THE RAISED ARM

13th October 2004

Tofiq Bahramov (below) will be remembered with affection by England fans as the linesman who helped get awarded the controversial England third goal in the 1966 World Cup final. When his country, Azerbaijan, gained independence from the Soviet Union, their national stadium was renamed in his honour complete with a statue erected outside. 

England visited the stadium for the first time on this day in 2004 for a World Cup qualifier, when captain Michael Owen scored the only goal of the match.

Sir Geoff Hurst is the only footballer to have scored a World Cup Final hat trick and of course the controversial goal was part of his hat trick. To mark his 80th birthday he has chosen 80 sportsmen who have left their mark on him and on history. Sir Geoff provides a fascinating and broad history of sporting heroes from A to Z, Ali to Zidane, in a book filled with surprising and entertaining facts.

When the clubs met in another Premier League match in October 1996, at White Hart Lane, Spurs fans chanted the name of Klinsmann every time Bosnich touched the ball. In response Bosnich did a Nazi salute directed at the home fans, not a great idea as the Spurs club has a deep Jewish heritage. There was immediate outrage at the incident and fans generally condemned the actions of Bosnich.  Complaints from fans saw the Australian interviewed by police and charged with misconduct by the FA for which he was later fined £1000 and warned about his future conduct. Aston Villa's goalkeeper, Mark Bosnich, wasn't a favourite of Spurs' fans following a clash between the Australian 'keeper and Jurgen Klinsmann of Spurs at Villa Park in January 1995. Klinsmann was knocked unconscious in the Premier League fixture.