Remembering National Theater Day: Ten Unforgettable Football Simulations

This May 11, National Theater Day was celebrated in Chile . An event dedicated to celebrating all those who are part of this cultural expression. Set designers, lighting designers, musical creators, makeup artists, actors and everyone who is part of this world.

A date which pays tribute to the birth of Andrés Pérez, famous Chilean theater director born May 11, 1951 and died January 3, 2002.

Of course, in sport, some footballers have earned the nickname drama makers by trying to take advantage of a situation, some with more success and credibility than others.

In the case of national representatives, one of the most memorable scenes is that of Bryan Carrasco in the 2011 South American Sub 20 against Ecuador . The current Palestinian striker, during an argument over a side kick, took the hand of a rival footballer and brought it to his face to create the idea that the Ecuadorian had hit him.

Another rather noisy case is that of John Menese , defending the jersey of the University of Concepción, against Colo Colo. In the 84th minute, the striker entered the area and saved Óscar Opazo’s goal. From the ground, the Colocolino player tried to take the ball back from the rival, but without touching the ball or the player. This situation was taken advantage of by the representative of the bell tower, who ended up throwing himself to the ground. The referee awarded a penalty, Fernando Manríquez converted and the Penquistas ended up winning 2-1 .

The affair of Roberto Rojas in the Maracaná stadium as a stage. In the event that would later become known as the Maracanazo and due to the difficulty for La Roja to access the World Cup, El Cóndor took advantage of the fall of a flare to cut his forehead, a situation which at the time meant the departure of Chilean footballers from the field.

When it was learned that the fireworks had not reached the goalkeeper, FIFA sanctioned the Chilean federation. leaving her out of participating in the subsequent qualifying process for the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

The FIFA World Cups have not been spared from these situations either. The one they remember in Mexico is that of Arjen Robben in the round of 16 of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil . During extra time, the Dutchman suffered a slight contact on his foot in the area, but he lost everything. The referee bought the performance and ended up taking a penalty which gave the victory to the Europeans.

In Korea and Japan 2002, in the semi-finals, Brazil faced a difficult match against Turkey. In this scenario Rivaldo faked a ball hit to the face, which clearly hit him in the leg . But the referee believed in the performance and sent off the Turkish player Hakan Unsal. The Brazilian was later fined $7,350 by FIFA.

Of course, the biggest one happened in the quarter-finals of Mexico 1986, in the duel between England and Argentina. Diego Maradona He faced the center of the field, and after a poor clearance, he went to fight for a high ball against goalkeeper Peter Shilton. How the ball was very high for number 10, he made the head gesture, but ended up putting the ball in the goal after hitting it with his hand . This is how the so-called Hand of God was born.

In Brazil, for the 2014 local league, Leandro Damiao ended up attracting attention after he was caught stretching his own shirt to try to deceive the referee into believing that a rival was committing an infraction.

One of the most memorable of the Copa Libertadores had Deyverson as the protagonist of the final between Palmeiras and Flamengo in 2021. As extra time passed, the then Verdao striker argued with some rivals. Judge Néstor Pitana arrived on site to calm things down. The latter slapped him on the back, but the Brazilian, believing he had been hit by a Flamengo player, collapsed with strong signs of non-existent pain. .

In a duel valid for the Champions League between Celtic and Milan, a supporter entered the field after a goal by the Scottish team. He touched the goalkeeper’s face Dida , who defended the Italians. After this, the guard reacted by chasing the invader, but then stopped his efforts to throw himself to the ground, accusing him of being hit. He ended up being evacuated on a stretcher and with an ice pack in the allegedly affected area. .

A final example had Cristiano Ronaldo as protagonist. During a match between Manchester United and Chelsea he brought down the referee in a foul play accusing an alleged infringement by Frank Lampard, of course the Englishman didn’t even touch him.