Football is a widely followed global sport but has had its fair share of strange conspiracy theories just like other sports.
Here are top five football conspiracy theories that always get football fans thinking.
Ronaldo and the 1998 World Cup final. In the days leading up to the 1998 World Cup final, Brazil star Ronaldo suffered a seizure. He was initially ruled out of the match, but was later reinstated to the starting lineup. Brazil went on to lose the match 3-0 to France. Some fans believe that Ronaldo was still not fit to play and that Nike, his sponsor, pressured the Brazilian team to let him start.
South Korea’s win over Italy in the 2002 World Cup. South Korea was a surprise package at the 2002 World Cup, reaching the semi-finals. However, their victory over Italy in the quarter-finals was particularly controversial. South Korea won the match 2-1, but there were several questionable refereeing decisions that went their way. Some fans believe that the match was fixed in South Korea’s favor.
Steven Gerrard missed a penalty on purpose to get Roy Hodgson sacked. In 2011, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard missed a penalty against Blackburn Rovers. Liverpool lost the match 3-2, and manager Roy Hodgson was sacked shortly afterwards. Some fans believe that Gerrard missed the penalty deliberately in order to get Hodgson sacked.
Neymar wasn’t really injured at the 2014 World Cup. Brazil star Neymar was injured in the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup against Colombia. He was stretchered off the pitch and was ruled out of the rest of the tournament. However, some fans believe that Neymar was faking his injury in order to avoid playing against Germany in the semi-finals.
Adidas deliberately make wonky World Cup balls. There have been several World Cup balls that have been criticized for being difficult to control. The 2010 Jabulani ball was particularly infamous, with many goalkeepers complaining about it. Some people believe that Adidas deliberately makes wonky World Cup balls in order to make the games more unpredictable.
These are just a few of the many football conspiracy theories that are out there. Whether you believe them or not is up to you. But they certainly make for interesting discussion!
