A CONTROVERSIAL FINAL
BELGIUM—CZECHOSLOVAKIA, 2:0 (2:0) — 5:0
Coppée and Larnoe scores for Belgium — Káďa decides to withdraw his team from the field — The crowd rushes onto the field — Czechoslovakia disqualified.

On 02/09/1920, Thursday, the final of the VII. Olympiad was scheduled — Olympic Games 1920 —, in Antwerp, at Olympisch Stadion, in a dispute between Belgium and Czechoslovakia. This was a final that was highly anticipated by the fervent Antwerp public, more precisely because the home team was playing against a true continental power, Czechoslovakia, and the enthusiasm of seeing Belgium with an opportunity of winning their goal medal. Therefore, being considered the world champions. At that time, Belgium had only played two matches in the entire tournament, winning against Spain, of Ricardo Zamora, and Netherlands, of Jaap Bulder, De Natris, etc. Czechoslovakia, in turn, had defeated Yugoslavia, Norway, in a spectacular football display, and France, in a match that was marked by a refereeing scandal.

To command the match, a 65-year-old referee was chosen, the English veteran John Lewis, called the Prince of Referees, who refereed three FA Cup finals, especially the exceptional final played between Aston Villa F.C. and Everton, in 1897, which it was considered by many to be the best final in the history of the FA Cup. In addition to John Lewis, former Corinthians F.C players, captain Charles Wreford-Brown and Arthur Knight, were selected as linesmen. Knight won the gold medal at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.

The match promised a large audience and was scheduled for 02/09/1920 at 17:00. 

There were still many people waiting to enter when the gates of the Olympic stadium closed. Much was said about the overcrowding in the stadium for this match.

For that match, there were too many doubts regarding some Czechoslovakia players, as was the case with centre-forward Václav Pilát, full-back Karel Steiner and right winger Josef Sedláček. After the match against Norway, Pilát rested, thus he was not part of the team that faced France. Steiner, of S.K. Viktoria Žižkov, was injured in the match against the French. The same happened with Sedláček, but not in the same circumstances as Steiner. Pilát was selected for the match, but it was clear that he would not be completely willing to play in his old form. Belgium, in turn, had the advantage of having played fewer matches than Czechoslovakia, in addition to having no changes compared to the last match against Netherlands.

The teams entered the field and there was the usual process of the referee and both captains, Émile Hanse and Karel Pešek-Káďa. The match started at 17:15.


Olympic Games: 02/09/1920, Thursday, at 17:15.
Belgium — Czechoslovakia 2:0 (2:0) — 5:0.
Place: Olympisch Stadion, Antwerp, Belgium.
Referee: John Lewis (England).
Linesmen: Charles Wreford-Brown (England) and Arthur Knight (England).
Estimated attendance: 40.000.

Belgium: De Bie — Dr. Swartenbroeks, Verbeeck — Musch, Hanse (c), Fierens — Van Hege, Coppée, Bragard, Larnoe, Bastin.
Coach: Raoul Daufresne.

Czechoslovakia: Klapka — Hojer, Steiner — Kolenatý, Káďa(c), Seifert — Sedláček, Janda, Pilát, Vaník, Mazal.
Coach: John William Madden.

Goals: Coppée(6min[penalty]) and Larnoe(30min).


The match began with spirits high, largely due to the event's enthusiastic spectators, who filled Antwerp's Olympic stadium. The first minutes were marked by a series of attacks, but a controversial move marked the start of the match, thus causing even more problems for John Lewis' refereeing.

Just before the 6th minute, Lewis gave Belgium a penalty after Steiner saved the ball with his hand. The Czechs protested, alleging a previous foul on Rudolf Klapka. Still, the veteran English referee maintained his stance and awarded the penalty, which was eventually converted by Robert Coppée.

Soon after that, a series of fouls and constant advances by the Czech forward line reflected the match. However, the Belgian defence was too solid, especially goalkeeper De Bie. Throughout the first half, there were times when the Czechs threatened to leave the field.


CZECH MATCH REPORT: Káďa protests and asks not to play because of bad refereeing. The referee basically does not whistle anything against Belgium.


Near the 30th minute, the inside-left Henri Larnoe sent an unstoppable shot into Klapka's goal. The crowd went wild with the second goal. Winning the medal was increasingly clear for the local team.

With just a few minutes remaining in the first half, Steiner made a violent tackle on Coppée, who collapsed on the field and had to be removed. Referee Lewis didn't think twice and sent off the Czech full-back. After such a decision, captain Káďa decided to withdraw his team from the field. Referee Lewis gave Czechoslovakia some minutes to return to the field, but it didn't happen. In the meantime, the army and the public flocked to the immediate vicinity of the field and behaved threateningly. Some spectators and soldiers tore down the flag, which was saved by the Yugoslavs.


BELGIAN MATCH REPORT: At the 40 minute mark, the full-back Steiner stomps with roughness and intent with his knee on the chest of Coppée, who collapses unconscious. The referee rightly kicks out the roughard, the Czechs, realizing that they can no longer achieve victory, took this as an excuse to leave the field; leaving the victory to ours, so with a score of 5 to 0 (by withdrawal).


There isn't much to say about this match. After all, the first half wasn't finished either. The incidents were much more highlighted than the players' actions themselves.