The “La Vergüenza” day at Maracanã Stadium

On this day, September 3rd, 36 years ago, one of the most shameful spectacles in the history of the nearly century-old Soccer World Cup took place.

It was the day when the entire Chilean National Team— its coach, its officials, and all its players — pretended that goalkeeper Roberto Rojas had been attacked, and indignantly walked off the field at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. It was one of the South American qualifying matches for the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

But what was happening was clear to the eyes of even the most inexperienced detective: Chile needed to win the match to secure the much desired qualification, they were losing 1–0, and were already nearing the end of the game.

Then a chain of circumstances favored the plot: a young woman aspiring to become a model, eager for publicity, threw a flare onto the field. It landed in Chile’s penalty area and, immediately, goalkeeper Roberto Rojas fell to the ground, as if struck down.

The Chileans left the pitch, hurling curses at the fans and at Brazil’s players. They went on to demand that Brazil be disqualified by FIFA, an outcome would guarantee them a spot in the World Cup in Italy.

Roberto Rojas was bleeding from his forehead. It was later discovered that he himself had made the cut with a small razor blade he had hidden in one of his gloves.

I had just returned from a trip to Europe and, in a column for Jornal dos Sports, I compared the Chilean National Team, known as La Roja, to a disorganized Brancaleone Army.

The scheme was so transparent that it was exposed in no time. Chile, already losing on the field, was officially deemed the loser by FIFA and, moreover, banned from even attempting to qualify for the following World Cup, in 1994 in the United States.

That World Cup, incidentally, was won by Brazil. For Chile, La Vergüenza. As for the aspiring model, she at least partly achieved what she wanted: posing nude for Playboy magazine.