The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
A Scotland v Brazil game that nearly never was
Sporting boycotts were a frequent occurrence throughout the 1980s. If it wasn’t the Americans and some of their allies refusing to participate in the Moscow Olympics in 1980 following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan – the Eastern Bloc reciprocated four years later for the Los Angeles Games – it was African nations withdrawing from the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh over the UK Government’s links to apartheid South Africa.
In most cases, the significant absentees diminished the events – and almost bankrupted the authorities in the latter case before billionaire businessman Robert Maxwell “rode to the rescue” in his own typically immodest words.
But there was one global competition – the 1982 football World Cup in Spain – which was at the centre of British calls for a boycott, because of the ongoing Falklands conflict and the fact the reigning champions were Argentina.
It was ultimately unsuccessful, but not for lack of political effort in Whitehall.
The official documents revealed the UK Government seriously contemplated withdrawing all of the home nations from the World Cup and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was a leading figure in the campaign against the British representatives going ahead with their matches.
No fan of football, she argued that it would be a small price to pay to avoid the prospect of a potential propaganda victory for the Argentinians – and it was even claimed by the government that some players had expressed “revulsion” at the thought of turning out against Diego Maradona & Co.
The tournament, which was the first to expand to 24 teams, was held in Spain in June – with Italy beating West Germany 3-1 in the final.
Scotland, England and Northern Ireland had all qualified for the competition, though none of these sides progressed beyond the second round.
However, a directive from Sports Minister Neil Macfarlane, sent just days after the Argentinian invasion of the Falklands in April, made it clear the government wanted the three football bodies to withdraw their squads and there were some angry exchanges as sport and politics intertwined.
The initial calls were met with disdain by many in the football community.
They pointed out Mrs Thatcher had been equally opposed to the British team travelling to the Moscow Games, but they had done so and the likes of 100m gold-medal-winner Allan Wells had helped to lift the country’s spirits.
However, the government ramped up its criticism during May and there was a point, as the war raged thousands of miles away, when the possibility increased that the Scots, English and Irish might sit out the World Cup.
Mrs Thatcher made her feelings clear in a TV interview when she tartly declared: “We can’t tell these people (in football) what to do, but the lives of our soldiers will always be our highest priority.”
By the middle of May, the issue had reached the highest level of government when the Secretary of State for the Environment Michael Heseltine insisted Argentina should be excluded from the tournament – not only due to its illegal invasion of the Falklands, but because it might “insult” Spain.
However, that was never likely to materialise and it actually offended other nations rather than bringing them together.
For starters, the football governing body Fifa boasted a heavy South American influence under the premiership of Brazilian Joao Havelange and had absolutely no interest in excluding Argentina (not least because they were holders of the trophy).
The SFA, which had sent a Scotland squad to play Chile in a stadium in Santiago where in 1977 thousands of dissidents had been executed by the Pinochet regime, stuck to its familiar stance – it was interested only in football matters.
And there was similar antipathy from the FA to the notion of a boycott – with England appearing in their first World Cup finals since 1970.
Eventually, despite all their huffing and puffing – and to the chagrin of Thatcher – the politicians were forced to concede the World Cup was one of the few bright spots in the grim economic landscape.
So the Cabinet Secretary Robert Armstrong informed the PM that other nations would not support the UK’s proposed boycott.
He said: “Argentina would see British withdrawal not as putting any pressure on them, but as an opportunity to make propaganda: the UK, not Argentina, would be the country which was set apart.”
Sadly, once they all arrived in Spain, the home nations made only a fleeting impression on the tournament.
Scotland beat New Zealand and lost 4-1 to Brazil, but could only draw with the USSR and were eliminated on goal difference.
England won their group matches against France, Czechoslovakia and Kuwait, but were knocked out in the next stage after recording 0-0 draws against Spain and West Germany.
And Northern Ireland, despite the coup of beating hosts Spain and topping their group, were trounced 4-1 by France.
Still, the home nations created some fantastic memories for their fans – and who can forget David Narey’s wonder-goal in the 4-1 defeat by Brazil?