Iconic Moments in Football No.59
This week’s ‘Iconic Moment’ comes from 9th October 1996 in one of the most farcical moments ever seen in the history of international football.
Estonia and Scotland were due to play each other in a World Cup qualifier in the Estonian capital of Tallinn. The Scottish team trained in the stadium the night before at the same time the match was due to be played 24 hours later. Scotland manager Craig Brown expressed concerns about the floodlights; he complained that the lights were not bright enough and that it was too dark to play.
The Scottish FA complained to FIFA and a decision was made on the day of the match to change the kick off from the scheduled time of 6.45pm to a 3pm kick off instead. The Estonian side only found out at 11am, four hours before the rescheduled kick off time. This gave a real logistical problem for the Estonian team had been training over 60 miles away from the ground so a sudden change of time.
The Estonians decided that they would stand their ground and carry on as if the game was still going ahead at the original kick off time. Scotland got to the ground well before and were in their kit, warmed up and ready to play at 3pm….but the Estonians were miles away from the stadium, steadfastly sticking to their plans for a 6.45pm kick off time!
The Yugoslavian referee blew his whistle to start the game with only the Scottish players out on the pitch. Billy Dodds passed to John Collins and the final whistle then the final whistle was blown!
Scotland walked back off the pitch to the chants of “One team in Tallinn” from the 600 Scottish fans watching on. The team were flying back home by the time the Estonian team arrived at the ground.
That wasn’t the end of the saga. The Scottish FA wanted to have the result to be given to them as a 3-0 walkover, the Estonians wanted a rematch.
FIFA decided that a rematch should take place, but at a neutral venue. Four months later, the played out a goalless draw in Monaco.
Scotland eventually went on and qualified for France ’98, the last tournament that they have played in to date. Estonia are yet to qualify for a major international competition.
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