WORLD CUP STORIES: HOW TO MAKE A REFEREE CHANGE HIS MIND

Not happy with a referring decision that has gone against your country in a key World Cup match? Your opponents have just scored a goal but you don't think it was legitimate? Wanna make the ref change his mind? It's easy really - here's how you do it:

Along with your team mates, pretend that you mistook a loud whistle from the crowd as the ref blowing up and complain that that's why you all stopped playing. Complain long and hard - at least long enough to give the President of your country's Football Association time to come down out of the stands and order you all to leave the pitch in protest. Oh, and history definitely suggests that your cause will be helped if your FA President happens to be a powerful Sheikh from a oil-rich Arab state.

That's exactly what happened in a match from Group 4 at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. France were comfortably beating Kuwait 3-1 when midfielder Alain Giresse - appearing to be in an offside position - added a fourth goal. The Kuwaiti players had stopped playing believing that the ref had blown his whistle, and were incredulous when he pointed to the centre circle indicating a goal. Enter fist-shaking and finger-wagging Fahid Al-Ahmed Al-Sabeh - who also happened to be brother of the Kuwaiti Emir. His antics eventually worked (following a 15-minute delay!) and the Soviet ref, Miroslav Stupar, reversed his decision to the obvious fury of the French. Les Bleus did score a fourth goal a moment later that did stand, though, and the game finished 4-1. The incident remains one of the most farcical in World Cup history.

The fallout? Fairly predictable! Stupar lost all credibility as a referee and sheikh Al-Sabah got fined $10,000.