Gold After 39 Minutes

OTD E0306 — 02 Sep 1920: Less than two years after the First World War, international football is trying to rebuild itself at the Antwerp Olympics. Belgium and the newly created Czechoslovakia reach the gold-medal match — but after Belgium score twice and Karel Steiner is sent off, the Czechoslovaks walk off after only 39 minutes. We trace FIFA’s postwar crisis, Jules Rimet’s emerging World Cup vision, Spain and Ricardo Zamora’s extraordinary debut, the bizarre Bergvall tournament format, 65-year-old referee John Lewis, the abandoned final and the gold medal that remains Belgium’s only major men’s international title.

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