Tofik Bakhramov
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Tofik Bakhramov (Azeri: Tofiq Bəhrəmov, Russian: Тофик Бахрамов; November 29, 1926, Baku – October 12, 1993, Baku), known in England as "The Russian Linesman", was a noted football referee from Azerbaijan, a part of the Soviet Union until his final years.
Bakhramov was originally a footballer, but a serious leg injury prevented him from continuing his playing career and he became a referee. He was elected onto the FIFA panel of referees in 1964. After retiring as a referee, he subsequently served for some years as general secretary of the Football Federation of Azerbaijan.
As the referee in the first round game of the 1966 World Cup between Switzerland and Spain (both teams in Group 2 along with Germany), Bakhramov drew attention for denying a Swiss goal which led to a Spanish and the Swiss being eliminated.
[edit] "Wembley Goal"
Bakhramov is most famous for being a linesman for the 1966 World Cup Final between England and West Germany. The other linesman was Karol Galba of Czechoslovakia and the referee was Gottfried Dienst of Switzerland.
In the final, with the score at 2-2 and after 11 minutes of the first period of extra time, Geoff Hurst of England fired a shot on goal which bounced off the crossbar sharply downwards, and then bounced back in the field, away from the goal. There were some moments of indecision by Dienst before he noticed that Bakhramov, who was the linesman at that end of the ground, was signalling to him. Eventually, Dienst awarded a goal to England, who went on to win the game 4-2.
The decision to award the 3-2 goal is perhaps the most debated in all of football. In England, it is commonly believed that the decision was correct, while in Germany it is commonly said that Bakhramov made a mistake. Germans describe a goal which should not be given as a "Wembley-Tor". After the match, many newspapers referred to the "Russian linesman" who awarded the goal, as Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union at the time, and the nickname stuck to the point where his real name was all but forgotten.
The Germans argue that in order to be a goal, the ball would have had to cross the goal line, with its full diameter behind the full width of the line. If that were the case, it would likely have bounced from there into the net, not out on the field as it did. In addition, German players claimed to have seen chalk dust, which would indicate it was not a goal.
The English counter by saying that the back-spin put on the ball after hitting the crossbar could just as likely have caused the ball to bounce behind the line and then back out of the goal. Roger Hunt, the other English forward, claimed to have seen the ball bounce behind the line.
When Bakhramov wrote his memoirs, he stated that he believed the ball had bounced back not from the crossbar, but from the net, so the further movement of the ball was already insignificant, and not visible for him either. Bakhramov loved refereeing and the game of football in general, and described football matches as,
"duels...full of unforeseen turns and even real miracles. And who does not want to be a magician if even for just 90 minutes?"
In 1995, a study was undertaken at the University of Oxford with the aid of computers to enhance the available footage of the incident: they subsequently concluded that the ball did not completely cross the goal line and that, therefore, the goal should not have been given.
[edit] Legacy
The Azerbaijan national stadium is named the Tofik Bakhramov Stadium in his honour. When England were drawn in the same group as Azerbaijan in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, a ceremony was held prior to the meeting at the Tofik Bakhramov Stadium to honour his memory, with attendees including Geoff Hurst, Michel Platini and FIFA president Sepp Blatter. A statue of him was also unveiled at the ceremony.
