Lampard's disallowed goal to Zidane's head-butt 10 most controversial moments from FIFA World Cups

9. War on the field | The 2006 World Cup witnessed one of the ugliest matches in World Cup history. In the Round of 16-match between Portugal and the Netherlands in Nuremberg, a total of 16 yellow cards were shown with several violent on-field instances. The first yellow card of Dutchman Mark van Bommel took only two minutes. Five minutes later, Khalid Boulahrouz of the same team was booked for fouling Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo had to be substituted with Simão inside the first half as he left the ground in tears. Then in the injury time of the first half, referee Ivanov sent Costinha off after a handball. The player who replaced him, Petit, took four minutes to be booked.In all, 16 yellow cards were shown setting a new World Cup record. (Image: Reuters)

8. No Football Played or The ‘Disgrace of Gijon’  | In the Group 2 match between West Germany and Austria at the 1982 World Cup, an incident of foul play changed the format of the tournament forever. West Germany faced a defeat against Algeria in their opening group match and needed to beat Austria to avoid elimination from the tournament. However, if Austria lost by three or more goals, Algeria would qualify for the next round in their place based on goals scored. If Austria lost by 1 goal, then both West Germany and Austria would qualify, and Algeria would be knocked out. West Germany scored after 10 minutes against Austria and from then neither side left their half or even attempted to play football. The match ended 1-0 and both West Germany and Austria qualified for the second round while Algeria was knocked out. Since there was no rule against this, from 1986 onwards, the final group matches in World Cups were always scheduled to start at the same time to prevent such incidents. (Image: .thefootballhistoryboys.com)

7. Frank Lampard's goal but no goal | In the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, England faced off against European rivals Germany at Free State stadium in Bloemfontein. Germany had taken a handsome 2-goal lead and that forced England to pile on the pressure. England midfielder Frank Lampard unleashed a powerful kick from some distance targeting Germany's goal. In response, German keeper Manuel Neuer put in a dive to stop the ball.  Lampard's shot dropped cleanly past the German goal line but was not given by the referee. It was the World Cup goal seen around the world but missed by the eyes that mattered most. Germany went on to score two more goals while England could manage just one goal in the match. Germany won the match 4-1 and progressed ahead while the English team and fans were left fuming. (Image: Reuters)

6. Luis Suarez and Not the hand of God | In the last minute of extra time in the 2010 quarter-final match between Uruguay and Ghana of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Uruguay forward Luis Suarez used his hands to keep out a goal-bound header and was sent off. Asamoah Gyan stepped up to take the penalty but fired the ball high and wide. Although  Suarez was sent off and had to go into the team dressing room but the TV cameras spotted him celebrating Ghana's missed penalty on the sideline. The match was forced in the penalty shootouts that Ghana lost and Uruguay proceeded to the semi-finals. (Image: Reuters)

4. Bitten | Another incident involving Luis Suarez is arguably one of the most bizarre. Uruguay were playing Italy for a place in the round of 16 of the tournament of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Towards the end of the match, Suarez inexplicably bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder in a tussle. The referee didn't see the incident, and Suarez escaped a penalty. However, Suarez faced severe retrospective action as he was suspended from all football-related activities for four months, and a nine-match international ban was imposed along with a big fine. (Image: Reuters)

4. Revenge of the Soviets |  In the 1966 World Cup final between England and West Germany, one of the most controversial moments in the sport's history happened in the 101st minute.  England’s Geoff Hurst hit his shot off the crossbar, which ricochet down onto the goal line and bounced out. Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst wasn’t sure if it was a goal, but Soviet referee Tofik Bakhramov signaled to Dienst that the ball crossed the line, and it was a goal. According to a story reported by bleacherreport.com, when Bakhramov was on his deathbed, he was asked how he was so sure of the goal, to which he replied ‘Stalingrad’, which was the name of the city in the Soviet Union where over 75,000 Soviets died in a battle against Nazi Germany. (Image: Reuters)

3. Schumacher’s knockout: West German goalkeeper Harald 'Toni' Schumacher is probably best remembered for a notorious moment at the 1982 World Cup. During the semi-final match with France, Schumacher and French defender Patrick Battiston raced towards a long through ball with Battinson reaching the ball first.  Schumacher tackled Battinson knocking the Frenchman unconscious. Battinson was given oxygen on the pitch. He lost two teeth and cracked three ribs and damaged his vertebrae. However, no foul was given as Battiston was taken off the pitch. Schumacher visited Battiston in the hospital and apologised but maintained that it wasn't a foul. (Image: AFP)

2. Maradona’s Hand of God:  One of the most notable controversies involving Diego Maradona happened in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Argentina was playing England in the World Cup quarter-final clash and in the 51st minute, Maradona leaped to challenge English goalkeeper Peter Shilton for a high ball. Maradona reached the ball first and used his left hand to knock the ball into the net. The goal was awarded, and Maradona called it 'The Hand of God'. Argentina won the game as Maradona scored again by dribbling the ball across the pitch to hit one of the most famous goals of the player. (Image: Reuters)

1. Zidane's head-butt to shatter French dreams | In the final of the 2006 World Cup between France and Italy, legendary France striker Zinedine Zidane did the unthinkable which arguably cost France the title. Zidane head-butted Italian defender Marco Materazzi when the scores were locked at 1-1 in the extra time and was red-carded. The Italian side went on to win the final 5-3 via the penalty shootout as the key striker of France and captain was absent. Media reports suggested that Materazzi deliberately insulted Zidane’s mother to instigate a reaction, but the Italian denied it. (Image: Reuters)