4ThreeThree - The Global Football Podcast

The 1982 World Cup finals in Spain promised to be one of the great World Cups. A galaxy of stars had gathered. Platini, Zico, Socrates, Keegan, Dalglish and an emerging Diego Maradona.

The Brazil team of 1982 is almost as fabled as their 1970 predecessors and have gone down as the greatest team to have never won the World Cup.

As well as the great football on offer, the 1982 World Cup also offered up its fair share of drama. There was the scandalous collusion between West Germany and Austria in the final group game that sent home minnows Algeria. But the starring role in infamy goes to German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher who's shocking challenge on Patrick Battiston left the Frenchman in a coma.

The referee and linesman were both unaware or unwilling to take the necessary action. Video replays showed the glaring error of the match officials to a global audience.

Once again, viewers at home had a better view of the incident than the officials on the field of play.

In episode 1 of our podcast series "The Road to VAR" we take a look at Geoff Hurst's controversial goal against West Germany in the 1966 World Cup Final.

Did it cross the line? More importantly, how did the officials come to their decision and what does modern technology have to say about this most famous (infamous depending on your allegiances!) of incidents.

It was arguably the first time in modern footballing history that video and photographic evidence was used to discuss the merits of the referee's decision that day. It would not be the last.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup introduced the Video Assisted Referee to the game of football for the very first time. However, the seeds for its introduction were laid years before.

In this first documentary series from The 4ThreeThree Global Football Podcast, we will look at some of the most controversial incidents in the history of the game and examine how these controversies laid the groundwork for the eventual introduction of VAR.

From Geoff Hurst's controversial extra-time goal at Wembley in 1966, Maradona's infamous "Hand of God" goal, to Frank Lampard's goal that never was in the 2010 World Cup, football is littered with controversies that changed the course of sporting history.

With each passing controversy, television technology was rapidly advancing and asking serious questions over the competency of match referees.

Forthcoming episodes:

Episode 1 - England v West Germany 1966 Word Cup Final

Epsode 2 - West Germany v France, 1982 World Cup SF

Episode 3 - Argentina v England, 1986 World Cup QF

Episode 4 - Italy v France, 2006 World Cup Final

Episode 5 - France v Rep. of Ireland, 2009 World Cup Qualifier

Episode 6 - Germany v England, 2010 World Cup Round of 16

It is hard to think of any one man that has dominated a World Cup in the way Diego Armando Maradona dominated the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

In one monumental game against England in the Quarter Finals, Maradona displayed his full reportoire of skill and artistry, hand in hand with his devilry. The goal he scored to put Argentina 2-0 ahead has gone down as "The Goal of the Century", and who would argue with that?

However his first goal, his infamous "Hand of God" goal, at once revealed the lengths to which professional footballers would go to win matches.

It also demonstrated the limitations of match officials. An ever increasing global television audience, more in depth studio analysis of the game as well as better use of television technology, gave the television viewer a greater view of incidents on the field of play than even match officials.

As well as examining the "Hand of God" incident and its immediate aftermath, we also look at the roots of the England Argentina rivalry and how and why it continued to develop.