Most notorious moments in men's World Cup history

One of the ugliest games in World Cup history occurred when host Chile faced Italy. The game featured the ejection of two Italian players, including one who needed to be taken off by police. Several punches were thrown, a nose was broken and police often had to intervene. Oh, by the way, Chile won 2-0 and Ken Aston, who refereed the match, would later invent the yellow and red card penalty designations.

The long-standing rivalry between Argentina and England was sparked during their quarterfinal match in 1966, when vocal Argentine Antonio Rattín was tossed from the contest by referee Rudolf Kreitlein, for what the German called a "violence of tongue." Kreitlein, however, did not speak Spanish. Rattin, who felt there was a bias toward England, was so enraged that he refused to leave the pitch and needed to be escorted by police.

Ask any (West) German soccer fan and they will tell you that Geoff Hurst's tie-breaking goal for England in the '66 final did not cross the line after bouncing down from hitting the crossbar. Sir Geoff and the English faithful believe it did, or at the very least touched the line. The goal counted, but for good measure, Hurst added another shortly to solidify the 4-2 win and England's only World Cup title.

Kuwait has never been mistaken for a soccer power, but back in 1982, its Olympic committee president Sheikh Fahad (aka Prince Fahid) showed he had some remarkable pull. With his country on the verge of losing to France in group play, Kuwait players halted play after hearing a whistle sound. However, the whistle came from the crowd, and France scored while the Kuwaitis watched. The Sheikh, meanwhile, wasn't pleased and took matters into his own hands by leaving the stands for the field and addressing referee Miroslav Stupar, who after conferring with the linesman, overturned the goal.

One of the nastiest collisions in World Cup history also remains one of the most controversial. West German keeper Harald Schumacher left his feet to play the ball along with France's Patrick Battiston in this '82 semifinal, but Battison got the worst of it, damaging teeth and losing consciousness. Though Schumacher denied malicious intent, video shows he did not seem to be going for the ball.

In perhaps the most unsportsmanlike display among teams in a World Cup, West Germany and Austria purposely avoided attacking for the final 80 minutes of their group match in Gijon, Spain. West Germany took a 1-0 lead and that finish would ensure both it and Austria would move on while upstart Algeria, which stunned the West earlier in the tournament, would be eliminated as a result.

Diego Maradona, the game's greatest player at the time, scored the most memorable goal in World Cup history against Argentina rival England in this quarterfinal contest. It's also still the most controversial as Maradona dodged England keeper Peter Shilton in mid air by punching the ball into the goal. The referee didn't see it and Maradona sold it by celebrating as if nothing was unusual. Maradona said after it was "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God."  

In one of the more bizarre moments in the history of the World Cup, the Netherlands and West Germany found themselves in the midst of a physical and often contentious match in 1990. The aggression peaked when Dutch defender Frank Rijkaard and West German forward Rudi Voller both were tossed for their actions. Rijkaard took it a step further when he spat on Voller, thus adding his name to the list of World Cup villains.

In a blatant disregard for sportsmanship and an opposing player's health, Brazil's Leonardo seemed to know what he was doing when he delivered a vicious elbow to the face of American Tab Ramos late in this knockout round match. Ramos suffered a broken jaw, Leonardo, meanwhile, was suspended and missed the rest of Brazil's run to the World Cup title.

One of the biggest upsets in World Cup history was overshadowed by the subsequent death of one of its key participants. Colombia, a tournament favorite in 1994, lost 2-1 to the host U.S., with the first American goal coming on an own goal off the foot of Colombian defender Andres Escobar. Days after the loss, Escobar was fatally shot back home, allegedly because of the goal.

Italy's Roberto Baggio was the tournament's Silver Ball winner and one of the game's best, but his unthinkable penalty miss in the first final decided by a shootout gave Brazil its fourth World Cup title. Though dejected and embarrassed, Baggio owned up to his miss and took blame for the defeat.

Before David Beckham became the GQ cover boy of international soccer, he was an immature pretty boy with talent. It showed in this round of 16 match against Argentina, when Beckham, lying on the ground after being fouled, kicked his leg up and caught the legs of Argentine Diego Simeone, who had fouled him. The referee apparently saw it as an act of retaliation and gave a red card to Beckham, who reportedly received death threats after England lost on penalties.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney were teammates at Manchester United and good friends off the pitch back in 2006, but none of that mattered when Portugal and England met in the quarterfinals. Rooney was given a red card in the second half for his stamp on Portugal's Ricardo Carvalho. As Rooney walked off, Ronaldo was caught on camera winking toward his Portugal team, which would win on penalties.

Graham Poll is considered one of the best referees in the world, but everybody can have a bad day. Poll's came in the '06 group game between Croatia and Australia, when he handed out three yellow cards to Croatia's Josip Simunic. After the second, Poll forgot to mark it down and assess the red card that should have followed. Simunic was issued a red after his third yellow.

This knockout round matchup between the Netherlands and Portugal featured some of the world's best players (Cristiano Ronaldo, Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie), yet it was referee Valentin Ivanov who was the man of the match for all the wrong reasons. Ivanov issued a record 16 yellow cards and four red cards during the contest. When there was actually soccer played, Portugal won 1-0.

It was his swan song, in the World Cup final, and Zinedine Zidane  certainly made a memorable - and dubious - exit. Italy's Marco Materazzi reportedly made a remark about one of Zidane's family members in the heat of the match, causing the French star to forcefully butt his head into the Italian's chest in extra time. Zidane earned a red card, his legacy was tarnished and the French lost the final on penalties.

Nigel de Jong's "Kung Fu" style tackle attempt on Spain's Xabi Alonso in the 2010 final will go down as one of the more dangerous plays in World Cup history. Thankfully, Alonso wasn't seriously injured and even finished the match. While the Netherlands' de Jong only received a yellow card, Alonso got to celebrate a World Cup title with his teammates.

Diego Maradona's heavenly hand might be more well-known, but Luis Suarez's blatant hand save of a Ghana shot in the 2010 quarterfinals proved to be gut-wrenching for Uruguay's opponent. Suarez was given a red card for the move, but Ghana's Asamoah Gyan missed the penalty that followed and his country would lose 4-3 in the shootout. Making matters worse, Suarez bragged about his actions after the win, reportedly saying "Mine is the real 'Hand of God.'"

Perhaps the worst instance of the so-called "ghost goal" came when England's Frank Lampard appeared to have tied its knockout round match with Germany 2-2. After hitting the crossbar, the ball bounced down, clearly behind the line, but not out of the goal. The referee claimed he was not in position to see the ball cross the line and play continued. England went on to lose 4-1.

As if international soccer fans outside of Uruguay needed another reason to hate Luis Suarez, he gave them one. During a group match against Italy, Suarez, for a stunning third time in his career, bit a player. The victim was Giorgio Chiellini, bitten on the shoulder. Though Suarez was not booked for the incident, he received a nine-game international ban and was suspended four months from any soccer activities.