OMG — Gladbach

Borussia Mönchengladbach were cheated twice in international...

Borussia Mönchengladbach were cheated twice in international matches....

Borussia Mönchengladbach were cheated twice in international matches.

European Cup 1971/72: In the 1971/72 season, the

European Cup 1971/72: In the 1971/72 season, the club were knocked out of the European Cup by Inter Milan.

club were knocked out of the European Cup by Inter Milan. They lost 4:2 in Milan and drew 0:0 in Berlin in the replay. Gladbach missed a penalty. The Berlin match was already the third game of the tie because the original first leg at the Bökelberg — a staggering 7:1 destruction of Inter on October 20, 1971 — had been annulled by UEFA.

What happened? Gladbach led 2:1 in the 29th

What happened?

minute before a can thrown from the stands struck Roberto Boninsegna. He went down, rolled around theatrically, was treated at length, and was finally carried off to the dressing room, where he effectively hid.

Inter resumed under protest. Gladbach then played the football of their lives and added five more goals. Inter appealed, UEFA annulled the result, and the tie was replayed on neutral ground in Berlin.

Inter then took a 4:2 first-leg advantage into that replay and survived, not least because Sieloff missed a penalty. To this day there is fierce debate over whether Boninsegna was genuinely knocked out. According to him, the can was full and hit him on the head.

Defender Luggi Müller always insisted the can was empty and had only hit Boninsegna on the shoulder, and even referee Jef Dorpmans later said he always believed the injury had been feigned. The can now sits in the club museum. Boninsegna later went on to act in a Terence Hill film. And because ARD did not broadcast the original match live, no television footage exists apart from the goals.

European Cup 1975/76: In March 1976, Borussia were

European Cup 1975/76: In March 1976, Borussia were eliminated by Real Madrid under highly dubious circumstances.

eliminated by Real Madrid under highly dubious circumstances. The villain was referee Leonardus van der Kroft and his all-Dutch crew. Gladbach had drawn 2:2 in the first leg in Düsseldorf and traveled to Madrid as clear outsiders.

Yet in the Bernabéu they took the lead through Jupp Heynckes and dominated large stretches of the match. Then came the scandal: after a questionable free kick, Santillana headed Madrid level. Later Henning Jensen scored what should have been Gladbach’s 2:1, only for van der Kroft to overrule his own linesman and disallow it for offside.

Near the end, Hans-Jürgen Wittkamp scored another legitimate goal, and again the Dutch officials wiped it out. The match ended 1:1 and Real went through. Van der Kroft would later admit he remembered very little, only that there had been two disallowed goals.