[Video] Soccer Scandals: The 5 Most Shocking Doping Stories From FIFA World Cups

This article was originally published in El Planteo, and appears here with permission. 

El Planteo, the most-read cannabis media outlet in the Spanish-speaking world, has released a documentary series, "Positive/Negative: stories of doping in the World Cups."

The series highlights six stories of doping and drugs cases during FIFA World Cups, from Nazi Germany to the Colombian player killed by cartels. Check out the series below, and remember to turn on English subtitles on YouTube by clicking on the CC button on the player and then selecting the language by clicking on the settings button (the gear button on the bottom-left angle of the player).

Ep. 1: 'DIEGO MARADONA, THE DAY THEY CUT OUR LEGS'.

Synopsis:

After a difficult qualification to the 1994 World Cup in the United States, the Argentine National Team imposed itself as one of the strongest teams in the competition, achieving an early qualification to the round of 16, after defeating Greece 4-0 in the debut and Nigeria 2-1 in Group D.

See also: Argentina Wins FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 On Penalty Kicks

At the end of the match, an image remained for history: Diego Armando Maradona was leaving the field holding nurse Sue Carpenter's hand to undergo the anti-doping control. The rest is known: positive for alleged consumption of ephedrine, and all the illusion of a country vanished with this dramatic news for Argentine soccer and the world of sport.

Archive material: FIFA TV and TN

Ep. 2: WILLIE JOHNSTON: SCOTLAND AND THE SELECTION OF EXCESSES.

Synopsis:

The fourth participation of the Scotland national team was short-lived. Defeats against Peru, Holland, and a draw against modest Iran made it impossible for the European team to go beyond its zone in the 1978 World Cup held in Argentina.

However, the most significant aspect of that visit (in addition to some stories related to the Scottish team's drinking) was the positive doping of Willie Johnston, one of the most unruly British players on and off the field of play.

The sanctioning of this wayward player in one of the doping controls in the middle of the World Cup competition is just the beginning.

Stock footage: BBC, Getty Images, RTA, Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club (YouTube), Scotland 78: A Love Story (BBC)

Ep 3: GERMANY, THE SUSPECTED CHAMPION.

Synopsis:

Among the competing teams at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, Federal Germany stood out. The Teutonic team made its debut against Turkey in Bern with a convincing 4-1 victory. Then, in the next match, they faced Hungary. This time, however, the result was sportingly catastrophic: a nightmarish and unprecedented 8-3 in favor of the Hungarians, the overwhelming favorites to win the cup.

On July 4, 1954, the now-defunct Wankdorf Stadium played host to these two mighty teams in a final with a thirst for revenge. After coming back from a 2-0 deficit, Germany imposed their remarkable physical prowess to win 3-2 and achieve their first World Cup. This triumph was so significant that it became popularly known as "The Miracle of Berne," in reference to the Swiss city where the match took place.

However, some fifty years later, the event came under scrutiny. The discovery made by the German team's kit men was conclusive. Syringes containing something that, in the words of the witnesses themselves, "should be forbidden" were found in the champions' dressing room.

See also: Cannabis Advocacy At The FIFA World Cup In Qatar: One NGO And Its Huge Flag Defy Host Country's Strict Laws

Archive material: DW, Triumph des Willens (1935), FIFA.TV, Football Weltmeisterschaft 1954 (1954), Reuters and The Guardian

Ep 4: ERNST JEAN - JOSEPH, THE FIRST PLAYER EXPELLED FROM A WORLD CUP FOR DOPAGE

Synopsis:

The 1974 World Cup in Germany had among the selected debutants modest Haiti, taking its first steps into the soccer elite. The beginning of the 70s brought some encouraging results for the Caribbean country, among them, the achievement of a hexagonal that qualified them for the World Cup.

The debut, with a decent defeat against Italy, 3-1, had among the outstanding names, the defender Ernst Jean-Joseph, who reaped many praises for having avoided an even greater defeat, disguising the poor performance of his teammates. However, the team suffered yet another setback, this time off the field of play.

The outstanding player in the Caribbean defense tested positive for f3nm3trazine, a stimulant as potent as amphetamine. For their part, in an attempt to clarify what happened, the national team's medical staff was decisive in the appeal for the counter-test: "Jean-Joseph played doped."

In the middle of the competition, Haitian police officers abducted the player in full view of all his teammates. On the way to the airport, he was violently beaten on the alleged orders of Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, who had ordered him to arrive in the country alive but "disfigured and unrecognizable."

Archival material: AS, AP, Haitian History, Ernst Jean - Joseph: (Ti Nés) A haitian soccer legend, FIFA.TV and TVP Sport.

Ep 5: SULLEY MUNTARI, EXPELLED FOR SMOKING 'MARYJANE' AT A WORLD CUP

Synopsis:

Ghana's successful performance in the World Cups of Germany (2006) and South Africa (2010) with respective Round of 16 and Quarterfinals reached, was a consequence of rising stars such as Sulley Muntari. And it is precisely on this midfielder that we will focus our story.

See also: FIFA World Cup Not The Only Attraction, Qatar Is Also Hosting A Camel Beauty Contest

However, the team debuted with a 1-2 defeat against the United States, followed by an encouraging 2-2 draw against eventual champions Germany and ended its last World Cup appearance so far with a 2-1 loss against Portugal.

Nevertheless, early elimination was not the only problem for the African side. Sulley Muntari and his compatriot Kevin-Prince Boateng were sent off for "verbal and physical offenses," in the words of the Ghana Football Federation itself.

A week later, it became known that the player who played for Milan was filmed smoking marijuana. The scandalous fact became more relevant when a video was published in which Sulley appears enveloped in a cloud of smoke, while his teammate Emmanuel Agyeman Badu sings "Yes, the Wee man, Wee Man."

Stock footage: ESPN, Bein Sports, FIFA.TV

Ep 6: ANDRÉS ESCOBAR: "THANK YOU FOR THE AUTOGOAL".

Synopsis:

The Colombian national team arrived at the 1994 World Cup in the United States as favorites. After a 5-nil thrashing of Argentina in the last qualifying round, the Colombian team arrived at the World Cup on a high note.

However, their debut was far from what was expected. A 3-1 defeat against Romania triggered a series of criticisms from the Colombian sports press and the pressure on the South American team was not long in coming. The anxiety to reverse the false step of the first date did not help, since they started losing against the local team by a goal against Andres Escobar, one of the stars who arrived at that competition. The final 2-1 in favor of the United States sentenced Colombia's early farewell.

In addition to this hard blow to the Tricolor (followed by an inconsequential 2-0 victory over Switzerland in an effort to meet the schedule), violence was rife within the Colombian squad. A few weeks after being disqualified from the World Cup, Andres Escobar himself was brutally murdered in Medellin and the memory of that erratic sporting action went hand in hand with the criminal act.

See also: Soccer Legend Pelé Dies: 5 Things You Might Not Know About One Of The Sport's Greats

Archival material: AP, Caracol Televisión (final dossier), El Tiempo, ESPN, El Colombiano, Euro Sport, Panini, FIFA.TV, RTA

Credits

• Idea: Hernán Panessi
• Script: Cristian Baral/Ulises Rodríguez
• Voice-over: Ulises Rodríguez
• Editing: Nahuel Rodríguez
• Sound Production: Santiago Alonso

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• Photo: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons // Steindy (talk) 17:02, 29 November 2009 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons // Jack de Nijs for Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons // Edited by El Planteo