Rene Mercet
Encyclopedia
Rene Mercet was a Swiss international referee in the 1920s and 1930s who became infamous for his performance in the Italy
v Spain
replayed quarter-final in the 1934 FIFA World Cup
.
Mercet had been a highly rated referee, being selected to semi-finals and the Swiss Cup final in the 1930s. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesz/zwitcuphistfull.html Following this Mercet had been selected to referee various internationals but it is his performance during the 1934 World Cup that derailed his career; the Swiss FA, allegedly, suspending him from further international appointments after his performance appeared to openly favour the Italians in the World Cup quarter-final. Of Mercet's performance the German football magazine 'Fussball' reported: “Mercet had lost his courage. Just as he overlooked Monzeglio’s foul against Bosch previously, when he stood directly next to it, he remained dependent on the cheap propaganda of the Italian crowd.” The Swiss newspaper “Basler Nationalzeitung” reported: “Mercet favored the Italians in a most shameful manner.” During the game Mercet disallowed two Spanish goals; one for a foul, only to reward Spain with a free-kick. The winning goal, by Giuseppe Meazza
, was scored with the assistance of a foul on the reserve Spanish goalkeeper (Ricardo Zamora
having been injured in the first, drawn match between the two sides). http://home.skysports.com/worldcup/article.aspx?hlid=363761&clid=118&lid=7438&nav=Spain+History+1934
Throughout the tournament and afterwards there had been accusations that Italian officials, cohorts of the Government, had been bribing and influencing referees, not least Louis Baert
and Ivan Eklind
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
v Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
replayed quarter-final in the 1934 FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
.
Mercet had been a highly rated referee, being selected to semi-finals and the Swiss Cup final in the 1930s. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesz/zwitcuphistfull.html Following this Mercet had been selected to referee various internationals but it is his performance during the 1934 World Cup that derailed his career; the Swiss FA, allegedly, suspending him from further international appointments after his performance appeared to openly favour the Italians in the World Cup quarter-final. Of Mercet's performance the German football magazine 'Fussball' reported: “Mercet had lost his courage. Just as he overlooked Monzeglio’s foul against Bosch previously, when he stood directly next to it, he remained dependent on the cheap propaganda of the Italian crowd.” The Swiss newspaper “Basler Nationalzeitung” reported: “Mercet favored the Italians in a most shameful manner.” During the game Mercet disallowed two Spanish goals; one for a foul, only to reward Spain with a free-kick. The winning goal, by Giuseppe Meazza
Giuseppe Meazza
Giuseppe "Peppino" Meazza , also known as il Balilla, was an Italian footballer playing mainly for Internazionale in the 1930s, scoring 242 goals in 365 games for the club. He led Italy to win two World Cups: in 1934 and in 1938, winning the Golden Ball Award in 1934. He is widely considered the...
, was scored with the assistance of a foul on the reserve Spanish goalkeeper (Ricardo Zamora
Ricardo Zamora
Ricard Zamora i Martínez was a Spanish footballer and manager. He played as a goalkeeper for, among others, RCD Espanyol, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. As an international he played for both the Catalan XI and Spain...
having been injured in the first, drawn match between the two sides). http://home.skysports.com/worldcup/article.aspx?hlid=363761&clid=118&lid=7438&nav=Spain+History+1934
Throughout the tournament and afterwards there had been accusations that Italian officials, cohorts of the Government, had been bribing and influencing referees, not least Louis Baert
Louis Baert
Louis Andre Baert was an international football referee from Belgium, particularly active during the 1930s....
and Ivan Eklind
Ivan Eklind
Ivan Henning Hjalmar Eklind was a football referee from Sweden famous for refereeing the controversial 1934 FIFA World Cup Final between Italy and Czechoslovakia in Rome.-Rene Mercet:...
.