On January 27, 1994, the national football teams of Barbados and Grenada played against each other, as part of the qualification round for the 1994 Caribbean Cup. Barbados won 4–2 in extra time. In the last minutes of regular time, both teams attempted to score own goals. The result has been described as "one of the strangest matches ever".
In the 1994 Caribbean Cup, the tournament organisers implemented a variant of the "golden goal" rule: that is, the first goal scored in extra time not only won the match, but was also worth two goals. Barbados needed to win the match by a margin of at least two goals to qualify for the final over Grenada.
Barbados led the game 2–0 until Grenada scored in the 83rd minute, bringing the score to 2–1. Barbados then deliberately scored an own goal, tie-ing the game at 2–2, to force extra-time, so that they could take advantage of the golden goal rule to achieve their needed two-goal margin.
This resulted in an unusual situation: for the last three minutes of the MAIN match, Grenada tried to score in both goals! Either outcome (3–2 on points, or 2–3 via goal difference) would have advanced them to the finals, while Barbados had to defend both goals. Ultimately, Barbados was able to prevent Grenada from scoring, forcing extra-time. Barbados then scored the golden goal to win the match.
The outcome of the match was criticised by Grenadian coach, James Clarkson, who felt that his team had been unfairly prevented from advancing to the finals. However, given the fact that the unusual tournament rules had not been broken, FIFA cleared Barbados of any wrongdoing.
The 1994 Caribbean Cup was the fifth edition of the competition and was played in Trinidad and Tobago. Qualification took place in various other locations around the Caribbean in early 1994. At the time, FIFA had been testing variations on tournament rules, and the tournament organisers had decided that any matches where the score was tied at the end of the normal 90 minutes would go to extra-time, which would feature a golden goal that, if scored, would be worth two goals. Barbados, Grenada, and Puerto Rico were drawn into Group 1, and on January 23 the "round robin" tournament, kicked off in Barbados, with the home team falling 0–1 to Puerto Rico. Two days later, Grenada defeated Puerto Rico 2–0 after a golden goal in extra-time. This put Grenada at the top of the group with three points and a +2 goal difference. Thus, the only way that Barbados could advance to the finals would be if they could beat Grenada by a margin of at least two goals.
Before the match the standings were as follows:
| Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Grenada | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
 Puerto Rico | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 3 |
 Barbados | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
| Grenada | 2–0 (a.e.t.) | Puerto Rico |
|---|---|---|
- Disgrace of Gijón where a 1982 World Cup game between West Germany and Austria was played out as a mutually agreeable 1–0 win to West Germany as this result ensured both teams qualified for the next round at the expense of Algeria.
- Thailand 3–2 Indonesia, where an Indonesian defender deliberately scored an own goal so his team did not have to face hosts Vietnam in the semi-finals of the 1998 Tiger Cup.
- AS Adema 149-0 SO i'Emyne, where SO l'Emyrne players deliberately scored 149 own goals in protest of refereeing decisions that had gone against them in the previous match.
No comments:
Post a Comment