2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007

Tournament details
Host country	Canada
Teams	24 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)	6 (in 6 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Argentina (6th title)
Runners-up	Czech Republic
Third place	Chile
Fourth place	Austria
Tournament statistics
Matches played	52
Goals scored	135 (2.6 per match)
Attendance	1,195,299 (22,987 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Sergio Agüero (6 goals)
Best player	Sergio Agüero

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup final rankings.

The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the sixteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from June 30 to July 22, 2007. Argentina defeated Czech Republic in the title game by the score of 2–1, thus managing a back-to-back world title, its fifth in the past seven editions, and sixth overall. Argentine player Sergio Agüero was given the FIFA U-20 Golden Shoe (top scorer with 6 goals) and the FIFA U-20 Golden Ball (best player of the tournament), while Japan earned the FIFA Fair Play Award.

The tournament featured 24 teams coming from six continental confederations; Canada qualified automatically as hosts, while the remaining teams qualified based on their rankings at the respective continental U-20 (U-19 in Europe's case) tournaments. UEFA (Europe) qualified six teams; AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America & Caribbean) and CONMEBOL (South America) four teams each; and OFC (Oceania) one team.

The tournament took place in a variety of venues across the country — Toronto, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Victoria, and Burnaby (Vancouver) — with the showcase stadium being Toronto's new National Soccer Stadium^[1] where the final match was held.

On June 28, 2007, two days before the inaugural match, it was reported that 950,000 tickets had been sold,^[2] making it the largest single-sport event ever taking place in the country,^[3] and on July 3, the tournament organisers sold the one millionth ticket.^[4] On July 19, the semifinal match between Chile and Argentina marked this edition as the most attended in the tournament's history, with an accumulated attendance of 1,156,187 spectators, surpassing Mexico 1983's 1,155,160 spectators.^[5] Final attendance totalled 1,195,299.

Venues

Victoria	Burnaby	Edmonton
Royal Athletic Park	Swangard Stadium	Commonwealth Stadium
Capacity: 14,500	Capacity: 10,000	Capacity: 60,081


Toronto	Ottawa	Montreal
National Soccer Stadium	Frank Clair Stadium	Olympic Stadium
Capacity: 20,195	Capacity: 26,559	Capacity: 65,255

Qualification

Twenty-three teams qualified for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. As the host team, Canada received an automatic bid, bringing the total number of teams to twenty-four for the tournament. The draw for the group stages took place on March 3, 2007 in Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex, Toronto.

Confederation	Qualifying Tournament	Qualifier(s)
AFC (Asia)	AFC Youth Championship 2006	Japan Jordan Korea Republic Korea DPR
CAF (Africa)	2007 African Youth Championship	Congo Gambia Nigeria Zambia
CONCACAF (North, Central America & Caribbean)	2007 CONCACAF U20 Tournament	Costa Rica Mexico Panama United States
CONMEBOL (South America)	2007 South American Youth Championship	Argentina Brazil Chile Uruguay
OFC (Oceania)	2007 OFC U20 Tournament	New Zealand
UEFA (Europe)	2006 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship	Austria Czech Republic Poland Portugal Scotland Spain
Host nation		Canada

Squads

For a list of the squads see 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup squads

Group stage

Czech Republic vs. DPR Korea at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa on July 3, 2007

The 24 participating teams were distributed between six groups of four teams each, according to a draw held on March 3, 2007. The groups are contested on a league system, where each team plays one time against the other teams in the same group, for a total of six matches per group. Each group winner and runner-up teams, as well as the best four third-placed teams, qualify for the first round of the knockout stage (round of 16).

Key

	Teams that have qualified to the knockout stage as group winner or runner-up.
	Teams that have qualified to the knockout stage as one of the four best third-placed.
	Teams knocked out at group stage.

Group A

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Chile	7	3	2	1	0	6	0	+6
Austria	5	3	1	2	0	2	1	+1
Congo	4	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1
Canada	0	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6

July 1, 2007 19:45 EDT 23:45 UTC	Canada	0 – 3	Chile	National Soccer Stadium, Toronto Attendance: 20,195 Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)
		Report	Medina 25' Carmona 54' Grondona 81'

July 2, 2007 17:45 MDT 23:45 UTC	Congo	1 – 1	Austria	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton Attendance: 19,899 Referee: Enrico Wijngaarde (SUR)
	Ibara 59' (pen.)	Report	Hoffer 7'

July 5, 2007 17:45 MDT 23:45 UTC	Austria	1 – 0	Canada	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton Attendance: 31,579 Referee: Hernando Buitrago (COL)
	Okotie 47'	Report

July 5, 2007 20:30 MDT 02:30 UTC	Chile	3 – 0	Congo	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton Attendance: 30,352 Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)
	Sánchez 49' Medina 75' Vidal 82'	Report

July 8, 2007 18:00 MDT 00:00 UTC	Canada	0 – 2	Congo	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton Attendance: 32,058 Referee: Howard Webb (ENG)
		Report	Ngakosso 26' Ikouma 60'

July 8, 2007 20:00 EDT 00:00 UTC	Chile	0 – 0	Austria	National Soccer Stadium, Toronto Attendance: 19,526 Referee: Joel Aguilar (SLV)
		Report

Group B

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Spain	7	3	2	1	0	8	5	+3
Zambia	4	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1
Uruguay	4	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1
Jordan	1	3	0	1	2	3	6	−3

July 1, 2007 14:15 PDT 21:15 UTC	Jordan	1 – 1	Zambia	Swangard Stadium, Burnaby Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Terry Vaughn (USA)
	Salim 41'	Report	Tembo 8' (pen.)

July 1, 2007 17:00 PDT 00:00 UTC	Spain	2 – 2	Uruguay	Swangard Stadium, Burnaby Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Wolfgang Stark (GER)
	Adrián López 71' Capel 90+3'	Report	Cavani 47' Suárez 56'

July 4, 2007 17:00 PDT 00:00 UTC	Uruguay	1 – 0	Jordan	Swangard Stadium, Burnaby Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Peter O'Leary (NZL)
	Cavani 40'	Report

July 4, 2007 19:45 PDT 02:45 UTC	Zambia	1 – 2	Spain	Swangard Stadium, Burnaby Attendance: 10,000 Referee: German Arredondo (MEX)
	Njobvu 74'	Report	Mario Suárez 30' (pen.) Mata 40'

July 7, 2007 14:15 PDT 21:15 UTC	Spain	4 – 2	Jordan	Swangard Stadium, Burnaby Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Hernando Buitrago (COL)
	Adrián López 29' 32' 38' Marquitos 79'	Report	Al Zaideh 48' Salim 56'

July 7, 2007 14:15 PDT 21:15 UTC	Uruguay	0 – 2	Zambia	Royal Athletic Park, Victoria Attendance: 11,500 Referee: Martin Hansson (SWE)
		Report	Mulenga 22' (pen.) Kola 51'

Group C

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD
Mexico	9	3	3	0	7	2	+5
Gambia	6	3	2	1	3	4	−1
Portugal	3	3	1	2	4	4	0
New Zealand	0	3	0	3	1	5	−4

July 2, 2007 14:15 EDT 18:15 UTC	Portugal	2 – 0	New Zealand	National Soccer Stadium, Toronto Attendance: 19,526 Referee: Hernando Buitrago (COL)
	Gama 45' 61' (pen.)	Report

July 2, 2007 17:00 EDT 21:00 UTC	Gambia	0 – 3	Mexico	National Soccer Stadium, Toronto Attendance: 19,526 Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)
		Report	Giovani 57' Moreno 67' Javier Hernández 89'

July 5, 2007 17:00 EDT 21:00 UTC	New Zealand	0 – 1	Gambia	National Soccer Stadium, Toronto Attendance: 11,869 Referee: Joel Aguilar (SLV)
		Report	Jallow 22'

July 5, 2007 19:45 EDT 23:45 UTC	Mexico	2 – 1	Portugal	National Soccer Stadium, Toronto Attendance: 19,526 Referee: Howard Webb (ENG)
	Giovani 48' (pen.) Barrera 66'	Report	Antunes 89'

July 8, 2007 17:15 EDT 21:15 UTC	Portugal	1 – 2	Gambia	Olympic Stadium, Montreal Attendance: 28,402 Referee: Wolfgang Stark (GER)
	Condesso 20'	Report	Jallow 44' (pen.) Mansally 68'

July 8, 2007 15:15 MDT 21:15 UTC	New Zealand	1 – 2	Mexico	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton Attendance: 29,792 Referee: Mohamed Benouza (ALG)
	Pelter 89'	Report	Bermudez 24' Mares 78'

Group D

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
United States	7	3	2	1	0	9	3	+6
Poland	4	3	1	1	1	3	7	–4
Brazil	3	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1
Korea Republic	2	3	0	2	1	4	5	−1

June 30, 2007 14:15 EDT 18:15 UTC	Poland	1 – 0	Brazil	Olympic Stadium, Montréal Attendance: 55,800 Referee: Howard Webb (ENG)
	Krychowiak 23'	Report

June 30, 2007 17:00 EDT 21:00 UTC	Korea Republic	1 – 1	United States	Olympic Stadium, Montréal Attendance: 55,800 Referee: Joel Aguilar (SLV)
	Shin Young-Rok 38'	Report	Szetela 17'

July 3, 2007 17:00 EDT 21:00 UTC	United States	6 – 1	Poland	Olympic Stadium, Montréal Attendance: 35,801 Referee: Martin Hansson (SWE)
	Szetela 9' 51' Adu 20' 45+3' 85' Altidore 70'	Report	Janczyk 5'

July 3, 2007 19:45 EDT 23:45 UTC	Brazil	3 – 2	Korea Republic	Olympic Stadium, Montréal Attendance: 35,801 Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN)
	Amaral 35' Pato 48' 59'	Report	Shim Young-Sung 83' Shin Young-Rok 89'

July 6, 2007 19:45 EDT 23:45 UTC	Brazil	1 – 2	United States	Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa Attendance: 26,559 Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)
	Lima 64'	Report	Altidore 25' 81'

July 6, 2007 19:45 EDT 23:45 UTC	Poland	1 – 1	Korea Republic	Olympic Stadium, Montréal Attendance: 34,912 Referee: Enrico Wijngaarde (SUR)
	Janczyk 45'	Report	Lee Sang-Ho 71'

Group E

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Argentina	7	3	2	1	0	7	0	+7
Czech Republic	5	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1
Korea DPR	2	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1
Panama	1	3	0	1	2	1	8	–7

June 30, 2007 16:30 EDT 20:30 UTC	Korea DPR	0 – 0	Panama	Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa Attendance: 26,559 Referee: Mohamed Benouza (ALG)
		Report

June 30, 2007 19:15 EDT 23:15 UTC	Argentina	0 – 0	Czech Republic	Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa Attendance: 26,559 Referee: Martin Hansson (SWE)
		Report

July 3, 2007 17:00 EDT 21:00 UTC	Czech Republic	2 – 2	Korea DPR	Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa Attendance: 22,200 Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)
	Kalouda 56' Fenin 66'	Report	Kim 12' Jon 89' (pen.)

July 3, 2007 19:45 EDT 23:45 UTC	Panama	0 – 6	Argentina	Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa Attendance: 23,500 Referee: Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (MAS)
		Report	Moralez 20' 27' Zárate 23' Agüero 25' 62' Di María 76'

July 6, 2007 17:00 EDT 21:00 UTC	Czech Republic	2 – 1	Panama	Olympic Stadium, Montreal Attendance: 34,912 Referee: Steven Depiero (CAN)
	Kalouda 79' Střeštík 82'	Report	Barahona 84'

July 6, 2007 17:00 EDT 21:00 UTC	Argentina	1 – 0	Korea DPR	Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa Attendance: 26,559 Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN)
	Agüero 35'	Report

Group F

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Japan	7	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3
Nigeria	7	3	2	1	0	3	0	+3
Costa Rica	3	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1
Scotland	0	3	0	0	3	2	7	−5

July 1, 2007 14:15 PDT 21:15 UTC	Japan	3 – 1	Scotland	Royal Athletic Park, Victoria Attendance: 11,500 Referee: German Arredondo (MEX)
	Morishima 43' Umesaki 57' Aoyama 79'	Report	Campbell 82'

July 1, 2007 17:00 PDT 00:00 UTC	Nigeria	1 – 0	Costa Rica	Royal Athletic Park, Victoria Attendance: 11,500 Referee: Peter O'Leary (NZL)
	Ideye 75'	Report

July 4, 2007 17:00 PDT 00:00 UTC	Costa Rica	0 – 1	Japan	Royal Athletic Park, Victoria Attendance: 10,500 Referee: Wolfgang Stark (GER)
		Report	Tanaka 68'

July 4, 2007 19:45 PDT 02:45 UTC	Scotland	0 – 2	Nigeria	Royal Athletic Park, Victoria Attendance: 10,500 Referee: Terry Vaughn (USA)
		Report	Bala 49' 78'

July 7, 2007 17:00 PDT 00:00 UTC	Japan	0 – 0	Nigeria	Royal Athletic Park, Victoria Attendance: 11,500 Referee: German Arredondo (MEX)
		Report

July 7, 2007 17:00 PDT 00:00 UTC	Scotland	1 – 2	Costa Rica	Swangard Stadium, Burnaby Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (MAS)
	Reynolds 18'	Report	Herrera 57' McDonald 90+2'

Third place rankings

The best four third-placed teams also advance to the knockout stage. The final standings are shown below.

Group	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
A	Congo	4	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1
B	Uruguay	4	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1
C	Portugal	3	3	1	0	2	4	4	0
D	Brazil	3	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1
F	Costa Rica	3	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1
E	Korea DPR	2	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1

Knockout stage

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

11 July - Edmonton

Austria

14 July - Toronto

Gambia

Austria

11 July - Toronto

United States

United States

18 July - Edmonton

Uruguay

Austria

11 July - Burnaby

Czech Republic

Spain

14 July - Edmonton

Brazil

Spain

1 (3)

11 July - Victoria

Czech Republic

1 (4)

Japan

2 (3)

22 July - Toronto

Czech Republic

2 (4)

Czech Republic

12 July - Edmonton

Argentina

Chile

15 July - Montreal

Portugal

Chile

12 July - Ottawa

Nigeria

Zambia

19 July - Toronto

Nigeria

Chile

12 July - Toronto

Argentina

Third place

Argentina

15 July - Ottawa

22 July - Toronto

Poland

Argentina

Austria

12 July - Montreal

Mexico

Chile

Mexico

Congo

Round of 16

July 11, 2007 17:45 MDT 23:45 UTC	Austria	2 – 1	Gambia	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton Attendance: 18,721 Referee: Mohamed Benouza (ALG)
	Prödl 45+1' Hoffer 81'	Report	Gómez 69'

July 11, 2007 19:45 EDT 23:45 UTC	United States	2 – 1 (a.e.t.)	Uruguay	National Soccer Stadium, Toronto Attendance: 19,526 Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)
	Cardaccio 87' (o.g.) Bradley 107'	Report	Suárez 73'

July 11, 2007 20:15 PDT 03:15 UTC	Spain	4 – 2 (a.e.t.)	Brazil	Swangard Stadium, Burnaby Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Martin Hansson (SWE)
	Pique 43' García 84' Bueno 102' Adrián López 120+1'	Report	Leandro Lima 39' Pato 41'

July 11, 2007 20:15 PDT 03:15 UTC	Japan	2 – 2 (a.e.t.)	Czech Republic	Royal Athletic Park, Victoria Attendance: 11,500 Referee: Hernando Buitrago (COL)
	Makino 22' Morishima 47' (pen.)	Report	Kúdela 74' (pen.) Mareš 77' (pen)

		Penalties
	Yasuda Aoki Makino Morishima Kashiwagi	3 – 4	Fenin Kúdela Suchý Pekhart Okleštěk

July 12, 2007 16:45 EDT 20:45 UTC	Zambia	1 – 2	Nigeria	Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa Attendance: 22,531 Referee: Wolfgang Stark (GER)
	Kola 33'	Report	Echiejile 3' Akabueze 57'

July 12, 2007 16:45 EDT 20:45 UTC	Argentina	3 – 1	Poland	National Soccer Stadium, Toronto Attendance: 19,526 Referee: Joel Aguilar (SLV)
	Di María 40' Agüero 46' 86'	Report	Janczyk 33'

July 12, 2007 19:45 EDT 23:45 UTC	Mexico	3 – 0	Congo	Olympic Stadium, Montreal Attendance: 40,204 Referee: Viktor Kassai (HUN)
	Giovani 23' (pen.) Esparza 85' Barrera 90+4'	Report

July 12, 2007 17:45 MDT 23:45 UTC	Chile	1 – 0	Portugal	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton Attendance: 24,687 Referee: Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (MAS)
	Vidal 45'	Report

Quarter-finals

July 14, 2007 14:15 EDT 18:15 UTC	Austria	2 – 1 (a.e.t.)	United States	National Soccer Stadium, Toronto Attendance: 19,526 Referee: Martin Hansson (SWE)
	Okotie 43' Hoffer 105'	Report	Altidore 15'

July 14, 2007 17:45 MDT 23:45 UTC	Spain	1 – 1 (a.e.t.)	Czech Republic	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton Attendance: 26,801 Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)
	Mata 110'	Report	Kalouda 103'

		Penalties
	Mata Adrián Valiente García Piqué	3 – 4	Fenin Suchý Kúdela Pekhart

July 15, 2007 14:15 EDT 18:15 UTC	Chile	4 – 0 (a.e.t.)	Nigeria	Olympic Stadium, Montreal Attendance: 46,252 Referee: Howard Webb (ENG)
	Grondona 96' Isla 114' (pen.) 117' Vidangossy 120+2'	Report

July 15, 2007 19:45 EDT 23:45 UTC	Argentina	1 – 0	Mexico	Frank Clair Stadium, Ottawa Attendance: 26,559 Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)
	Moralez 45'	Report

Semi-finals

July 18, 2007 17:45 MDT 23:45 UTC	Austria	0 – 2	Czech Republic	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton Attendance: 28,401 Referee: Howard Webb (ENG)
		Report	Mičola 4' Fenin 15'

July 19, 2007 19:45 EDT 23:45 UTC	Chile	0 – 3	Argentina	National Soccer Stadium, Toronto Attendance: 19,526 Referee: Wolfgang Stark (GER)
		Report	Di María 12' Yacob 65' Moralez 90+3'

Third place playoff

July 22, 2007 12:15 EDT 16:15 UTC	Austria	0 – 1	Chile	National Soccer Stadium, Toronto Attendance: 19,526 Referee: Martin Hansson (SWE)
		Report	Martínez 45+1'

Final

July 22, 2007 15:15 EDT 19:15 UTC	Czech Republic	1 – 2	Argentina	National Soccer Stadium, Toronto Attendance: 19,526 Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)
	Fenin 60'	Report	Agüero 62' Zárate 86'

Goalscorers

6 goals

Sergio Agüero

5 goals

Adrián López

4 goals

Maximiliano Moralez
Josmer Altidore

3 goals

Ángel Di María
Erwin Hoffer
Alexandre Pato
Martin Fenin
Luboš Kalouda
Giovani dos Santos
Dawid Janczyk
Freddy Adu
Danny Szetela

2 goals

Mauro Zárate
Rubin Okotie
Leandro Lima
Jaime Grondona
Mauricio Isla
Nicolás Medina
Arturo Vidal
Ousman Jallow
Yasuhito Morishima
Abdallah Salim
Pablo Barrera
Ezekiel Bala
Bruno Gama
Shin Young-Rok
Juan Manuel Mata
Edison Cavani
Luis Suárez
Rodgers Kola

1 goal

Claudio Yacob
Sebastian Prödl
Amaral
Carlos Carmona
Hans Martínez
Alexis Sánchez
Mathias Vidangossy
Franchel Ibara
Gracia Ikouma
Ermejea Ngakosso
Pablo Herrera
Jonathan McDonald
Ondřej Kúdela
Jakub Mareš
Tomáš Mičola
Marek Střeštík
Pierre Gómez
Abdoulie Mansally
Jun Aoyama
Tomoaki Makino
Atomu Tanaka
Tsukasa Umesaki
Loiy Al Zaideh
Christian Bermúdez
Omar Esparza
Javier Hernández
Héctor Moreno
Osmar Mares
Jack Pelter
Chukwuma Akabueze
Uwa Echiejile
Brown Ideye
Kwang Ik Jon
Kum Il Kim

1 goal (cont.)

Nelson Barahona
Grzegorz Krychowiak
Antunes
Feliciano Condesso
Ross Campbell
Mark Reynolds
Lee Sang-Ho
Shim Young-Sung
Marcos García Barreno
Alberto Bueno
Diego Capel
Javi García
Gerard Pique
Mario Suárez
Michael Bradley
Clifford Mulenga
William Njobvu
Fwayo Tembo

Own goal

Mathias Cardaccio

Winner

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup Winners
Argentina Sixth title

2nd Place	3rd Place	4th Place
Czech Republic	Chile	Austria

Awards

Golden Ball	Silver Ball	Bronze Ball
Sergio Agüero	Maximiliano Moralez	Giovani Dos Santos
Golden Shoe	Silver Shoe	Bronze Shoe
Sergio Agüero	Adrián López	Maximiliano Moralez
6 goals	5 goals	4 goals
FIFA Fair Play Award
Japan

Controversies

Nigerian accusations of racism

The Chile-Nigeria quarter-final match took place on FIFA's "Say No To Racism Day". During extra time, Chile's Mauricio Isla scored at the 96th minute. The Nigerians argued that it was offside, though referee Howard Webb allowed the goal to stand. Replays showed that a defender was caught out of place on an offside trap. Keeper Ikechukwu Ezenwu was shown the yellow card for his protest.[1][2]

At a post-game news conference, Nigerian coach Ladan Bosso said "What happened on the pitch, the officiating, I think FIFA has a long way to go to beat racism, because that official showed racism." When asked if he felt Webb was a racist, Bosso said only that "It's good for FIFA to bring in the fight against racism, but they have to follow it to the letter, so the implementation will be done."[3] The coach was fined CHF 11,000 and banned for four months, as the disciplinary committee found him guilty of "offensive behaviour" under the terms of article 57 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code[4]

The Nigerian FA was also sanctioned for allowing the players to wear t-shirts with religious statements under their game jerseys. This was a clear violation of the regulations of the tournament that state "Players and officials are not allowed to display political, religious, commercial or personal messages in any language or form on their playing or team kits ..."[5]

Chilean clash with Police

On July 19, 2007, there was a very controversial semifinal match between Chile and Argentina. Referee Wolfgang Stark was criticized by the Chilean players for his officiating, having "lost control of the match early" ^[6] and for issuing seven yellow cards (out of nine) and two red cards against the Chilean team during the match^[7]. In total he issued 53 fouls, 30 of which he charged to Chile.^[8] and 23 to Argentina.

Chilean striker Nicolás Medina hinted that he felt that the referee was favoring the Argentine team, stating that "Eleven against eleven, the game would have been much more fair."^[9]. Added to this is the perception that the Argentine players were able to employ "diving" tactics and "theatrics" ^[9] to influence the referee's calls. However, before the game the Chilean players had suffered from a lot of pressure imposed by their own national media who saw a victory against Argentina as a national priority and described the match as a war more than as a normal confrontation between two football teams. Probably because of that pressure, the Chilean players started to lose their self-control on the field very early and resorted to putting constant pressure on Stark by systematically challenging every single one of his decisions. During one of those heated arguments, a Chilean fan invaded the pitch and attempted to physically assault the referee. The abusive fan had to be restrained by the Canadian police and even by some members of the Chilean squad.

Following the match, Stark and his colleagues were surrounded by livid Chilean players who were restrained by members of the Toronto Police. Stark then had to be escorted off of the pitch and into the dressing room tunnel by police officers for fear that he would be attacked by the crowd and/or Chilean players at the National Soccer Stadium.^[10]

Afterwards, several players and delegates of the Chilean team were involved in a brawl with police outside Toronto's National Soccer Stadium,^[11] which ended with several Chileans injured, then handcuffed and detained inside the stadium. How the events unfolded is not unanimous, with two currently existing versions.

Players' version

According to the Chilean players and some witnesses, at 10:22 p.m. (local time) Chilean player Isaías Peralta — before getting on the team bus — walked towards a crowd of Chilean fans stationed behind a security fence some 50 metres away from the bus, but was stopped by about ten policemen some 30 metres away from the fence. A heated discussion took place, where Peralta (who speaks no English) was verbally and physically abused by the policemen. Peralta was tasered by one police officer and he lost consciousness for 20 minutes. Chilean player Arturo Vidal arrived at the scene to help his team mate and got involved in a struggle with the police. Other eyewitnesses stated it was Chilean goalkeeper Cristopher Toselli who walked towards the fans when he was grabbed by a security guard, prompting the melee.^[12] This was noticed by the other players inside the bus, who also got involved in the struggle with the police. All players — except Peralta, who lay unconscious on the ground — got back on the bus and closed the doors to keep the police out. A policewoman noticed this and threw a tear gas canister (or something to that effect) inside the bus. The players panicked and started breaking windows to let air in. Three minutes later the president of the Chilean National Association of Professional Football (ANFP), Harold Mayne-Nicholls, asked the players to descend from the bus to take a different one. As the players were getting off the bus they were violently detained by police; some players were even handcuffed. Alexis Sánchez — who was coming out of the antidoping test — heard some people screaming and arrived at the scene, but was also beaten by police. The police then took the players back to the stadium. Christian Suárez – arriving from the mixed zone – was also detained.^[13] Peralta claimed that after he regained consciousness: "I saw 10 police officers were hitting me and throwing acid in my face;"^[14] and also claimed the police removed an object the size of a match from his back so the press wouldn't be able to see it.^[15] Other Chilean players said to the Chilean press that the Canadian police treated them like criminals, used pepper spray and Tasers on them, threatened them with legal action, and that while they were on the team's dressing room showing each others wounds, they were laughed at.^[15]^[13] During the Sunday final Mayne-Nicholls – who is also a FIFA official – allegedly identified the policeman who gave the order to use gas on the players and asked him why he had acted that way; Mayne-Nicholls claimed the policeman responded: "We use gas and electricity when we deal with criminals like yours."^[16]

Police version

The police version of the events, as given by Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, claimed that the melee began when Chilean players got into a scuffle with a rival fan.^[17] He added that "members of the Chilean team then decided to direct some of their aggressive behaviour towards my officers... The job of my officers was to respond in a firm, but fair, manner to end that violence. They are trained to do so, and that is what they did."^[17] According to eyewitness accounts, the players on the bus began throwing things at police through the windows and tried to grab officers from inside the damaged bus.^[18] FIFA spokesman John Schumacher said: "The Chilean players were detained by the police to de-escalate the situation that was taking place in front of the stadium."^[14]

Eyewitness accounts stated that the altercation began as the Chilean players were heading to their bus, across the driveway from the doors of the stadium. There was apparently yelling near the bus, and then a scuffle erupted. Nathan Denette, a reported for Canadian Press stated: "Next thing you know, the bus just unloads and there's eight, 10 players come off the bus and there's just fists flying everywhere, between the cops, the security guards, a couple of ladies were involved that were security." As the conflict became more heated, a police officer did use a Taser – though it was unclear if it was used on a player or an official with the Chilean team – after which the brawl became even more intense.^[14] It was also asserted that any bruises sustained by anyone involved were "tiny."^[19]

Press shut-out

The Chilean press alleged that all press were removed from the area by security personnel since the incident's start, threatened with the removal of their tapes if they recorded anything and locked inside a room for several minutes.^[20]

Aftermath

Ten Chilean team members were detained over three hours and then released without charges.^[21] FIFA president Sepp Blatter said the next day at a press conference in Toronto that the incident was "regrettable" and that he "apologized in the name of FIFA."^[22] The ANFP (Chilean Professional Football Association) hired a Toronto law firm to pursue legal action against the Toronto police.^[13]

In Chile the incident was on the front page of every major newspaper. The Canadian embassy in Santiago received a bomb threat and angry Chileans protested outside the embassy with signs reading "Racist Canada."^[23] Chile's President, Michelle Bachelet, said that the incident was "especially serious because, in our opinion, the Chilean delegation suffered unjustified aggression,"^[22] and lodged a formal protest with the Canadian government.^[24] In response, Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, remarked that "international soccer matches are hotly contested and often become very emotional. As you know, there are processes in Canada by which the authorities review these kinds of incidents and I don't intend to comment further."^[24]

It was reported in the Canadian media on July 30, 2007, that Isaias Peralta had confessed to Santiago's El Mercurio that one of the Chilean team members had punched a female police office in the face before Peralta had been tasered, but maintained that the Toronto police had assaulted the Chilean team members before they retaliated; the following day Peralta denied making the comments.^[25] Police spokesperson Mark Pugash affirmed a female officer had been hit in the face, and stated the Chilean's violent behaviour prompted police to use Tasers and pepper spray, upholding the story that the Chileans had started the mêlée by confronting an Argentinean fan.^[26] After an internal review headed by Superintendent Jim Ramer – in which witnesses, including event security officials, members of the Ontario Soccer Association, the BMO Field event coordinator, and the driver of the Chilean bus, offered statements – a report issued by the Toronto Police Service on July 31, 2007, found that officers had acted professionally and with "with an immense amount of restraint" during the conflict outside the BMO Field, in which Chilean players "punched, kicked, spat on and kicked" police and security staff. The report stated that the violence started when two people not involved in the game confronted each other. Security guards first attempted to intervene, and then police, which is when a Chilean player punched a female police officer in the face. From that point, the report said the violence escalated; Chilean players dismantled the armrests and footrests from the bus seats, and smashed the windows in order to spit at and throw these objects, plus D-cell batteries, clothes hangers, and cans of deodorant at the police. Four officers were reportedly injured by projectiles. FIFA agreed to pay for the $35,000 in damages to the team's rented bus.^[25]

Harold Mayne-Nicholls, chair of the Football Federation of Chile and a witness to the event said: "I didn't see any Chilean player hitting any officer except between all the struggling." Patricio Bascunan, president of the Salvador Allende Cultural Society of Toronto, said an independent review was needed.^[25]

Disciplinary Measures

Chile's Jaime Grondona was suspended for nine months at all levels (domestic and international) and fined CHF 7,000 (including procedural costs) for assaulting match officials. The Chilean football association was fined CHF 15,000 for "team misconduct".[6]

References

↑ "National Soccer Stadium" was the temporary name of the BMO Field during this tournament, as FIFA prohibits sponsorship of stadia unless the stadium sponsor is also an official FIFA sponsor.
↑ "FIFA U-20 World Cup surpasses 950,000 spectators". CanadaSoccer.com (2007-06-28). Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
↑ "History made with Canada 2007 ticket sales". FIFA (2007-03-01). Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
↑ "Fast starts for Mexico, Portugal". FIFA.com (2007-07-03). Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
↑ "Canada sets U-20 World Cup attendance record", CBC Sports (2007-07-20). Retrieved on 2007-07-22.
↑ TheStar.com | Sports | Beautiful game turns ugly
↑ FIFA.com
↑ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/soccer/07/20/bc.soc.u20.chilefight.ap/index.html
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 Argentina dives to finals
↑ Argentina advances to FIFA U-20 final - FIFA U-20 - Sports - CBC.ca
↑ [Reuters: Chile soccer players clash with Toronto police; July 20, 2007]
↑ Campbell, Morgan; Toronto Star: CSA seeking witnesses to Chile brawl; July 24, 2007
↑ ^13.0 ^13.1 ^13.2 La Tercera July 21 2007 edition
↑ ^14.0 ^14.1 ^14.2 CTV News: Chile officials blame T.O. police for soccer brawl; July 20, 2007
↑ ^15.0 ^15.1 Sub 20: Los jugadores contaron su impactante versión de los hechos", El Mercurio Online, agencias, accessed July 21 2007
↑ "Mayne-Nicholls relató inéditos detalles de golpiza en Canadá" La Tercera, accessed on July 24 2007
↑ ^17.0 ^17.1 Chilean officials blame Police for melee, tsn.ca, accessed July 20 2007
↑ "Chile officials say Toronto police to blame for soccer team's post-match brawl" Canadian Press, accessed July 21 2007
↑ [Warmington, Joe; Toronto Sun: Chileans' conduct shameful; July 23, 2007]
↑ El Mercurio July 20 2007 edition
↑ La Tercera July 22 2007 edition.
↑ ^22.0 ^22.1 "Chile football players face FIFA probe after brawl", Reuters, accessed July 21 2007
↑ "Toronto melee a global dust-up", thestar.com, accessed July 21 2007
↑ ^24.0 ^24.1 Babage, Maria, T.O. cops under scrutiny, Slam.ca, July 20, 2007
↑ ^25.0 ^25.1 ^25.2 Powell, Betsy; Dale, Daniel; Toronto Star: Officers cleared in soccer scuffle; July 31, 2007
↑ Dale, Daniel; Toronto Star: Chilean player admits officer was punched; July 30, 2007

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2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup

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