They Drugged Us to Beat Us: Allegations from Malta 35 Years Later

Some football stories are always relevant, and some truths are learned late.

Such is the case with one of the most controversial matches in the history of European football, which was played 35 years ago, between Malta and Spain, in the qualifiers for EURO 1984.

Before that match, the last one in the group, the Spaniards needed a victory of at least 11 goals in order to qualify for the final, ahead of the Netherlands.

And the desired triumph was achieved 12:1, and almost four decades later Maltese actors came forward with the story that - they were drugged.

Emanuel Fabri, Silvio Demanuele and coach Victor Skerry claim that the Spaniards poured "something into their drinks" and that they did not behave normally during the match.

"During the game I felt dizzy and weak, as if I was drunk," Fabri said.

"I remember it happened after we drank water, which the host left for us in the dressing room. The lemon also tasted strange. We complained, but no one listened to us".

Jose Antonio Camacho, then captain of Spain, said that it was "plain nonsense".

The match was played on December 21, 1983 in Seville, at the "Benito Viljamarín" stadium.

The coach of Spain was Miguel Munoz, and Santillana and Rincon each scored four goals.

The Spanish went to the championship and reached the final, where they lost to France.