World Cup Moments: Geoff Hurst, 1966. Did the Ball Cross the Line?

March 22nd, 2010 | by: Daryl |

hurst_135577d Can you imagine if both YouTube and blogs had existed in sixties? The events of the 1966 World Cup final would have caused internet meltdown. For those unfamiliar, here’s what happened:

It was hosts England vs West Germany in the final. West Germany had equalized to make it 2-2 late in the match and take it to extra time. So, 11 minutes into extra time, England’s Alan Ball crossed the ball in, and Geoff Hurst turned and shot from just outside the six yard box. The ball hit the bar. The ball bounced down. Either on or over the line. Then Wolfgang Weber headed the ball clear.

The England players celebrated a goal, the West Germany players protested. Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst looked confused, and so consulted his linesman Tofik Bakhramov (who was from Azerbaijan, not Russia, though he was technically a citizen of a Soviet state at the time, which is probably why he became known as “the Russian linesman”). Bakhramov said goal, and it was 3-2 to England.

Here’s a YouTuber of the goal (or “goal”?), with German commentary:

And with English commentary:

It’s been 44 years since that happened. In the intervening years mankind has been to the moon, mapped the human genome and found a way to make Andy Serkis look like a giant gorilla. Yet we’re still arguing over whether goal-line technology is a good idea or not. But that’s another argument for another day.

Obviously Hurst went on to score his third and England’s fourth. Since England won 4-2, you could say the controversial nature of the third goal can be ignored. But since the fourth goal was a direct result of West Germany pushing forward in search of an equalizer, that’s not a great argument. So we’ll ignore that and agree that this is the goal that won the 1966 World Cup.

So, the big question: Did it cross the line or not?

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http://epl.theoffside.com Rob

If Roger Hunt thought it crossed the line – stood about a metre away (and could have comfortably challenged for the ball and put it in if he was in doubt, that’s good enough for me.

Though really, he should have made sure, but that’d be less fun.
Jose

I think an Oxford U study in the late 90s determined it did not, in fact, cross the line…
Nick

An ITV funded Oxford study showed it did not cross the line in fact not even close.
Nick

Of course England probably deserved the win just as it has deserved – being so unsporting since – to have not won any tournament since – in the eyes of the football Gods anyway.
http://bundesliga.theoffside.com Jan

The videos above suggest that the ball could have crossed the line. So, for a more balanced assessment here are two videos that suggest the opposite:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeXWEVXhdUo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obp3inZ99GA#t=21s
Dustin

“Tofik Bakhramov (who was from Azerbaijan, not Russia, though he was technically a Soviet at the time)”

He was “Soviet” or his country was…there is a world of difference.
http://www.worldcupblog.org Daryl

Obviously I meant he was a citizen of a Soviet state. I’ll admit it’s not worded brilliantly, but it should be fairly obvious that his political leanings are not the focus here.
Dustin

Well I’m very upset about how it was worded…very upset. I think you should take a look at yourself in the mirror, whilst reading a thesaurus…very upset very upset.
Seth

From the videos Daryl posted it looks like the ball is exactly on the line, but it certainly did not cross it.

And lmao @ “and found a way to make Andy Serkis look like a giant gorilla”.
hawk

I am still wondering what England fans mean when they conjure up the “spirit of ‘66″. Just winning the Cup again, or just have a referee like the one they had in ‘66?

Perhaps the long era of England’s drought since then has been due to Dame Fortune’s second thoughts, and her efforts to make amends – cf. the long flow of Germany successes, topped by Brazil only.
http://bundesliga.theoffside.com Jan

“Perhaps the long era of England’s drought since then has been due to Dame Fortune’s second thoughts,”

Here’s an answer that works without gods and karma and such nonsense: I think this has simply to do with the fact that the game turned pro in more and more countries including Germany. At the time England beat Germany in 1966 the Bundesliga was three seasons old. It was the beginning of pro football in Germany and I doubt every club was already fully professional by 1966. I think Germany had never beaten England at that point. This only happened a few years later and it wasn’t until 1972 that Germany could beat England for the first time at Wembley. The advantage of having footballers who could train and hone their skills full time was no longer exclusive to a select few countries with professional football leagues, so new powers like the Netherlands emerged making it more and more difficult to succeed as well.

It’s probably also about flexibility. Germany didn’t have a tactical dogma. In the early years everything was imported from England, then as the game turned pro the continental formations of choice were adopted with which Germany was very successful. Brazil has an excellent record, but they were shutout for over 20 years, because they didn’t adapt their football. Germany eventually also had to deal with their own inflexibility, as they held onto things like man marking and sweepers for too long and didn’t adapt their youth system to the changing nature of modern football leagues. In turn Germany also suffered/suffers a relatively long trophy drought.
Shane

Certainly not a goal.
http://deleted hawk

Good points, Jan, thank you.
Reference to Dame Fortune was a humble attempt at joking, in case any one missed that.

As to ‘droughts’: Germany’s latest trophy: Euro 1996(in England …) – 14 years, that’s certainly quite a stretch.

On the one hand. On the other hand: If you include second places (WC ‘02, Euro ‘08)it is not so bad after all. Especially compared to England.
Rob

Stopped dead on 1.43 it looks pretty over the line to me. Though you’ll say that i Would Say That.
http://bundesliga.theoffside.com Jan

hawk: I know you were joking and the nonsense bit was unintentionally pejorative, now that I read it again.
Jacob

The controversy of the goal should be second to the question of why the German keeper is wearing a pageboy hat. Did he have newspapers to deliver after the match?
http://deleted Hawedeare

Jacob:
1.Absolutely.
2.Absolutely.

In case you add something:
3. Absolutely.
Tom Palmer

It wasnt a goal!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWc71fsPg-c
sunrisedatacare

http://www.sangambayard-c-m.com/
sunrisedatacare

http://coomararundaya.com
Aoife

That first commentary is defenitely not German. Sounds more like Dutch to me or perhaps a scandinavian language…