was going thus far, decided to stop the match and recall his players.
Urban footballing myth has it that he told the referee through an interpreter that he was taking the team off the pitch The game was over in his eyes. It now appears he only wanted the last French goal annulled. He duly got the goal annulled, but through some of my old acquaintances and ex-work colleagues at Italia '90 I found out that FIFA were so embarrassed by the event that the only way they could appease Prince Fahd was to annull the goal and implore him to not remove the players from the pitch.
Problem was that "Le Bleus" weren't having it! They went on and scored a 4th goal almost instantly until their coach Michel Hidalgo implicitly told their captain (name escapes me but I think he is linked to football bribery and corruption) to take the foot off the accelerator!
Remember, I watched this live and my memory serves me well. Prince Fahd was fuming, I mean he was volcanic! His sole intention was to stop the match and get his team off. God only knows what was in store for those poor players but I doubt it was a bonus.
The match ended 4-1 to France. Kuwait has never played in the World Cup since then.
I think the same will be said of Qatar after today's performance.
#1982
KUWAIT WALK-OFF 1982Unfortunately, someone in the crowd had blown a whistle and so Giresse carried on and scored. This triggered a mass sulk from the Kuwaiti...
