The Match
Leeds dominated most of the match and had a number of near misses. After three minutes Bayern's Swedish international defender Björn Andersson had to be replaced by the inexperienced Sepp Weiss after a hard tackle from Terry Yorath, described by Uli Hoeneß as the "most brutal foul I think I have ever seen". He only played a handful more matches for Bayern. In the 23rd minute Beckenbauer was in his own penalty box on the ground and rested on his left arm which subsequently got in contact with the ball. The Leeds players appealed for a penalty which the French referee Michel Kitabdjian denied. More controversial however was when the referee denied a penalty in the 34th minute after Bayern captain Franz Beckenbauer tripped Allan Clarke, who was attacking the Bayern goal from the left wing and seemed ready to dangerously round Bayern keeper Sepp Maier. The first half also saw German international Uli Hoeneß, later president of Bayern, suffering a serious knee injury in the 42nd minute after a tackle by the Scottish left back Frank Gray, which would ultimately bring his career to a premature end in 1979 at the age of 27, and thus starting as prematurely his career in club management. He was replaced by one time German international Klaus Wunder.
In the 62nd minute Billy Bremner was denied from five metres by a reflex of Sepp Maier in the Bayern goal. Less than a minute later a goal by Peter Lorimer was disallowed, due to Bremner being in a tight passive offside position in front of the goal at at the six yard box. Referee Michel Kitabdjian initially pointed to the centre circle (indicating a goal) and then Beckenbauer convinced him to consult with the linesman who had ran back to the halfway line and had not raised his flag. The referee then indicated offside against Bremner. This decision caused riots to break out.
After a match interruption Roth finished off a counterattack in the 71st minute with the 1–0 for Bayern after a short pass from Conny Torstensson. This completely derailed Leeds and ten minutes later another counter led to the 2–0 for Bayern through Gerd Müller after a cross from the right side by Jupp Kapellmann. This put the match completely beyond the reach of the team from England.
The violence saw Leeds banned from Europe for four years, although this was reduced to two years on appeal. Ultimately, this ban was never applied due to a decline in the performance of the club in the late-1970s preventing European qualification until 1979-80
Read more about this topic: 1975 European Cup Final
Famous quotes containing the word match:
“We cannot expect in the immediate future that all women who seek it will achieve full equality of opportunity. But if women are to start moving towards that goal, we must believe in ourselves or no one else will believe in us; we must match our aspirations with the competence, courage and determination to succeed.”
—Rosalyn Yalow (b. 1921)
“Auden, MacNeice, Day Lewis, I have read them all,
Hoping against hope to hear the authentic call . . .
And know the explanation I must pass is this
MYou cannot light a match on a crumbling wall.”
—Hugh MacDiarmid (1892–1978)