Bulgaria v Ireland 1977

**gypsydownunder** · 10/06/2005, 2:24 AM

The last game of that group was a 0-0 draw against Bulgaria at home, had that game any significance? my memory is gone on that one. Whatever green was being rubbed in those day was in the hands of the referee.

I think we had to win 4-0 to have any chance. I remember the game at Lansdowne. Very windy wednesday afternoon.

**OwlsFan** · 10/06/2005, 9:22 AM

Originally Posted by geysir

The effect that all those campaigns had on me was that when it came to Bulgaria and Scotland in 1987 there was not even one tiny percent of me holding out for a Scottish victory. I knew the game was happening. I blanked all hope.
It was absolutely the last thing on my mind when I turned on the BBC WS for the evening sports prog. and heard the headline news. It wasn�t just that we had qualified or that it was probably the first time that a ref. wasn�t bribed in Bulgaria, but that it was the first time that we ever had a stroke of good fortune in foreign fields and the justice of it all when it happened in Sofia.

Ah ye of little faith. I took the afternoon off work to watch the game at home with a TV panel consisting of Chris Morris and someone else (can't remember) and Laughing Bill. It was George Hamilton's finest hour: 3 minutes to go he says "It's time to crack open the champagne - ohhhhh, it's off the post!!". 2 minutes to go: "Let's get out our Deutsche Reise books - ohhhh, it's cleared off the line": etc etc Longest few minutes of my life made worse by George tempting fate on at least 5 occasions. I screamed at the TV: "SHut the **** Hamilton!!" AFter the gam for months afterwards I viewed the goal on the recorder at least 50 times just to believe it was real. Sad or wot ??

**Stuttgart88** · 10/06/2005, 9:55 AM

Originally Posted by OwlsFan

Ah ye of little faith. I took the afternoon off work to watch the game at home with a TV panel consisting of Chris Morris and someone else (can't remember) and Laughing Bill. It was George Hamilton's finest hour: 3 minutes to go he says "It's time to crack open the champagne - ohhhhh, it's off the post!!". 2 minutes to go: "Let's get out our Deutsche Reise books - ohhhh, it's cleared off the line": etc etc Longest few minutes of my life made worse by George tempting fate on at least 5 occasions. I screamed at the TV: "SHut the **** Hamilton!!" AFter the gam for months afterwards I viewed the goal on the recorder at least 50 times just to believe it was real. Sad or wot ??

LOL

I actually left the UCD bar with 20 mins to go. I had a date with some chick in town that night. I got home and my Dad said "you've got to see the tape - Scotland were robbed in the dying minutes". I thought " bloody typical" and watched it anyway. I couldn't believe it when it was over. How close did Bulgaria come to equalising?

My date that night was a total disaster. She went back to her mates after less than an hour becaause every 5 mins a mate would come over to me and we'd just hug, and scream "YESSSS!"

**Comic Book Guy** · 10/06/2005, 2:42 PM

Good lord, you have dug up some very painful memories for me.
I somehow had managed to put Bulgaria in 1977 to the nether recesses of my mind like some bad childhood memory, but this name jumped out at me, Nikki Zlatanos, the name of the ref in Bulgaria (honest!!), a Greek, and a hate figure for me for many years.
WRT hookers in the ref's hotel this was confirmed by an Irish Times journalist some years later.
October 1980 in Paris is another painful one, but it pales into insignificance compared to March 81 in the Heysel stadium, Stapleton scored a perfectly good goal, the 'referee' from Portugal by the name of Fernando Nazarre actually pointed back to the centre circle to indicate a goal, then looked over at the linesman who immediately put up his flag as if this were rehearsed.
As the game wore on Belgium began to get more and more ridiculous calls until Gerets blatant dive on the edge of our box which led to their goal, Ceulemans fouling McDonagh in the process of scoring.
After the game several of the Irish players had to be restrained from getting at the ref, the Belgian players were laughing at the Irish coming off the pitch.
It was obvious back then to my young mind that something rotten had happened, no doubt in my mind that the officials took backhanders as they had in Sofia in 77 and Paris in 1980.
As if to bear out my suspicions several of the Belgian side were implicated in a match fixing scandal in their own country the following year yet were let off in time to play in the WC of 82!
As for the refs, well as you can see I have held this grudge for a long time and I would find it hard to forgive, (it's only a game I know, but these people corrupted it).
One last thing, apparently an interested spectator in Brussels that night was then Sheffield Wednesday manager Jack Charlton, who remarked that Ireland were robbed.
Well thank you for the opportunity for therapy, I hope I can put those memories to bed now!

**OwlsFan** · 10/06/2005, 2:59 PM

Originally Posted by Noelys Guitar

This was the time when every Irish fan would first look at the ref and linesmen when we scored a goal to see if would still stand!

Still do - old habits die hard. Had the lads around for the Faroes game. When Morrisson "scored" they jumped up, but I had caught a glimpse of the linesman's flag and told them the bad news.

**Stuttgart88** · 10/06/2005, 3:05 PM

Yeah, as long as I live I'll always look at the linesman when we score.

**Poor Student** · 10/06/2005, 5:21 PM

Along the lines of the theme of this thread in our playoff against Belgium for France 98 did they score a goal as the result of a throw in that should have been ours? Possibly Luis Olivera? This seems to be stuck in my memory.

**dancinpants** · 10/06/2005, 5:48 PM

Great thread lads!!!

**dancinpants** · 10/06/2005, 5:50 PM

Originally Posted by Poor Student

Along the lines of the theme of this thread in our playoff against Belgium for France 98 did they score a goal as the result of a throw in that should have been ours? Possibly Luis Olivera? This seems to be stuck in my memory.

I'm not sure, my memory's a bit hazy on this, but I'm almost sure there was some dodgy decision - didn't some ref "play" for Turkey in our play-off with them too?

**geysir** · 10/06/2005, 9:56 PM

Originally Posted by OwlsFan

Ah ye of little faith. I took the afternoon off work to watch the game at home with a TV panel consisting of Chris Morris and someone else (can't remember) and Laughing Bill. It was George Hamilton's finest hour: 3 minutes to go he says "It's time to crack open the champagne - ohhhhh, it's off the post!!". 2 minutes to go: "Let's get out our Deutsche Reise books - ohhhh, it's cleared off the line": etc etc Longest few minutes of my life made worse by George tempting fate on at least 5 occasions. I screamed at the TV: "SHut the **** Hamilton!!" AFter the gam for months afterwards I viewed the goal on the recorder at least 50 times just to believe it was real. Sad or wot ??

Little faith?? ah now, it took great courage to admit to myself that I was in a sad state, then the next step was to admit that I have no control over those games that Ireland were not involved in.

**Noelys Guitar** · 10/06/2005, 11:25 PM

Was living in London at the time of the Bulgaria v Scotland game so about 20 of us gathered around a radio listening to then BBC radio 2. No Setanta! The England, Yugoslavia game was being covered. With about 6 mins to go the Beeb went back to Bulgaria for a quick report. Still 0-0. Back to the England game. Then out of the blue they went back to Bulgaria and I can still remember the words of the commentator in Bulgaria. "Jack Charton will have to buy a crate of champagne for one Gary Mackay because he has just scored for Scotland" That is exactly the way he said it without ever actually saying it was 1-0! We all went ballistic. Bottles of cheap sparking wine and six-packs then into some gruesome bar in Acton but it didn't matter anymore. We were going to Germany. Incredible feeling. Definetely not as good as being in Ireland at the time but wonderful all the same.

**geysir** · 11/06/2005, 12:52 AM

Originally Posted by Comic Book Guy

As if to bear out my suspicions several of the Belgian side were implicated in a match fixing scandal in their own country the following year yet were let off in time to play in the WC of 82!

Wasn't there also some scandal about Anderlecht bribing their way to the Euro cup winners final ?? against Parma @Wembley??
Some speculation about Notts Forest suing them.

**OwlsFan** · 11/06/2005, 3:49 PM

Originally Posted by Poor Student

Along the lines of the theme of this thread in our playoff against Belgium for France 98 did they score a goal as the result of a throw in that should have been ours? Possibly Luis Olivera? This seems to be stuck in my memory.

Correct. We had fought our way back into the game. Equalised and then the linesman gave a throw to Belgium that was 100% ours. They score from the throw in

Kieft's goal in Gelsenkirchen. According to the offside laws at the time it shouldn't have been allowed - just a few minutes away from the Euros Semi.