Spitting Image
Rijkaard vs Völler, 1990
Italia 90 gave us plenty of memorable moments. One of them was the infamous spitting incident between Dutch midfielder Frank Rijkaard and West Germany frontman Rudi Völler.
The setting for this encounter was a last 16 match at the San Siro. The rivalry between the Netherlands and West Germany was already volatile, with a recent history of close contests.
Midway through the first half of the game, Frank Rijkaard was booked for a tough tackle on Rudi Völler. As both players got to their feet and strolled in the direction of the Dutch goal for the resulting free kick, Rijkaard spat straight into Völler's curly blonde mullet.
Völler, understandably enraged, immediately protested to the referee, Juan Carlos Loustau. The Argentine, without a clear view of the incident, booked Völler for his insolent reaction.
As the ball was sent high into the box from the free kick, Hans van Breukelen rushed out to claim. Völler went to ground, throwing his body clear of the onrushing Dutch keeper’s challenge.
Rijkaard and Hans van Breukelen appeared to accuse the German of diving to win a penalty. In the heat of this confrontation in the six yard box, Rijkaard was seen to grab Völler by the ear and step on his foot.
This was the final straw for Loustau, who decided to send off both Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Völler. As the two combatants trudged towards the tunnel, TV cameras captured the moment that would become World Cup history for all the wrong reasons. For a second time, Rijkard spat at Völler, landing another globule of saliva in the back of his hair.
In the aftermath of the incident, the German press labelled Rijkaard ‘Llama’. Despite being the ultimate victim of the ugly scenes, Völler went on to become a world champion after West Germany beat Argentina in the final.
Years later, both players expressed regret over the events of that day. Rijkaard, in particular, admitted it was an uncharacteristic moment of madness. The pair eventually reconciled, and even appeared together in a light-hearted 1996 TV advert for a Dutch butter brand.