He was notable for being the linesman who helped to award a contentious goal for England in the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final against West Germany. He came to be wrongly referred to as "the Russian linesman" in England as a result of his decision and his Soviet citizenship, although he was not Russian but Azerbaijani.[2][3][4] As a referee earlier in the tournament, he drew attention for denying a Swiss goal in a first-round game between Switzerland and Spain.[citation needed]
Bahramov was originally a footballer playing for Neftçi PFK, but a serious leg injury prevented him from continuing his playing career and he became a referee.[5] He was elected onto the FIFA panel of referees in 1964. In the 1966 World Cup he officiated as a linesman for both the opening match[6] and the Final, and refereed a first round match. In the 1970 World Cup he officiated at three matches including a semi-final.[7] In 1972, he refereed the first leg of the UEFA Cup Final between the English clubs Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur.[8] After retiring as a referee, he subsequently served for some years as general secretary of the Football Federation of Azerbaijan.[9]
"Wembley Goal"
English fans wearing Bəhramov 66 T-shirts. Tofiq Bahramov's son is standing in the middle.
In the 1966 World Cup Final, with the score at 2–2 and after 11 minutes of the first period of extra time, Geoff Hurst of England fired a shot on goal which bounced off the crossbar sharply downwards, hit the ground, and then spun backwards away from the goal. There were some moments of indecision by referee Gottfried Dienst before he noticed that Bahramov, who was the linesman at that end of the ground, was signalling to him. Eventually, Dienst awarded a goal to England, who went on to win the game 4–2.
The decision to award the third England goal is still debated. It is generally believed in Germany that Bahramov made a mistake. The goal has entered the German vernacular, as any situation in which a ball hits the crossbar and is reflected downwards, landing just before or behind the goal line before spinning back into the penalty area, is described as a "Wembley-Tor". In England, many newspapers referred to the "Russian linesman" who awarded the goal, as Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union at the time, and the nickname stuck to the point where his real name was all but forgotten.[citation needed]
According to the Laws of the Game, for a goal to be awarded, the ball must cross the goal line, with its full diameter behind the full width of the line. German players claimed to have seen chalk dust, which would indicate it was not a goal. Roger Hunt claimed to have seen the ball bounce behind the line.[citation needed]
When Bahramov wrote his memoirs, he stated that he believed the ball had bounced back not from the crossbar, but from the net, so the further movement of the ball was already insignificant, and not visible for him either. Bahramov loved refereeing and the game of football in general, and described football matches as, "duels...full of unforeseen turns and even real miracles. And who does not want to be a magician if even for just 90 minutes?"[10]
When England were drawn in the same group as Azerbaijan in qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a ceremony was held prior to the meeting at the stadium to honor his memory, with attendees including Geoff Hurst, Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter. A statue monument of him was also unveiled at the ceremony and he became the first referee to have a stadium named after him.[11][12] During the same visit, his son Bahram Bahramov met representatives of the English fans and expressed his pleasure that the famous "Russian linesman" of 1966 had finally regained his true nationality. "Now that Azerbaijan is independent it’s very right for him to be remembered as a member of the Azeri nation. People like Tofiq Bahramov are only born once in a hundred years".[13]
^Abidəsi olan ilk hakim 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine(in Azerbaijani)
^Tofiq Bəhramovun anadan olmasından 78 il keçir[permanent dead link](in Azerbaijani)
^Azerbaijan v England article by Chris Hunt published in Football First newspaper, 17 October 2004
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tofiq Bahramov.
BBC: Baku memorial for 1966 linesman
IWPR: Baku Celebrates its Wembley Hero
January 06, 2023
tofiq, bahramov, azerbaijani, tofiq, bəhramov, russian, Тофик, Бахрамов, january, 1925, march, 1993, soviet, footballer, football, referee, from, azerbaijan, tofiq, bəhramovbahramov, 1967borntofiq, bəhram, oğlu, bəhramov, 1925, january, 1925baku, azerbaijan, t. Tofiq Bahramov Azerbaijani Tofiq Behramov Russian Tofik Bahramov 29 January 1925 26 March 1993 1 was a Soviet footballer and football referee from Azerbaijan Tofiq BehramovBahramov in 1967BornTofiq Behram oglu Behramov 1925 01 29 29 January 1925Baku Azerbaijan SSR Transcaucasian SFSR USSRDied26 March 1993 1993 03 26 aged 68 Baku AzerbaijanNationalityUSSR AzerbaijanOccupation s Football player and refereeHe was notable for being the linesman who helped to award a contentious goal for England in the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final against West Germany He came to be wrongly referred to as the Russian linesman in England as a result of his decision and his Soviet citizenship although he was not Russian but Azerbaijani 2 3 4 As a referee earlier in the tournament he drew attention for denying a Swiss goal in a first round game between Switzerland and Spain citation needed After his death in 1993 Azerbaijan s then national stadium was renamed the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium in his honor Contents 1 Career 1 1 Wembley Goal 2 Legacy 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksCareer EditBahramov was originally a footballer playing for Neftci PFK but a serious leg injury prevented him from continuing his playing career and he became a referee 5 He was elected onto the FIFA panel of referees in 1964 In the 1966 World Cup he officiated as a linesman for both the opening match 6 and the Final and refereed a first round match In the 1970 World Cup he officiated at three matches including a semi final 7 In 1972 he refereed the first leg of the UEFA Cup Final between the English clubs Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur 8 After retiring as a referee he subsequently served for some years as general secretary of the Football Federation of Azerbaijan 9 Wembley Goal Edit English fans wearing Behramov 66 T shirts Tofiq Bahramov s son is standing in the middle In the 1966 World Cup Final with the score at 2 2 and after 11 minutes of the first period of extra time Geoff Hurst of England fired a shot on goal which bounced off the crossbar sharply downwards hit the ground and then spun backwards away from the goal There were some moments of indecision by referee Gottfried Dienst before he noticed that Bahramov who was the linesman at that end of the ground was signalling to him Eventually Dienst awarded a goal to England who went on to win the game 4 2 The decision to award the third England goal is still debated It is generally believed in Germany that Bahramov made a mistake The goal has entered the German vernacular as any situation in which a ball hits the crossbar and is reflected downwards landing just before or behind the goal line before spinning back into the penalty area is described as a Wembley Tor In England many newspapers referred to the Russian linesman who awarded the goal as Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union at the time and the nickname stuck to the point where his real name was all but forgotten citation needed According to the Laws of the Game for a goal to be awarded the ball must cross the goal line with its full diameter behind the full width of the line German players claimed to have seen chalk dust which would indicate it was not a goal Roger Hunt claimed to have seen the ball bounce behind the line citation needed When Bahramov wrote his memoirs he stated that he believed the ball had bounced back not from the crossbar but from the net so the further movement of the ball was already insignificant and not visible for him either Bahramov loved refereeing and the game of football in general and described football matches as duels full of unforeseen turns and even real miracles And who does not want to be a magician if even for just 90 minutes 10 Legacy Edit After his death in 1993 the national stadium of Azerbaijan was renamed the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium The Azerbaijan national stadium in Baku is named the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium in his honour It was renamed in 1993 shortly after Azeri independence and Bahramov s death having previously been named after the Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin citation needed When England were drawn in the same group as Azerbaijan in qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup a ceremony was held prior to the meeting at the stadium to honor his memory with attendees including Geoff Hurst Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter A statue monument of him was also unveiled at the ceremony and he became the first referee to have a stadium named after him 11 12 During the same visit his son Bahram Bahramov met representatives of the English fans and expressed his pleasure that the famous Russian linesman of 1966 had finally regained his true nationality Now that Azerbaijan is independent it s very right for him to be remembered as a member of the Azeri nation People like Tofiq Bahramov are only born once in a hundred years 13 See also EditGhost goal 1966 FIFA World Cup Final Tofiq Bahramov Republican StadiumReferences Edit Photo of gravestone inscription Tofiq Behramovun yubileyi qeyd olunub fotolar in Azerbaijani Azerbaijan Football Association Archived from the original on 8 September 2015 The Russian linesman Archived 28 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine Top 10 Times Referees Trumped Sport by www realclearsports com Baku memorial for 1966 linesman BBC 13 October 2004 Tofiq Bahramov the Russian linesman http eastofelveden wordpress com Syn Tofika Bahramova rasskazal o svoem otce Intervyu Azerifootball com in Russian Retrieved 16 April 2013 England vs Uruguay 11 July 1966 Soccerway Retrieved 7 September 2015 Azerbaijan T Bakhramov Soccerway Retrieved 7 September 2015 1971 72 UEFA Cup UEFA Retrieved 1 July 2014 Tofiq Behramovun xatiresi eziz tutulur in Azerbaijani Baku Celebrates its Wembley Hero Abidesi olan ilk hakim Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine in Azerbaijani Tofiq Behramovun anadan olmasindan 78 il kecir permanent dead link in Azerbaijani Azerbaijan v England article by Chris Hunt published in Football First newspaper 17 October 2004External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tofiq Bahramov BBC Baku memorial for 1966 linesman IWPR Baku Celebrates its Wembley Hero Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tofiq Bahramov amp oldid 1120601325, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
