9. The Battle of Santiago, 1962

The match between Italy and Chile in the 1962 World Cup was one of the most violent games in the tournament's history. The first foul occurred in the 12th second; the first red card was handed out to Italian midfielder Giorgio Ferrini in the 12th minute. There were blatant punches and kicks to the face during the game, and policemen had to intervene no less than four times, while Italy and Chile literally fought it out for the whole 90 minutes.

The match was more of a martial arts demonstration than a typical football match. The 90-minute riot was so shocking that the BBC saw fit to preface a broadcast of the match with the warning: "Good evening. The game you are about to see is the most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football, possibly in the history of the game."

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