A collage of some of the funniest moments in FIFA World Cup.Over the years, we have witnessed some hilarious incidents during the FIFA World Cup finals. Onmanorama scours through some of the funniest moments in the history of the tournament.
Alejandro Sabella's slip
Argentina manager Alejandro Sabella nearly fell after Gonzalo Higuain almost doubled their lead over Belgium during the 2014 World Cup quarterfinal in Brazil. As the shot hit the crossbar, Sabella was seen leaning back but he didn’t stop and kept going!
Luckily he was caught by a member of his backroom staff which prevented him from getting hurt. His side went on to win the match 1-0 to seal their place in the last four.
Graham Poll's third yellow card
Normally two yellow cards warrant a red card, upon which a player is sent off. Graham Poll, the referee during the 2006 World Cup match between Australia and Croatia forgot about this rule!
Poll penalised Josip Simunic with two yellow cards, but allowed the Croatian to continue. It was only after a third yellow card that Poll pulled out the red, sending the player off the field.
Diana Ross' infamous penalty
Singer Diana Ross was an integral part of USA's spectacular opening-ceremony for the 1994 World Cup. It was all going well until Ross danced down the pitch to take a staged penalty kick. All she was to do was tap the ball forward a couple of yards but instead pulled her effort wide and end up with an exploding set of goalposts!
Jimmy Greaves, the dog-catcher
Jimmy Greaves, England's fourth highest goal scorer provided a moment of comic relief during the 1962 World Cup quarterfinal match against Brazil, when he took to his hands and knees in a successful effort to detain a stray dog that had wandered onto the pitch.
The dog made such an impression on Brazil's star player Garrincha and he adopted it. This incident eventually earned Greaves the title of 'Garrincha's dog-catcher' in Brazil.
Zaire's abnormal defensive tactics
During the 1974 World Cup with Zaire 3-0 down to Brazil and three minutes left in their final group stage match, the Canaries were awarded a free-kick. Surprisingly, Zaire's full-back Mwepu Ilunga charged from his own wall and took the Brazilian free-kick! Mwepu got booked for the infringement but had no idea what he had done wrong.
And the Oscar goes to...Rivaldo!
In Brazil's group match against Turkey during the 2002 World Cup, the Selecao were awarded a corner kick. Rivaldo stood at the corner flag and demanded the ball from Turkey's Hakan Unsal. He petulantly kicked it, hitting the Brazilian on the leg.
Rivaldo saw this opportunity to showcase his acting skills. Thus he fell to the ground, covering his face as though he had been hit in the face. The referee fell for it and sent off Unsal for his apparent misdemeanour and Brazil went on to win the match 2-1. But later Rivaldo was fined by FIFA after the incident had been reviewed.
