35 years ago, on the night of December 19-20, 1983, in Rio de Janeiro, attackers stole the Jules Rimet Prize, which until 1970 was awarded as a cup to the winner of the World Cup. The fate of the famous trophy remains unknown to this day, recalls the 360 TV channel.
The cup was made of 3.8 kg of gilded silver in the form of the ancient Greek goddess of victory Nike, so it received the name "Golden Goddess", although it was originally called "Victory".
Over the course of its half-century history, the cup was stolen several times. The first happened during World War II, when the figurine was in Italy. The President of the Italian Football Federation, Ottorino Barassi, in order to save the cup, secretly took it to his home and hid it in his boot under the bed. This is how the “Golden Goddess” survived the entire war.
The second, a real kidnapping, happened in 1966 in Great Britain a few months before the World Cup. The cup was put on public display at London's Westminster Central Hall and was stolen from there by a thief who demanded a ransom of £15,000 for it. A few days later, the dog found a figurine wrapped in newspaper under a bench in a London park.
The third, fatal abduction occurred in 1970 in Brazil. The main football trophy moved to the South American country because it won the World Cup for the third time. Four criminals entered the building of the Brazilian Football Confederation and stole the cup. Despite the fact that all the criminals were caught, they never told what happened to the football trophy.
Over thirty years, many versions of the further fate of the cup have appeared. There were suggestions that it was melted down or sold into a private collection. But one version is truly considered an interesting task for Sherlock Holmes.
According to some reports, back in 1966, the English jeweler George Bird made a bronze copy of the cup. At the World Cup, held this year in Great Britain, after the British victory, team captain Bobby Moore raised the original cup, and then it was immediately replaced with a copy, which went to FIFA. Accordingly, the Brazilians, who won the next World Cup in 1970, did not take the original statuette, but a duplicate, which was later stolen.
And the “copy” of the cup, which the British made in 1966, sold at auction in 1997, was, according to some versions, the original trophy. The main "trump card" in this scenario of events is the death of the English jeweler George Bird. It was after his death in 1996 that a “duplicate” was discovered, which was put up for auction and FIFA itself became its owner, paying more than 250 thousand pounds sterling for it. Thus, according to this version of the fate of the cup, FIFA handed the winners a fake instead of the cup for several years, and then itself became the owner of the real “Golden Goddess”, which is kept there to this day.
Many legends and traditions in Russia, even in the 21st century, tell about the mysterious Golden Woman. Rumor has it that supposedly someone went to worship her, hidden in a secret place by either Ural or Siberian shamans. The pagan goddess, to whom rich gifts were presented, has excited the minds of travelers and treasure hunters since the Middle Ages. Even the scientific works of Western European scientists of that time contain descriptions of the statue of the Golden Woman, located in the possession of the Russian Tsar.
Powerful Mother Goddess
Most historians and ethnographers believe that numerous legends talk about a certain image of the mother goddess, whom people have worshiped since ancient times. It is no coincidence that the Golden Woman resembles female characters from many mythologies.
The famous writer, specialist in the history of Slavic peoples Alexander Asov, in his book “Atlantis and Ancient Rus'” (Moscow, 2001) noted that the origins of the worship of this statue should be sought in the legends of the peoples of the Urals and Siberia.
“It is not difficult to recognize in the Golden Baba both the Mansi Sorni-Ekva (Golden Woman), and the Yakut Copper statue (copper is always a substitute for gold), and, for example, the golden goddess of the Altai, bearing the name Altyn-Aryg (“Altyn” means “golden”) . In the tales of the Ural people, she became, firstly, the heroic Azovka, and secondly, the Mistress of the Copper Mountain,” wrote A.I. Asov.
Various authors associated the Golden Woman with the Ob-Ugric goddess Kaltash, and with the Egyptian Isis, and with the Indo-Aryan Sita, and with the Sumerian Sidura. And Doctor of Historical Sciences Vladimir Petrukhin in the monograph “Myths of the Finno-Ugrians” (Moscow, 2005) compared her with the Iranian goddess Ardvisura Anahita, whose image in many ways echoes the Slavic Mother Raw Earth - the progenitor of life.
It is interesting that the English diplomat and researcher Giles Fletcher, in his essay “On the Russian State,” which was first published in 1591, drew a parallel between the mysterious Golden Woman and the well-known Yaga-Bone Leg. A number of specialists in Russian folklore share his opinion: the fairy-tale character was originally a powerful goddess, simultaneously existing in both the world of the living and the world of the dead.
What is known about her
A specialist in comparative historical linguistics, leading researcher at the Institute of Linguistic Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg) Alexey Burykin, wrote the article “Golden Woman: Idol or Toponym?”, which was published in the electronic journal “Sibirskaya Zaimka” on February 27, 2012. The author noted that the legendary pagan idol has long been worshiped not only by representatives of the indigenous peoples of the Urals and Siberia, but also by Russian old-timers of those places. So the Golden Woman can be considered a Slavic goddess.
In his “Treatise on the Two Sarmatias,” the Polish geographer and historian Matvey Mekhovsky (1457-1523) indicated: “Know, fifthly, that beyond the region called Vyatka, on the road to Scythia, there is a large idol, a golden woman (Zlota baba) , which translated means golden old woman. The neighboring tribes greatly honor and worship him, and no one, passing nearby or chasing and pursuing an animal on a hunt, will pass the idol empty-handed, without an offering.”
The Austrian diplomat Sigismund von Herberstein (1486-1566) in the scientific work “Notes on Muscovy” reported that on the right bank of the mouth of the Ob there is a statue of an old woman, “... who holds her son in the womb, and that another child is already visible there again , who is said to be her grandson.” In addition, next to the sanctuary of the pagan idol there are supposedly instruments that produce trumpet sounds under gusts of wind.
The Dutch cartographer Nicolaas Witsen (1641-1717), in the main work of his life “Northern and Eastern Tartaria,” placed a statue of the Golden Woman in Obdoria (a historical region located in the Ob River basin). True, in his work the goddess did not look like an old woman - she was a woman in the prime of her beauty and with two children. And ringing bells were allegedly placed on her body.
Many domestic and foreign authors wove their own fantasies into the description of the Golden Woman. Some people had a relatively small idol, some had a human-sized idol, and others said that it was a huge statue made of pure gold. Such legends attracted treasure hunters and adventurers.
Doctor of Philosophy Valery Demin in the book “Ural Hyperborea” (Moscow, 2010) told how in the second half of the 16th century the Golden Woman was searched for by the associates of the legendary conqueror of Siberia, Ermak Timofeevich. The Remezov Chronicle reports that Ataman Bogdan Bryazga saw a statue of the goddess in the Samara fort, which was built at the confluence of the Irtysh and Ob. According to the stories of the Cossacks, it was a woman “...naked and sitting on a chair with her son.”
From whom was the statue hidden?
Christian preachers and missionaries, overwhelmed by the desire to save the souls of representatives of the indigenous peoples of the Urals and Siberia, saw their ideological enemy in the Golden Woman. Therefore, one of the explanations why the location of the pagan idol remained a secret for a long time is that shamans hid the statue from zealots of the Orthodox faith.
The first Bishop of Perm, Stefan (about 1345-1396), who baptized the Komi people, actively fought against idolatry. And the cult of the ancient goddess seemed to him a dangerous relic of the past.
“The Permian Golden Baba was an old woman in age, and the two babies nearby were considered her grandchildren. In honor of the Golden Woman, rich sacrifices were held, the best deer and other animals were slaughtered... After the baptism of the Permians, their shrine disappeared. It must be assumed that the idol was securely hidden from prying eyes, and proper honors continued to be given to it,” says V.N. Demin.
The Orthodox missionary Grigory Novitsky, who lived in the Petrine era, is known not only for his ethnographic work “ Brief description about the Ostyak people" (1715), but also through a thorough search for the Golden Woman. This man intended to personally destroy the idol of idolaters. As the author of the book “Ural Hyperborea” suggested, it was for this intention that the missionary was killed by the pagan Khanty around 1725.
Many researchers believe that shamans could transport the statue from west to east as the Russians colonized the Urals and Siberia, which led to the spread of Christianity.
Where was the idol hidden?
The famous writer and traveler Nikolai Nepomnyashchy in the book “100 Great Secrets of the East” (Moscow, 2008) indicated that the statue was originally located to the west of the Ural Range. But as a result of the activities of Stephen of Perm and the arrival of Russian troops on the lands of the Komi people, shamans or certain forest wise men transported the idol and hid it first in a cave near the Sosva River, and then on the coast of Konda. The further path of the Golden Woman lay to the east - to Siberia.
“She's not here, but we know her. It was carried through our forests by faithful people to the Ob. Where is it now, whether among the Ostyaks somewhere in Kazym, or among the Samoyeds somewhere in Taz, I don’t know for sure,” these were the words of an old Mansi man quoted in his notes by ethnographer Konstantin Nosilov, who visited the area of Konda and Northern Sosva in 1883-1884 .
“After the arrival of Ermak, the sacred idol was carefully hidden in unknown hiding places near the lower reaches of the Ob. And the further route along which the idol “moved” over the centuries, according to one version, lies from the bank of the Kyzym River to Tazovskaya Guba, and from there to the Putorana mountain plateau in Taimyr,” suggested N.N. Nepomnyashchy.
Researcher Alexander Asov in the book “Atlantis and Ancient Rus'” noted that the last known refuge of the Golden Woman, according to Cossack legends, was in Belogorye. And although different ridges and rocks had this name among the people, the most likely in this case seems to be Belogorye, located at the source of the Irtysh. That is, this is the Kalbinsky ridge in the southwest of Altai.
However, A.I. Asov believes that one should look for the great goddess in spiritual space, since the sacred White Mountains in Slavic mythology are located outside the real world - in Navi. And ascent along them is the path of the soul to the Mother of the World.
Searched all over Siberia
V.N. Demin, like N.N. Nepomnyashchy referred in his book to the memories of a certain old Mansi man, recorded by the ethnographer and writer K.D. Nosilov. A venerable local resident claimed that the statue of the Golden Woman is an ordinary life-size naked woman, who allegedly sits on a sable mat. And it is hidden so that strangers can never find it.
In the 90s of the twentieth century, documents were discovered in the declassified archives of the KGB of the USSR telling about the search for the Golden Woman undertaken in 1933 by NKVD officers. They had information obtained during interrogations that the shaman of the Kazym Khanty was hiding a treasured statue in a secret sanctuary. It is known that one of the special detachments reached the indicated place, the security officers began a battle with the local residents, and all the Khanty were killed. But there is no information left about the Golden Woman herself. Either the security officers found it and hid it, or the idol was not in its intended place.
From time to time, eyewitness accounts appear in the press who supposedly managed to see the statue, expeditions are organized into the remote taiga, but the search has not yet been crowned with success. A variety of assumptions have been made.
Researcher Alexey Burykin, for example, suggested that the Golden Woman is not an idol, but the name of a place sacred to pagans. Moreover, in the Urals and Siberia there are quite a lot of toponyms and hydronyms, the names of which contain the Turkic word “altyn” (gold).
The aforementioned English diplomat Giles Fletcher suggested at the end of the 16th century that the Golden Woman is a rock located at the mouth of the Ob River, whose bizarre outlines resemble a woman with a child. She could well have been worshiped by local pagans, mistaking her for a petrified giantess goddess.
Almost none of the World Cups are complete without a couple of major scandals. Either the organizers will screw it up, the judges will make a mistake, then the players will fight, or even the robbery of the century will happen.
the site selected the most memorable scandals in the history of the World Cup
Battle of Santiago
World Cup 1962. Chile
Now yellow and red cards in the hands of football referees do not surprise anyone, but few people know the history of their appearance. The idea of using such warnings in refereeing practice came to the minds of FIFA functionaries after the group stage match of the 1962 World Cup between the teams of Chile and Italy.
This meeting is most often called the “Battle of Santiago” and by this name one can easily guess how it took place. Even before the match, the degree of opposition was raised by Italian journalists Antonio Ghiridelli and Corrado Pizzinelli, who called the city of Santiago “a city of poor people’s dumps with women whores.”
Well, the match itself turned into a massacre from the very first minutes. Already in the 12th second the first violation was recorded, and in the 8th minute Italian national team player Giorgio Ferrini was sent off. However, he himself refused to leave and the police had to forcefully remove the screaming and kicking football player from the field.
Collective fights between football players broke out on the field several times, which the referee could not control, so the police had to intervene again. In addition to Ferrini, the referee removed another Italian, Mario David, who, in his opinion, was the instigator of the riots.
Of the Chileans, who also actively participated in the brawls, no one was sent off, despite the fact that Leonel Sanchez broke the Italian player’s nose with a punch.
"Battle of Santiago"
However, the judges favored the hosts of the tournament, who, in between fights, managed to score two unanswered goals against Squadra Azzurra, which played with nine players.
The World Championships in Chile were one of the dirtiest and most aggressive. Soviet football player Eduard Dubinsky suffered a severe fracture in the first match with the Yugoslavs, and in the game Czechoslovakia - Spain, three Spaniards received fractures.
At the same time, the football players, in the heat of the fight, did not specifically “hear” the warnings of the referees expelling the violators from the field. In 1966, Englishman Ken Aston was waiting in his car at an intersection for a traffic light and recalled the Chile-Italy match, for which he was the referee.
It was the changing colors of the traffic lights that gave him the idea of using yellow and red cards in refereeing practice. This system was first tested at the 1970 World Championships.
The abduction of the "Golden Goddess"
World Cup 1966. England
One of the scandals of the World Cup in England occurred even before the start of the tournament, when the “Golden Goddess” was stolen - a championship cup made of gilded silver and lapis lazuli, depicting Nike, the ancient Greek goddess of victory.
In January 1966, the hosts of the tournament received the “Golden Goddess” for safekeeping from the previous world champions, the Brazilians. FIFA allowed the British to put the cup on public display for advertising purposes.
The Golden Goddess was exhibited in the Central Hall of Westminster Abbey, under the supervision of a whole squad of detectives. However, on March 20, when all the abbey ministers were at a church service at the other end of the building, the statuette was stolen.
An unknown robber managed to get in through the back door, taking advantage of the fact that the exhibition was closed over the weekend. He used a screwdriver to remove the lock on the display case and stole the cup. It is unclear what the detectives were doing at this time.
The next day, the president of the Football Association of England, Joe Meers, received a package containing pieces of the base of the figurine made of quartz and onyx and a letter from the kidnapper demanding 15 thousand ransom. The criminal threatened to melt the cup if he was not paid.
The British alerted Scotland Yard, and on March 23, when the money was handed over, the thief was detained. He turned out to be the port worker Edward Betchley, who was repeatedly convicted of theft and buying stolen goods. But the “Golden Goddess” was not with him.
A reward was announced for the return of the prize, three times its face value. A few days later, London sailor David Corbett was walking his dog, Pickles. It was the dog who discovered a newspaper bundle in the bushes of a park in the Norwood area, which contained “The Goddess.”
The British received their cup, Corbett received a 6 thousand pounds reward, and Pickles received a lifetime supply of food from one of the English manufacturers. In addition, the dog received the right to attend football matches with his owner.
As for the “Golden Goddess”, in 1970 the Brazilian national team won the top title for the third time and received the “Nika” for life. However, in 1983, the cup was stolen again. It was no longer possible to find it - the “Golden Goddess” was either melted down or settled in the secret storage of some collector.
Phantom goal of Tofik Bakhramov
World Cup 1966. England
The final match of the World Cup in England, in which the tournament hosts played the West German team, was not without scandal.
The main time of the meeting ended in a draw, and in the tenth minute of extra time, English forward Geoff Hurst hit the German goal and brought his team ahead. Or not?
The ball hit the crossbar, bounced down and then flew into the field. Moreover, the blow was so strong that it was difficult to determine with the naked eye whether the ball crossed the goal line.
Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst was not sure of the interpretation of the episode, so he stopped the game and asked USSR line judge Tofik Bahramov if there was a goal. Bakhramov waved his flag to the center of the field and the goal, despite the protests of the German players, was counted.
Geoff Hurst scored another goal in the 120th minute and the game ended 4-2 in favor of England, who won their first and only World Cup. However, the controversy over the “phantom goal”, or as it is called in Germany, the “Wembley goal”, has not subsided to this day.
"Wembley goal" by Tofik Bahramov
Tofik Bahramov himself said that at the gala reception dedicated to the closing of the championship, West Germany national team striker Uwe Seeler approached him and said: “Mr. Bahramov, please accept my apologies. I was wrong to challenge your decision. We looked at the replays: the goal was counted correctly."
On the other hand, the Englishman Geoff Hurst, who scored a hat-trick in that match, admitted in his memoirs that he was not sure of the correctness of the decision of the Soviet referee, who in Germany was called after this match Mister Zwei-Drei (“Mr. Two-Three”).
The engineering department of the University of Oxford conducted a study, the results of which came to the conclusion that the ball did not completely cross the goal line, and the goal was separated by 6 cm.
In his memoirs, Tofik Bahramov wrote that he considered that the ball bounced down not from the crossbar, but from the goal net, and he did not see the moment the ball touched the goal line, but this did not matter in the case of a rebound from the net.
In any case, both the hat-trick of Geoff Hurst and the Soviet referee Tofik Bahramov went down in the history of world football.
Schumacher vs Battiston
World Cup 1982. Spain
At the World Cup in Spain, an episode occurred that for a long time became the standard of cruelty on the football field.
At the 57th minute semi-final match Germany - France German goalkeeper Tony Schumacher jumped into French striker Patrick Battiston.
The French national team forward, who had just entered the field, burst into the German penalty area after a pass from Michel Platini, but the goalkeeper ran out to meet Battiston and knocked him down so hard that the player fell to the ground unconscious.
A few minutes later, the Frenchman was hospitalized by ambulance with a concussion, a fracture of the cervical vertebrae and a jaw injury. At the same time, the referee from the Netherlands, Charles Korver, did not even show Schumacher a yellow card and did not award a penalty.
How Schumacher crashed into Battiston.
Himself German goalkeeper did not even try to apologize to Battiston, who was carried off the field. Later, in his memoirs, the German goalkeeper admitted that he had chickened out. Which is not surprising - the players of the French national team tried to deal with the offender of their teammate right on the field.
The match ended with a score of 5:4 in favor of Germany; there were no protests regarding the result from the parties.
After the game, Schumacher, having learned about Battiston’s loss of teeth, said that “if that’s all that’s wrong with him, then he’ll pay for new crowns.” Later, the German goalkeeper apologized to Patrick Battiston both through the press and personally. The Frenchman accepted them, although he avoids communicating with Schumacher.
"Hand of God" by Maradona
World Cup 1986. Mexico
One of the most famous goals in world football was scored on June 22, 1986 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, during the quarter-final match between England and Argentina.
Argentine striker Diego Maradona attempted a diagonal pass to Jorge Valdano and continued towards the goal. From the foot English player the ball bounced towards the penalty area, where Maradona caught it with his left fist, with which he sent the projectile into the goal.
Already in 2005, the football player admitted that he decided to help the ball with his hand because the English goalkeeper Peter Shilton was too tall. Tunisian referee Ali bin Nasser could not understand whether the ball was scored with his head or his palm and decided to count the goal.
The English goalkeeper and defenders began to argue with the referee, and the cunning Maradona rushed towards his team with gestures of jubilation. By this he was even more successful in convincing the judge that the British evidence was meaningless.
Hand of God a little)))
The game ended 2:1 in favor of Argentina, with the second goal also scored by Diego Maradona in the 56th minute. At the post-match conference, the scorer of the controversial goal said that the ball was scored “partly by Maradona’s head, and partly by the hand of God.”
However, in 2002, in his autobiographical book, Diego Maradona wrote: “Now I can tell you what I couldn’t talk about then. I used to call it "the hand of God." Nonsense! It was Diego's hand that stole the victory from the English."
Maradona also said that he does not intend to apologize, as he considers the goal to be revenge on Great Britain for the Falkland Islands.
Spit by Frank Rijkaard
World Cup 1990. Italy
The 1/8 final match between the national teams of Holland and Germany was remembered primarily for the conflict between Dutch striker Frank Rijkaard and West Germany forward Rudi Veller.
From the very beginning of the match, the Dutchman pushed and kicked his opponent, and in the 18th minute, Rijkaard knocked down Feller. After which, having received a yellow card from Argentinean referee Juan Carlos Lostau, he spat in the back of his opponent’s head. Rudi Völler attacked Frank Rijkaard with his fists, but was “calmed down” by a yellow card.
In the 22nd minute, the players began to fight in the penalty area, for which both were sent off. Finally, Frank Rijkaard spat in Rudi Feller's face. This ugly act “glorified” Rijkaard throughout the world. Previously, it never occurred to football players to sort things out in this way, especially at the World Cup.
What is the cause of the conflict? A native of Suriname, Rijkaard accused Feller after the match of calling him a “black monkey.” Feller replied: “Rijkaard played rudely against me, I shouted something at him, but did not call him a “black monkey”! But I heard “fascist” addressed to me.”
It’s impossible to get to the bottom of the truth, but this episode hit Rijkaard’s reputation. The management of the Italian Milan, where Rijkaard was playing at that time, sent a letter to him in which club owner Silvio Berlusconi, club director Adriano Galiani and coach Arrigo Sacchi expressed dissatisfaction with his behavior.
Rijkaard plays camel.
Rijkaard later explained his action as a nervous breakdown. That year he was going through a family drama - he quarreled with his wife, and she, taking her daughter, left Milan for Holland.
After this, Rijkaard's behavior on the field really changed noticeably. Previously, he was invariably distinguished by his correctness, but now he often began to receive red cards.
Note that the Dutch spitting enthusiast acquired followers over time. For example, former Paraguay national team goalkeeper Chilavert spat in the face of Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos.
Italian Francesco Totti spat in the face of midfielder Christian Poulsen during the Euro 2004 match with Denmark, and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, after losing to Spain, even spat at the cameraman who was chasing him with a camera.
Effenberg gesture
World Cup 1994. USA
Effenberg loved this gesture
In the final match of the group stage Germany - South Korea (3:2), the coaches of the German national team decided to replace midfielder Steffan Effenberg, whose play did not suit them.
The stands responded to the substitution with cheers, whistles and insults. The footballer, leaving the field, responded by defiantly showing his fans his middle finger. Since then, this gesture has been called the “Effenberg gesture” in football.
Coach Berti Vogts was told about his gesture by the president of the German Football Association, Egidius Braun. “At night, Vogts called me and said that the situation was not in my favor. I tried to justify myself, but the coach did not want to listen to anything about provocations from the fans,” Effenberg writes in his memoirs.
For his misconduct, the midfielder was expelled from the German national team by Vogts on the same day and spent only two years in it. friendly match four years later, when the national team changed its head coach.
After the “Effenberg gesture”, under various circumstances, many people repeated it at the football famous players: David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Paolo Maldini, Gary Neville. Even the current coach of the Russian national team, Fabio Capello, made his mark.
The incident occurred immediately after the home match of the Spanish Championship against Zaragoza. Leaving the locker room, the coach twice showed his middle finger towards the stands with fans of Real Madrid, which he coached. Capello later apologized for his actions, but stressed that these fans had been insulting him since the start of the season.
Brigitte Bardot and dogs
World Cup 2002. Japan and South Korea
One of the scandals associated with the World Championships in Japan and Korea happened even before the tournament itself and has a rather comical tone.
The famous French actress Brigitte Bardot, who is also the founder of the fund for the protection of animals, sent to the government South Korea an appeal with a demand to stop such “barbarism” as eating dogs, at least for the duration of the championship.
The actress was supported by famous French artists, the French Football Federation and FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who in his letter called on the South Korean authorities to “be sensitive to the feelings of foreigners” and stop eating dogs.
However, Blatter soon distanced himself from the scandal, fearing that such statements could jeopardize the holding of the World Cup.
Meanwhile, international internet trolls bombarded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation website with threats, insults and invitations to a dog dinner.
Soon the conflict was settled. President of the South Korean Football Association and Vice-President of FIFA Chung Moon Chun said that such food is one of the national customs of Koreans, but nevertheless Buddhism, the religion professed by the majority of South Koreans, prohibits killing even insects.
Chung Moon Chun also promised to send videos to the Brigitte Bardot Foundation about animal protection programs in South Korea.
The French actress could not resist the Korean charm and retracted her accusations against the World Cup hosts.
Korea on trailer
World Cup 2002. Japan and South Korea
However, the championships in Japan and Korea were also remembered by everyone for the refereeing scandals. The fact that the host countries of the tournament are usually favored by the referees is already a common thing, but the way the referees “pulled” the Korean team exceeded all expectations and fears.
It all started back on group stage, in a match with Portugal. In case of defeat, the championship hosts, who beat Poland and tied with the USA, could simply not leave the group.
Naturally, this did not happen, the Koreans won with a score of 1:0, and the Portuguese did not make it out of the group. Two Portuguese (Beto and Joao Pinto) were sent off during the match, one after obvious simulation on the part of the Korean.
In the 1/8 finals match between Italy and South Korea, Ecuadorian referee Byron Moreno awarded a dubious penalty against the Italians in the 5th minute, but the Korean was unable to beat the goalkeeper.
Then, with the score 1:0 in favor of Italy, Damiano Tommasi's goal was not counted as scored from an offside position. The video recording, meanwhile, refutes the judge’s arguments.
In the 103rd minute, Italian striker Francesco Totti tripped and fell in the Korean penalty area. The referee mistook the fall for feigning and immediately sent him off the field. The game ended 2:1 in favor of South Korea.
Refereeing in matches with Korea at the 2002 World Cup
During the 1/4 finals match between South Korea and Spain, Egyptian referee Gamal Ghandour disallowed two goals from Spain when the score was 0:0.
First, the header from the corner, whose author was Fernando Morientes, was not counted. The goal was not counted because at that moment one of the Spaniards allegedly grabbed the shirt of one of the Korean players.
The referee did not count the second goal by Gaizki Mendieta, explaining that while dribbling the player’s ball went beyond the back line, which was also refuted by the video recording. The match was won by the South Korean team on penalties.
The Spanish Football Federation did not protest the results of the match, but its chairman resigned from his post on the FIFA refereeing committee the day after the game in protest at the unfair performance of the referees.
Zidane and Materazzi
World Cup 2006. Germany
Zidane vs Materazzi
The 2006 World Cup final, where the Italian team faced the French team, became famous primarily due to the dramatic conflict between Zinedine Zidane and Marco Materazzi.
The Italian defender played one of the critical roles: in the 7th minute, for a foul he committed against the Italians, a penalty was awarded, converted by Zidane, but in the 19th minute, Marco himself equalized the score.
And in the 110th minute, the French leader Zidane, provoked by him, was sent off due to an attack on Materazzi. The French midfielder, in response to some remark from the Italian, turned around and head-butted him in the chest, for which he received a red card.
Zidane explained his behavior this way: “I asked him to stop clinging to my jersey, explaining that after the end of the match I could give it to him anyway. After that, he insulted my mother and sister several times.
I tried not to react, but words can sometimes be more hurtful than actions. His words deeply offended me, and I couldn’t hold back, everything happened very quickly.” Zidane still does not mention specific remarks made that day.
According to all experts, this removal predetermined the outcome of the match, because Zidane was the best penalty taker of the French, who lost precisely in a series of post-match strikes.
Scandal in the French national team
World Cup 2010. South Africa
A major scandal at the World Cup in South Africa was a squabble within the French team. First, during a break in the 2010 World Cup match against Mexico, French coach Raymond Domenech expressed his dissatisfaction with the actions of forward Nicolas Anelka, and in response he heard obscene language.
As a result, Anelka did not appear in the second half and ceased to be a player for the French national team. The next day, the remaining players boycotted the open training session, leaving it right in front of the press and photographers.
At the very beginning of the open training, the trainer physical training quarreled with Domenech. In front of journalists, he tore off his badge and left the field. Previously, he had a conflict that almost reached hand-to-hand combat with Patrice Evra. The French mentor had to separate them.
After this, team director Jean Louis Valentin resigned. Stating that he was ashamed of his players, he announced that he was not only resigning, but also leaving the French Football Federation.
President Sarkozy sent the Minister of Sports to South Africa to stabilize the situation. As a result, the team reached final match against the South African national team without leading players and lost.
Coach Domenech refused after final whistle shake hands with his South African colleague, although he had nothing to do with it at all.
From Olga Koshmanova's book "The Golden Woman or the Enchanted Goddess. Kondinsky Stories."
May she be remembered for her work.
There are many mysteries in the world: Egyptian pyramids, Stonehenge in England, the Loch Ness monster in Switzerland, Bigfoot, the Bermuda Triangle, flying saucers and others. One of these secrets is the legend of the Golden Woman.
Many articles have been written about it by scientists all over the world. Many are trying to explain this phenomenon. But the mystery still remains unsolved, although the first written message in Russia can be read in the first Sofia Chronicle from 1398. More than 600 years have passed. But we still haven’t learned anything new from her. And no one knows for sure or can say whether this is a true story or a fairy tale. Was there, and perhaps still exists today, a Golden Woman.
The chronicles claim that this ancient deity of the Ugric peoples (which includes the local population of Konda - the Vogul-Mansi) was “carried away and hidden in the dense forests of Konda”
The indigenous population of Konda knew and remembered Sor-ni Nai well. Although none of the indigenous people ever called her BABA. It turns out that she was a GOLDEN GODDESS for them - SUREN TOROUM NE! And calling her a woman was considered a great sin! And not only. Nobody ever called Her the Golden Goddess or the Golden Woman! For the initiated - simply SHE. And those who did not understand were not given the opportunity to know.
The place where she stood is located far from the river, near an oxbow. A centuries-old “trusted” cedar tree grows near the village. There are many cedar trees in Kond. But this one is famous for being “sure.” What does this mean? First of all, you cannot take a single cone from this cedar tree. So, there is a cedar tree, full of cedar cones, but you can’t use it. You can’t - and that’s it! All local residents knew about this. And they didn’t take it. The temptation was great. Those who violated the ban and took it paid for it with their health. There are many berry forests near the village - Malo-Pavinsky, Bolyie-Pavinsky.
There is also Starukhin Bor. And this forest is considered sacred. Coming to it, everyone must place a gift in a certain place. They say that if the person who comes does not give a gift and does not ask the Mistress for help, then he will not leave this forest at all. In addition, the Mistress requires a kind attitude towards herself. You cannot shout, make noise, break trees, trample berry fields, much less swear. If you come to visit, behave yourself decently. But when leaving, don’t forget to thank them. The whole district knew this and strictly followed these rules.
But the most important thing is that there were drawings in this Starukhin Forest! Many people know that drawings can be found on rocks and in caves. But the drawings on the wood... We haven’t heard of anything like that. And here is another meeting - and Tolik’s stunning story. On that visit he was very attentive. He looked not only at the forest, at nature, but also at his mother. It turns out that the mother, entering the forest, gives a gift to the Mistress. And only after that he allows himself and his son to pick berries. This time Tolik slipped away from his mother and began walking around the forest. And that's what he saw there. Indeed, there are drawings on the moss. More precisely, drawings on reindeer moss. I just couldn’t understand how these were drawings on moss? Tolik explained it to me, but I didn’t understand.
Well, what is there to understand?! - Tolik was indignant. - Drawings are like drawings, like in any book.
But I imagined a solid moss forest and could not see the drawings. Finally, Tolik, seeing my stupidity, simply took a piece of paper, a pen and drew. And he began to explain:
Just as you run a pencil or pen across blank paper, so it is there. The designs on the moss are separated and delimited by strips of earth. And moss itself gives the overall picture. Where necessary, it grows thicker and there is more reindeer moss; where necessary, it grows less often and there is less of it. There are even color drawings. They are made from colorful moss. You just need to look not at your own feet, but as if from the side or from above. I think it depicts hunting scenes. There are bears, dogs, wolves and some small animals. True, I looked at them, but I couldn’t figure out who it was. It takes a long time to look at it, but I didn’t have time. Mother forced me to pick berries. But the main thing in these drawings, in this forest, is the OWNER. I looked at her very well. It is clear that this is not a male hunter, but a woman! The idea is that she is watching or directing everyone. It’s interesting that she seemed to me to be wearing a man’s hat, that is, she has a large head, like a hat, and one ear of the hat, the right one, seemed to be protruding. And everything is in place for this Mistress, everything is normal, only her legs are missing. More precisely, they are there and well marked, but only slightly below the treeline. Where she is going or where she has gone is unknown. This was Tolik's story.
From questioning, I learned that if in the fall they wear down and destroy the drawings, then in the spring all of them, emerging from under the snow, seem to be renewed. They say that it was the Mistress who did everything and that she monitors it very strictly.
While out hunting, we started talking about HER. And then one of them suggested going and looking at HER. I never believed in its existence, and therefore I was very surprised and even shocked by such a proposal. But he remained silent, trying not to show his excitement. To my joy, the men agreed! It turns out that we were hunting near the place where SHE was located. A few days later we left. And this is what I saw. Among the swamps there was a small island. On the north and south sides it is overgrown with forest. More precisely, not a forest, but a small undergrowth. And in the middle stood a statue of HER. They say it is golden. No, it’s not gold at all! She looked like stone to me. Stands on a small pedestal. Looks like it's been standing for a long time. Why? Yes, her legs are all overgrown with moss! We walked around and looked... She is as tall as a man. I wonder who and why dragged and installed it here through the swamps and swamps? The men also didn’t really know anything, but they said that their ancestors were involved in this matter. That's it. You can't take anything from there. We didn’t put it in, it’s not for us to take it! After our conversation with you about the Golden Goddess, I became interested. And I decided, under the guise of hunting, to go there again. My friend and I agreed and went. But the trouble is, we didn’t make it. It’s interesting when you walk, you seem to be walking on level ground, but it’s difficult to walk, as if uphill. And that’s why we didn’t get there. We were in camouflage robes. It was difficult to notice us from a distance. And suddenly, in the midst of complete silence, we heard a man’s voice:
Immediately return to where you came from. We even sat down in surprise. But they obediently turned their skis and went back. When we returned, it seemed to us that the skis themselves were carrying us - as if along the slope.
You are still looking for HER... Well, the Golden Goddess.... But we have HER.
How are you? What do you mean?
“With us,” said Ekaterina, completely calmly, as if we were talking about a loaf of bread.
Why are you silent? Why don’t you say anything? - that’s when I started blaming Katerina.
“You didn’t ask me,” she told me just as calmly. And my Katya began to talk about what she heard from the old people and what she witnessed.
But they have been looking for HER for a long time. We came many times. Everyone is hunting for her. They asked everything. Yes, we agreed: not to say anything. They simply said: “We don’t know anything. Never heard anything. This is probably not ours.” That was their excuse. Or they said that they didn’t understand Russian. But all the old people knew about HER and told us. But they didn’t directly say where she was, but showed different places and called them in our own way. At first, we girls were shy. And as they grew up, they understood. Our village was located on the shore of a lake called Ekakahertur. When we were growing up, they already called him in Russian. But the old people gave us that old name too. “Eka” - in our language means “old woman”, “old woman”. “Kakher” - “live”, “tur” - “lake”. So it turns out that we lived on the shore of a lake called “Lake of the Old Woman’s Belly.” In the middle of the lake there are two small round islands. These are women's breasts. There is also a “head” - in the form of a round island. And on it - everything is like a person’s: the hair is centuries-old cedar, there is a forehead and eyes - lakes. There is also an elevation - nel-nos. There is also a sabian pubis - at the very end of the lake there is a small hill covered with small bushes. The old people called it “a woman’s place.” And everything else: arms, legs - under water. The arms are two convicts that flow into the lake on the right and left; above the legs there are water ravines. Many miracles happen there! And there is a lot going on. There are a lot of fish of all kinds in the lake and ravines. And in the summer there are a great number of migratory birds. And in the forests there are a lot of different animals. Therefore, we could not live in poverty! We always had everything! Only about this, about our Goddess, none of our people ever told anyone. I'm the first to tell you about this. And I will also say that only men knew a lot. The women were not told anything. But they did let us know. They said that we live in a rich place. But it must be protected. That's how it was.
So they followed the snakes. They walked for a long time. And they came to a shchekholka (a small island of solid land covered with forest). She is so inconspicuous from a distance that you can walk by and not notice. When we entered this shack, something happened to me. I was very, very afraid... There was no wind, silence. The weather is good. The sun is shining. And I'm scared. It's so scary that I would run away anywhere. And I don’t know why. Andrei Ivanovich, seeing such a thing, took me to the edge of the shackle. I feel calmer here
It happens,” he says. - This happens. And it happened to me at first... And I refused to go further. You thought something bad, why did you think so? You have to go there with pure thoughts and thoughts. So she doesn’t allow anyone to come to her. Okay, stay here. Don't you dare go anywhere. You can't get out alone anyway. You may not find the way. Yes, and SHE will lead you astray.
Andrei Ivanovich left. I was sitting on the edge of the shackle. He calmed down and began to look around. And again it seemed strange to me: there was no wind, but all the leaves on the trees were trembling and rustling! Yes, I was also uneasy, but not as scared as in the middle of the famine. Andrei Ivanovich did not walk for long.
Everything is fine. Now we can return. Now we don’t need snakes, now we can find our way without them
In the evening, during dinner, my grandfather invited me to go along this path. According to my father's stories, I knew where this path led. It was interesting. - You will remember me all your life. “You will live well,” my grandfather told me, either persuading me or inviting me on a journey.
You don't have to be afraid of snakes. They all went to HER and will now protect her until spring. Frost is coming soon. But Vitkar cannot guard in winter. SHE should always have not one, but two guards. In the summer, the snakes rest, and Vitkar takes over as guard.
Who else? Snakes and merman - I understand that, but who else?
Don't know? - the grandfather was surprised. - So the owner of forests and swamps. Now that's what they call HIM in Russian. And in our opinion, it’s complete. And the old people also said that they called him humpol Egor. It’s like he’s a man from the other world, not our world, but the one below, and Yegor is his name. Everything is like people. We are all people, and everyone has a name. So it is there. And when necessary, they addressed him by name. HE helped some, but not others.
We decided to go along the trail tomorrow morning. Looking at me, my grandfather said that it would be easy for me to walk, apparently meaning my height and my weight. But our trip did not take place. In the evening everything was quiet and calm. And by morning a snowstorm began. Yes, with such a cold north wind! Naturally, our path was not immediately visible. And the weather was such that it was better not to show your nose from the hut. The blizzard lasted for three days. On the third day, as suddenly as it began, it ended. - SHE didn’t want any more people to come to her. So she didn’t let me in. Let's follow the trail of snakes next year. Then SHE always misses. He misses the trail. But this is not always the case. Then you need to ask HER permission. Yes, and bring clean people to her. He won't let the bad guys in. And this has happened more than once! Just keep quiet. Don't tell anyone anything. People, they are all kinds. They can do something to you too. And so, it seems like you don’t know anything, just like you didn’t know.
THE TALE OF SURENE NE - THE GOLDEN GODDESS
It was a long time ago. A very long time ago. On the shore of a warm, gentle sea lived a woman of dazzling beauty. Either a queen or a princess. And they called her some Suren Ne - the Golden Goddess, some Sorni Nai - fiery woman. Many noble kings and nobles wooed her, and she fell in love with the Red Sun. And in order to fulfill her dream, she secretly left her warm homeland from everyone and followed the Red Sun. It took a long time. Not one year, not one century. Only she knows about this. And so she reached the Stone Belt of the Earth. And the Red Sun went beyond those mountains and hid there. And Suren Ne went further, where an endless plain opened up before her. But that plain turned out not to be solid ground, but a swampy yueng-yang. And Suren Ne went through the swamps and swamps. In her wake, rivers flowed and lakes appeared. But it was difficult to walk through shifting places. And Suren Ne began to tear off and throw pieces of clothing in front of herself. And where they fell, husks appeared - small hills, and Suren Ne walked along them. But the clothes ran out and her strength left her. And then the Red Sun went into sunset. Casting a farewell glance at her beloved Red Sun, Suren Ne fell on the Kondinsky swamps and yangi and turned into an eku - an old woman. Yes, she remained on Kondinskaya land. Where Suren Ne fell, instead of hair the mighty cedar tree turns green, the nose-mountain breathes calmly. There are also eyes - bottomless lakes. And in the middle of a huge lake called Ekakahertur - the lake of an old woman's belly, two islands - women's breasts rise. Under the arms and legs, holy ravines and bays full of incredible miracles were formed. Migrant birds nest along the banks, and animals live in the forests. Suren Ne sleeps on Kondinskaya land. She sleeps and hopes that we, now living, remember her, know her, and will preserve her peace and wealth until better times. In the meantime, he's sleeping.
