35 years after 1:12: Malta accuses Spain's footballers of doping

Madrid (SID) Almost 35 years after the “Miracle of Seville”, doping allegations are being made against the Spanish national football team. Opponent Malta, who lost 1984:1 in the decisive qualifying game for the 12 European Championships, accuses the Spanish stars of taking steroids. In addition, the Maltese footballers are said to have been poisoned with lemons. "The energy of the Spaniards was abnormal. Some were foaming at the mouth (...) That's what happens when someone takes steroids. I know this because my brother was a bodybuilder," said the then striker Silvio Demanuele on the program "Fiebre Maldini " from the Spanish TV channel Movistar+. At halftime (3-1), they were offered lemons, reported the three players interviewed and Malta's national coach at the time, Victor Scerri. Demanuele said he felt "drunk, like I'd been partying all night" after consuming it. Scerri asked the team doctor: "Could they have been poisoned?" He has no evidence. But if it were true, “football would be completely finished.” The game on December 21, 1983 in Seville enjoys an almost mythical reputation in Spain. The Selection under coach Miguel Munoz had to win by eleven goals to qualify for the EURO. The decisive goal came in the 88th minute. The Netherlands suffered more. As a result, there were allegations that Malta had accepted bribes. The Maltese FA launched an investigation but found no evidence. At the finals in France, Spain eliminated defending champions Germany later in the preliminary round. Jose Antonio Camacho, Spain's captain at the time, rejected the allegations: "We never took anything. When you get old, you become senile - that's the case with them." The Maltese reported that everything seemed “suspicious” to them since they arrived in Spain. Defender Emanuel Fabri called referee Erkan Göksel (Turkey) "the worst I've seen in my life".

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35 years after 1:12: Malta accuses Spain's footballers of doping

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