If you wondered why the 2010 FIFA World Cup matches schedule has shifted to running games simultaneously, like today’s U.S. vs. Algeria and England vs. Slovenia games, it’s because of one of the biggest conspiracies in the history of sport that took place at the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

In 1982 after a few games were in the books, Austria and West Germany would meet in a game that could advance both teams to the next round IF West Germany could pull off a 1-0 win. That final score would allow both teams to make the cut due to the final goal differentials working in their favor.

From the opening kick West Germany got aggressive on offense and pressed Austria, taking a 1-0 lead just 11 minutes into the contest on a header by Horst Hrubesch. From this moment on, the world would be treated to one of the most gutless acts in the history of FIFA or any sport.

Both teams, who had obviously made a prior arrangement to fix the score at 1-0 so both could advance, slowly trotted around the field for the remainder of the game, passing the ball around for 79 minutes while the crowd erupted and burned flags in the stands, blow your vuvuzela to that!

Television commentators covering this disgraceful match condemned both teams including a German television commentator who said:

“What’s happening here is disgraceful and has nothing to do with futbol”

During post-game interviews, the West German coach Jupp Derwall admitted, “We wanted to progress, not play football,” and player Lothar Matthäus added, “We have gone [to the next round] that’s all that counts.”

Back home in Germany, the media slammed their team with headlines like in the country’s best-selling paper called the Bild that read, “Shame On You!”

FIFA scurried to decide if there was anything they could do but decided they could not change a score or annul any results for the 1982 tournament. From that point on however, the final round of group matches have been played simultaneously to eliminate or at least reduce the chance of a re-occurrence of another conspiracy like this West Germany and Austria game.

MORE FIFA World Cup:

It’s time for America to embrace FIFA horns 

French World Cup team continues their circus act

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