Swissair Flight 111

Swissair Flight 111 (SR111/SWR111) was a scheduled international passenger flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, United States, to Cointrin Airport in Geneva, Switzerland. The flight was also a codeshare flight with Delta Air Lines. On 2 September 1998, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 performing this flight, registration HB-IWF, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Halifax Stanfield International Airport at the entrance to St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia. The crash site was 8 kilometres (5 mi; 4 nmi) from shore, roughly equidistant from the small fishing and tourist communities of Peggy's Cove and Bayswater. All 229 passengers and crew on board the MD-11 were killed, making the crash the deadliest accident in the history of Swissair and the deadliest accident involving the McDonnell Douglas MD-11. It is also the second-deadliest aviation accident to occur in Canada, behind Arrow Air Flight 1285R.

The search and rescue response, crash recovery operation, and investigation by the Government of Canada took more than four years and cost CA\$57 million. The investigation carried out by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) concluded that flammable material used in the aircraft's structure allowed a fire to spread beyond the control of the crew, resulting in the crash of the aircraft. Several wide-ranging recommendations were made which were incorporated into newer US Federal Aviation Administration standards.

Swissair Flight 111 was one of the two ill-fated flights known as the "UN shuttle" (the other being Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in 2019) because of its popularity with United Nations officials traveling between the organization's two biggest centers.

## Aircraft and crew

The aircraft, a seven-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-11, serial number 48448, registration HB-IWF, was manufactured in 1991, and Swissair was its only operator. It bore the title of Vaud, in honor of the Swiss canton of the same name. The cabin was configured with 241 passenger seats. First and business class seats were equipped with in-seat in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems from Interactive Flight Technologies. The aircraft was powered by three Pratt & Whitney PW4462 turbofan engines and had logged over 36,000 hours before the crash.

The in-flight entertainment system was the first of its kind equipped on the plane. It allowed the first and business class passengers to browse the World Wide Web, select their own movies and games, and gamble. The system was installed in business class one year before the incident, between 21 August and 9 September 1997. It was installed in first class five months later, in February 1998, due to delivery delays.

The pilot-in-command was 49-year-old Urs Zimmermann. At the time of the accident, he had approximately 10,800 hours of total flying time, of which 900 hours were in an MD-11. He was also an instructor pilot for the MD-11. Before his career with Swissair, he was a fighter pilot in the Swiss Air Force from 1966 to 1970. Zimmermann was described as a friendly person with professional skills, who always worked with exactness and precision. Zimmermann was due to turn 50 the day after the accident.

The first officer, 36-year-old Stefan Löw, had approximately 4,800 hours of total flying time, including 230 hours on the MD-11. He was an instructor on the MD-80 and A320. From 1982 to 1990, he had been a pilot in the Swiss Air Force. The cabin crew comprised a maître de cabine (purser) and eleven flight attendants. All crew members on board Swissair Flight 111 were qualified, certified, and trained in accordance with Swiss regulations under the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA).

## Flight timeline

The flight took off from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport at 20:18 EDT (00:18 UTC) on 2 September. From 20:33 – 20:47 EDT (00:33 to 00:47 UTC), the aircraft experienced a radio blackout for approximately thirteen minutes, which was later found to be caused by communication radio tuning errors.

At 22:10 AT (01:10 UTC, 52 minutes after takeoff), while flying over Yarmouth, the flight crew detected an odour in the cockpit and determined it to be smoke from the air conditioning system. Four minutes later, the odour returned and smoke became visible, prompting the pilots to make a "pan-pan" radio call to Moncton air traffic control, the area control center (ACC) station in charge of air traffic over the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The pan-pan call indicated that there was an urgency due to smoke in the cockpit but did not declare an emergency as denoted by a "mayday" call. The crew requested a diversion to Boston (234 nautical miles (433 km; 269 mi) away) before accepting Moncton ATC's offer of radar vectors to the closer Halifax International Airport in Enfield, Nova Scotia, 66 nautical miles (76 mi; 122 km) away.

At 22:18 AT (01:18 UTC), Moncton Centre handed over traffic control of the plane to Halifax terminal air traffic control, the ATC station in charge of controlling traffic in and out of Halifax International Airport. Upon being advised by Halifax ATC that they were 30 nautical miles (35 mi; 55 km) from the airport, the crew requested more flight distance to allow the aircraft to descend safely from its altitude of 21,000 feet (6,400 m) at the time. The crew then requested to dump fuel to reduce their weight for landing. Halifax thus vectored the plane south toward St. Margaret's Bay where it was safe for the aircraft to dump fuel while remaining within 40 nautical miles (45 mi; 75 km) of the airport.

In accordance with the Swissair checklist "In case of smoke of unknown origin", the crew shut off power to the cabin, which also turned off the recirculating fans in the cabin's ceiling. This allowed the fire to spread to the cockpit, eventually shutting off power to the aircraft's autopilot. At 22:24:28 AT (01:24:28 UTC), the crew informed Halifax that "we now must fly manually", followed by declaring an emergency. Ten seconds later, the crew declared an emergency again, saying "...and we are declaring emergency now, Swissair one eleven"; this was the last transmission received from Flight 111.

The aircraft flight data recorder stopped operating at 22:25:40 AT (01:25:40 UTC), followed one second later by the cockpit voice recorder. The aircraft's transponder briefly resumed transmission of secondary radar returns from 22:25:50 to 22:26:04 AT (01:25:50 to 01:26:04 UTC), at which time the aircraft's altitude was 9,700 feet (3,000 m). After this, the aircraft could only be tracked through primary radar, which does not provide altitude information.

At 22:31:18 AT (01:31:18 UTC), the aircraft struck the ocean at an estimated speed of 345 miles per hour (555 km/h; 154 m/s; 300 kn). The collision with the water decelerated the aircraft with approximately 350 g, causing it to disintegrate instantly. The location of the crash was identified as approximately 44°24′33′′N 63°58′25′′W.

## Victims

There were 132 American (including one employee each from Delta Air Lines and United Airlines), 41 Swiss (including the 13 crew members), 30 French, three British, four Canadian, three Italian, two Greek, two Lebanese, one each from Afghanistan, China, Germany, India, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, St. Kitts and Nevis, Mexico, Sweden, and Yugoslavia, and four other passengers on board.

Epidemiologists Jonathan Mann and Mary Lou Clements-Mann, both prominent researchers of HIV/AIDS and a married couple, died in the crash.

Joseph LaMotta, son of boxing legend Jake LaMotta, also perished in the crash. The LaMotta family later sued the airline for his death.

## Post-crash response

### Search and rescue operation

The search and rescue (SAR) operation was code-named Operation Persistence and was launched immediately by Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax (JRCC Halifax), which tasked the Air Command, Maritime Command and Land Force Command of the Canadian Forces (CF), Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) and Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (CCGA) resources.

The first rescue resources to approach the crash site were CCGA volunteer units, which were mostly privately owned fishing boats operating from Peggy's Cove and Bayswater, as well as other harbours on St. Margaret's Bay and the Aspotogan Peninsula. They were soon joined by the dedicated CCG SAR vessel, CCGS Sambro; CH-124 Sea King helicopters, flown from CFB Shearwater by crews from 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron (MHS) and 406 Maritime Operational Training Squadron (MOTS); and CH-113 Labrador SAR helicopters flown from CFB Greenwood by the 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron (TRS). and CP-140 Aurora aircraft from CFB Greenwood from 405 Long Range Patrol Squadron.

The crash site's proximity to Halifax placed it within one hour's sailing time of ships docked at Canada's largest naval base, CFB Halifax, and one of the largest CCG bases in Canada, the CCG Regional Headquarters in Dartmouth. Calls went out immediately and ships sailed directly to St. Margaret's Bay.

The provincial ambulance service, Emergency Health Services (EHS), received word of the crash at 22:39 AT, and ordered 21 emergency units from Halifax, the South Shore, and the Annapolis Valley to respond. An EHS helicopter was also sent to the crash site, and the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax was put on emergency alert. The emergency health services were stood down around 3:30 AT the next morning, as expectations of finding survivors diminished.

The land search, including shoreline searching, was the responsibility of Halifax Regional Search and Rescue. The organization was responsible for all ground operations including military operations and other ground search and rescue teams.

### Search and recovery operation

By the afternoon of 3 September, it was apparent that there were no survivors from the crash and JRCC Halifax de-tasked dedicated SAR assets (CCGS Sambro and the CH-113 Labrador helicopters). The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were given overall command of the recovery operation, with HMCS Preserver remaining on-scene commander.

The aircraft broke up on impact with the water and most of the debris sank to the ocean floor (a depth of 55 m, 180 ft). Some debris was found floating in the crash area and over the following weeks debris washed up on the nearby shorelines.

The initial focus of the recovery was on finding and identifying human remains and on recovering the flight recorders. As the force of impact was "in the order of at least 350 g", the aircraft was fragmented and the environmental conditions only allowed the recovery of human remains along with the aircraft wreckage. Only one of the victims was visually identifiable. Eventually, 147 were identified by fingerprint, dental records, and X-ray comparisons. The remaining 81 were identified through DNA tests.

With CAF divers (navy clearance divers, port inspection divers, ship's team divers, and Army combat divers) working on the recovery, a request was made by the Government of Canada to the Government of the United States for a larger dedicated salvage recovery vessel. USS Grapple was tasked to the recovery effort, arriving from Philadelphia on 9 September. Among Grapple's crew were 32 salvage divers. Additionally, the USS Grapple welcomed two teams of Canadian Navy Clearance Divers that flew across Canada from Fleet Diving Unit (FDU) Pacific.

The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) were found by the submarine HMCS Okanagan using sonar to detect the underwater locator beacon signals and were quickly retrieved by Canadian Navy divers (the FDR on 6 September and the CVR on 11 September 1998). Both had stopped recording when the aircraft lost electrical power at approximately 10,000 ft (3,000 m), 5 minutes and 37 seconds before impact.

The recovery operation was guided by the TSB with resources from the Canadian Forces, Canadian Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and other agencies. The area was surveyed using route survey sonar, laser line scanners, and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to locate items. After being located, the debris was then recovered (initially by divers and ROVs, later by dredging and trawling).

On 2 October 1998, the TSB initiated a heavy lift operation to retrieve the major portion of the wreckage from the deep water before the expected winter storms began. By 21 October, an estimated 27% of the wreckage was recovered. At that point in the investigation, the crash was generally believed to have been caused by faulty wiring in the cockpit after the IFE system started to overheat. The TSB released its preliminary report on 30 August 2000 and the final report in 2003.

The final phase of wreckage recovery employed the ship Queen of the Netherlands to dredge the remaining aircraft debris. It concluded in December 1999 with 98% of the aircraft retrieved: approximately 279,000 lb (127,000 kg) of aircraft debris and 40,000 lb (18,000 kg) of cargo.

### Response to victims' families and friends

JFK Airport used the JFK Ramada Plaza Hotel to house relatives and friends of the victims of the crash, due to the hotel's central location relative to the airport. Jerome Hauer, the head of the emergency management task force of New York City, praised the swift actions of Swissair and codeshare partner Delta Air Lines in responding to the accident; he had criticized Trans World Airlines in its response to the TWA Flight 800 crash in 1996.

## Investigation

### Identification of victims

The RCMP medical examiners positively identified most of the bodies within ten weeks of the accident. Due to extreme impact forces, only one body was identifiable by sight. DNA profiling was used to identify approximately one hundred bodies, in what has been referred to as "the largest DNA identification project ever undertaken in Canada". The RCMP contacted relatives of victims to request medical histories and dental records. They were also asked to provide blood samples for genetic matching in the DNA identification of the victims. About 90 bodies were identified by the medical examiners using dental records; owing to the large number of ante-mortem (before death) dental X-rays available to the examiners, these bodies were identified by late October 1998. Fingerprints and ante-mortem X-rays were used to identify around 30 bodies.

### Examination of wreckage

An estimated 2 million pieces of debris were recovered and brought ashore for inspection at a secure handling facility in a marine industrial park at Sheet Harbour, where small material was hand inspected by teams of RCMP officers looking for human remains, personal effects, and valuables from the aircraft's cargo hold. The material was then transported to CFB Shearwater, where it was sorted and inspected by over 350 investigators from multiple organizations and companies, including the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), the US National Transportation Safety Board, the US Federal Aviation Administration, the Swiss Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, Air Line Pilots Association, and Swissair.

As each piece of wreckage was brought in, it was carefully cleaned with fresh water, sorted, and weighed. The item was then placed in a specific area of a hangar at CFB Shearwater, based on a grid system representing the various sections of the plane. All items not considered significant to the crash were stored with similar items in large boxes. When a box was full, it was weighed and moved to a custom-built temporary structure (J-Hangar) on a discontinued runway for long-term storage. If deemed significant to the investigation, the item was documented, photographed, and kept in the active examination hangar. Particular attention was paid to any item showing heat damage, burns, or other unusual marks. The front 33 ft (10 m) of the aircraft, from the front of the cockpit to near the front of the first-class passenger cabin, was reconstructed. Information gained by this allowed investigators to determine the severity and limits of the fire damage, its possible origins, and progression.

The lack of flight recorder data for the last six minutes of the flight added significant complexity to the investigation and was a major factor in its lengthy duration. The TSB team had to reconstruct the final six minutes entirely from the physical evidence. The investigation became the largest and most expensive transport accident investigation in Canadian history, costing CA\$57 million (US\$48.5 million) over five years.

### Cockpit recordings

The cockpit voice recorder used a 1⁄4-inch (6 mm) recording tape that operated on a 30-minute loop. It therefore retained only that half-hour of the flight before the recorders failed, six minutes before the crash. The CVR recording and transcript were covered by a strict privilege under section 28 of the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act and thus were not publicly disclosed, although the air traffic control recordings are less strictly privileged: section 29 of the same act provides only that they may not be used in certain legal proceedings. The air traffic control transcripts were released within days of the crash in 1998 and the air traffic control audio was released in May 2007, following a ruling by the Federal Court of Appeal. Several key minutes of the air traffic control audio can be found on the Toronto Star web site.

In 1999, an article in The Wall Street Journal alleged that the pilots disagreed about whether to dump fuel or descend straight to Halifax. Based on internal TSB summaries of the CVR recording, the Journal claimed that co-pilot Löw suggested steps aimed at a quick landing, which were ignored or rejected by Captain Zimmermann. Swissair and Canadian investigators would not comment on the accuracy of the reporting, with a TSB spokesman deeming it "a reporter's interpretation of a summary document of what might have been" on the CVR.

### Probable cause

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada investigation identified eleven causes and contributing factors of the crash in its final report. The first and most prominent was:

> Aircraft certification standards for material flammability were inadequate in that they allowed the use of materials that could be ignited and sustain or propagate fire. Consequently, flammable material propagated a fire that started above the ceiling on the right side of the cockpit near the cockpit rear wall. The fire spread and intensified rapidly to the extent that it degraded aircraft systems and the cockpit environment, and ultimately led to the loss of control of the aircraft.

Investigators identified evidence of arcing in wiring of the in-flight entertainment network, but this did not trip the circuit breakers, which were not designed to trip on arcing. The investigation was unable to determine whether this arc was the "lead event" that was assumed to have ignited the flammable covering on MPET insulation blankets that quickly spread across other flammable materials. After the crew cut power to "non-essential" cabin systems, a reverse flow in the cockpit ventilation ducts increased the amount of smoke reaching the flight deck. By the time the crew became aware of the severity of the fire, it had become so extensive that it was impossible to address as it happened.

The rapid spread of electrical power failures led to the breakdown of key avionics systems, and the crew was soon rendered unable to control the aircraft. The pilot-in-command was forced to fly manually because he had no light by which to see his controls after the instrument lighting failed. The fuel-laden plane was above maximum landing weight so the flight crew activated dumping of fuel. The pilots lost all control and the doomed plane flew into the ocean uncommanded. Recovered fragments of the plane show that the temperature inside the cockpit became so great that aluminium parts in the flight deck ceiling had melted. The recovered standby attitude indicator and airspeed indicators showed that the aircraft struck the water at 300 knots (560 km/h; 350 mph) in a 20 degrees nose down and 110-degree bank attitude; the impact force of the aircraft crashing into the Atlantic Ocean was calculated to be 350 times the force of gravity ("g" force). Death was instantaneous for all passengers and crew due to the impact forces and deceleration.

### Safety recommendations

The TSB made nine recommendations relating to changes in aircraft materials (testing, certification, inspection, and maintenance), electrical systems, and flight data capture, as both flight recorders had stopped when they lost power six minutes before impact. General recommendations were also made regarding improvements in checklists and in fire-detection and fire-fighting equipment and training. These recommendations have led to widespread changes in Federal Aviation Administration standards, principally affecting wiring and fire hardening.

### Conspiracy and alternative theories

On October 16th 1998, the involvement of British intelligence, through the planting of a magnesium sulfate-based incendiary device in the cockpit, was posited in an article by Executive Intelligence Review in Volume 25 of the magazine. The author, Dean Andromidas, based his assertion on the fact that former MI6 agent Richard Tomlinson had been scheduled to fly on Swissair 111, which was also reported in the British tabloid News of the World and confirmed by Tomlinson himself. However, Tomlinson was detained on arrival at JFK after disembarking Swissair Flight 110 from Geneva, thereby preventing him from flying back days later on the ill-fated flight. Tomlinson had revealed British state secrets and in the months preceding the crash had threatened to reveal more. Andromidas further alleged that a key Swissair safety official involved in the investigation, upon returning to Switzerland, was banned from speaking to the press and even his superiors.

Unrelated to Andromidas, former RCMP sergeant Tom Juby, who had been part of the Swissair 111 investigation, published a book in 2017 titled "Twice as Far" where he alleged that the TSB suppressed strong evidence for the existence of an incendiary device aboard Swissair 111, such as high levels of magnesium, iron and other elements in the part of the cockpit that burned the strongest. Juby also states that a mechanic who serviced the airplane before the flight had provided fake credentials and had disappeared. Further, Juby claims he was asked by senior RCMP officials to retroactively edit his notes for the public record of the investigation so as to omit any mention of his views on the plausibility of an incendiary device having brought down the flight. Reaction to Juby's book was mostly negative. The TSB would not comment explicitly on Juby's claims, saying that it stood by the findings of its investigation. Juby's allegations were initially featured in an episode of the CBC's The Fifth Estate on September 16th 2011. Swiss television co-produced the episode, but withdrew it from being broadcast in Switzerland citing the speculative nature of Juby's conclusions.

Other alternative theories pertain to whether the pilots could have landed at Halifax had they not attempted a fuel dump procedure. It has emerged that the Swiss Federal Archives holds records, still in the 50-year statutory protection period, dating from 1998 to 1999 suggesting Swiss Federal Prosecutors had pursued a criminal investigation of possible involuntary homicide (manslaughter) related to the Swissair 111 crash, though it remains unclear who the exact target of the probe was.

## Legacy

### Lost works

Two paintings, including Le Peintre (The Painter) by Pablo Picasso, were on board the aircraft and were destroyed in the accident.

### Lawsuit

In September 1999 Swissair, Delta Air Lines, and Boeing (who had acquired McDonnell Douglas through a merger in 1997) agreed to share liability for the accident and offered the families of the passengers financial compensation. The offer was rejected in favour of a \$19.8 billion suit against Swissair and DuPont, the supplier of the Mylar insulation sheathing. A US federal court ruled against punitive damages in February 2002. The resulting compensations for one group of plaintiffs totaled over \$13 million.

### Memorials and tributes

A non-denominational memorial service was held on the grounds of East St. Margaret's Elementary School in Indian Harbour on 9 September 1998. Among those in attendance were 175 relatives of the crash victims, Swiss president Flavio Cotti, Canadian prime minister Jean Chrétien, and Nova Scotia premier Russell MacLellan. A memorial service was also held in Zürich on 11 September 1998. The following year, another memorial was held in Nova Scotia.

Two memorials to those who died in the crash were established by the Government of Nova Scotia. One is to the east of the crash site at The Whalesback, a promontory 1 kilometre (0.62 mi; 0.54 nmi) north of Peggy's Cove. The second is a more private, but much larger commemoration located west of the crash site near Bayswater Beach Provincial Park on the Aspotogan Peninsula in Bayswater. Here, the unidentified remains of the victims are interred. A fund was established to maintain the memorials and the government passed an act to recognize the memorials. Various other charitable funds were also created, including one in the name of a young victim from Louisiana, Robert Martin Maillet, which provided money for children in need, and one in the name of Robert's mother, Karen E. Maillet-Domingue (also a victim), which granted scholarships.

A further permanent memorial, albeit not publicly accessible, was created inside the operations centre at Zürich Airport where a simple plaque on the ground floor in the centre opening of a spiral staircase pays tribute to the victims.

### Aftermath and effects on the industry

The crash of Flight 111 was a severe blow to Swissair and the airline suffered even more loss following the crash, particularly as the in-flight entertainment system that was blamed for causing the accident had been installed on the aircraft to attract more passengers and was removed in order to ease the airline's financial difficulties. Swissair later went bankrupt shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001, an event that caused a significant and widespread disruption to the aviation transportation industry.

After the crash of Flight 111, the flight designator for Swissair's New York–Geneva route was changed to SR139, although the route was still operated by MD-11 aircraft. Following the bankruptcy of Swissair in 2002, their international traffic rights were passed to Crossair who began operating flights as Swiss International Air Lines, changing the flight designator for the New York–Geneva route to LX023. The MD-11 was retired from the Swiss fleet in 2004, and the flight today is operated by an Airbus A330-300.

## In popular culture

- The events of Flight 111 were featured in "Fire on Board", a Season 1 (2003) episode of the Canadian TV series Mayday (called Air Emergency and Air Disasters in the US and Air Crash Investigation in the UK and elsewhere around the world). The dramatization was broadcast in the United States with the title "Fire in the Sky". The flight was also included in a Mayday Season 6 (2007) Science of Disaster special titled "Fatal Flaw", which was called "Fatal Fix" in the United Kingdom, Australia and Asia.
- There have been several other documentaries about Flight 111: an episode of CBC's The Fifth Estate titled "The Investigation of Swissair 111"; an episode of the CBC's The Nature of Things; an episode of PBS's NOVA titled "Aircrash"; an episode of History Channel's Disasters of the Century; and an episode of National Geographic Channel's Seconds From Disaster.
- It is featured in season 1, episode 4, of the TV show Why Planes Crash, in an episode called "Fire in the Sky".
- The disaster was featured on the Swiss television channel SRF, in a dramatization called Feuer an Bord – Die Tragödie von Swissair Flug 111 (Fire on Board – The Tragedy of Swissair Flight 111).
- The Canadian poet Jacob McArthur Mooney's 2011 collection, Folk, tangentially interrogates the disaster and its effect on Nova Scotia residents.
- The Canadian poet Eleonore Schönmaier's poem from her collection Treading Fast Rivers looks at the effect of the crash on a Nova Scotia village.
- The song "TV on 10" from the 2013 album Hokey Fright by The Uncluded describes being in the company of friends (one of whom was revealed to be Blockhead) as one of them learned their mother had been onboard the flight.

## See also

- Aviation accidents and incidents
- South African Airways Flight 295 – another aviation accident which occurred due to inflight fire
- EgyptAir Flight 804 – another case of fire in the cockpit

Aviation accident in 1998

Accidents and incidents involving the McDonnell Douglas MD-11

Airliner accidents and incidents caused by in-flight fires

Airliner accidents and incidents in Canada

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1998


Jack Charlton

John Charlton OBE DL (8 May 1935 – 10 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 1996 achieving two World Cup and one European Championship appearances. He spent his entire club career with Leeds United from 1950 to 1973, helping the club to the Second Division title (1963–64), First Division title (1968–69), FA Cup (1972), League Cup (1968), Charity Shield (1969), Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (1968 and 1971), as well as one other promotion from the Second Division (1955–56) and five second-place finishes in the First Division, two FA Cup final defeats and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final defeat. His 629 league and 762 total competitive appearances are club records. He was the elder brother of former Manchester United forward Bobby Charlton, who was also one of his teammates in England's World Cup final victory. In 2006, Leeds United supporters voted Charlton into the club's greatest XI.

Called up to the England team days before his 30th birthday, Charlton went on to score six goals in 35 international games and to appear in two World Cups and one European Championship. He played in the World Cup final victory over West Germany in 1966, and also helped England to finish third in Euro 1968 and to win four British Home Championship tournaments. He was named FWA Footballer of the Year in 1967.

After retiring as a player he worked as a manager, and led Middlesbrough to the Second Division title in 1973–74, winning the Manager of the Year award in his first season as a manager. He kept Boro as a stable top-flight club before he resigned in April 1977. He took charge of Sheffield Wednesday in October 1977, and led the club to promotion out of the Third Division in 1979–80. He left the Owls in May 1983, and went on to serve Middlesbrough as caretaker-manager at the end of the 1983–84 season. He worked as Newcastle United manager for the 1984–85 season. He took charge of the Republic of Ireland national team in February 1986, and led them to their first World Cup in 1990, where they reached the quarter-finals. He also led the nation to successful qualification to Euro 1988 and the 1994 World Cup. He resigned in January 1996 and went into retirement. He was married to Pat Kemp and they had three children.

## Early life

Born into a footballing family in Ashington, Northumberland, on 8 May 1935, Charlton was initially overshadowed by his younger brother Bobby, who was taken on by Manchester United while Jack was doing his national service with the Household Cavalry. His uncles were Jack Milburn (Leeds United and Bradford City), George Milburn (Leeds United and Chesterfield), Jim Milburn (Leeds United and Bradford Park Avenue) and Stan Milburn (Chesterfield, Leicester City and Rochdale), and legendary Newcastle United and England footballer Jackie Milburn was his mother's cousin.

The economy of the village of Ashington was based entirely on coal mining, and though his family had a strong footballing pedigree, his father was a miner. The eldest of four brothers – Bobby, Gordon and Tommy – the tight finances of the family meant that all four siblings shared the same bed. His father, Bob, had no interest in football, but his mother, Cissie, played football with her children and later coached the local school's team. As a teenager she took them to watch Ashington and Newcastle United play, and Charlton remained a lifelong Newcastle supporter.

At the age of 15 he was offered a trial at Leeds United, where his uncle Jim played at left-back, but turned it down and instead joined his father in the mines. He worked in the mines for a short time but handed in his notice after finding out just how difficult and unpleasant it was to work deep underground. He applied to join the police and reconsidered the offer from Leeds United. His trial game for Leeds clashed with his police interview, and Charlton chose to play in the game; the trial was a success and he joined the ground staff at Elland Road.

> "This part of the world produced its fair share of footballers, and nobody was particularly impressed if a lad went away to play professional football. In fact we never used to say going away to play football, we just used to say 'going away'."

## Club career

Charlton played for Leeds United's youth team in the Northern Intermediate League and then for the third team in the Yorkshire League; playing in the physically demanding Yorkshire League at the age of 16 impressed the club's management, and he was soon promoted to the reserve team. Charlton was given his first professional contract when he turned 17. He made his debut on 25 April 1953 against Doncaster Rovers, taking John Charles' place at centre-half after Charles was moved up to centre-forward. It was the final Second Division game of the 1952–53 season, and ended in a 1–1 draw. He then had to serve two years' national service with the Household Cavalry, and captained the Horse Guards to victory in the Cavalry Cup in Hanover. His national service limited his contribution to Leeds, and he made only one appearance in the 1954–55 season.

Charlton returned to the first team in September 1955, and kept his place for the rest of the 1955–56 season, helping Leeds win promotion into the First Division after finishing second to Sheffield Wednesday. He was dropped in the second half of the 1956–57 campaign, partly due to his habit of partying late at night and losing focus on his football. He regained his place in the 1957–58 season, and stopped his partying lifestyle as he settled down to married life. In October 1957 he was picked to represent the English Football League in a game against the League of Ireland.

Leeds struggled after Raich Carter left the club in 1958, and Willis Edwards and then Bill Lambton took charge in the 1958–59 season as Leeds finished nine points above the relegation zone. Jack Taylor was appointed manager, and failed to keep Leeds out of the relegation zone by the end of the 1959–60 campaign. During this time Charlton began taking his coaching badges, and took part in the Football Association's coaching courses at Lilleshall.

Leeds finished just five points above the Second Division relegation zone in the 1960–61 season and Taylor resigned; his replacement, Don Revie, was promoted from the United first team, and initially he was not fond of Charlton. Revie played Charlton up front at the start of the 1961–62 season, but he soon moved him back to centre-half after he proved ineffective as a centre-forward. He became frustrated and difficult to manage, feeling in limbo playing for a club seemingly going nowhere whilst his younger brother was enjoying great success at Manchester United. Revie told Charlton that he was prepared to let him go in 1962, but never actually transfer listed him. Liverpool manager Bill Shankly failed to meet the £30,000 Leeds demanded for Charlton and though Manchester United manager Matt Busby was initially willing to pay the fee he eventually decided to instead try an untested youngster at centre-half. During these discussions Charlton refused to sign a new contract at Leeds, but felt frustrated by Busby's hesitance and so signed a new contract with Leeds whilst making a promise to Revie to be more professional in his approach.

The 1962–63 season was the beginning of a new era for Leeds United as Revie began to mould the team and the club into his own liking. In a game against Swansea Town in September, Revie dropped many senior players and played Charlton in a young new defensive line-up: Gary Sprake (goalkeeper), Paul Reaney (right-back), Norman Hunter and Charlton (centre-back), and Rod Johnson (left-back). With the exception of Johnson, this defensive line-up would remain consistent for much of the rest of the decade. Charlton took charge of the defence that day, and insisted upon a zonal marking system; Revie agreed to allow Charlton to become the key organiser in defence. Aided by new midfield signing Johnny Giles, Leeds put in a strong promotion challenge and finished fifth, before securing promotion as champions in the 1963–64 campaign, topping the table two points ahead of Sunderland. Other players that began to make their mark on the first team included Billy Bremner, Paul Madeley and Peter Lorimer.

Leeds made an immediate impact on their first season back in the top flight, however the team gained a reputation for rough play, and Charlton said in his autobiography that "the way we achieved that success made me feel uncomfortable". They went 25 games unbeaten before losing to Manchester United at Elland Road – their title race meant that the two clubs built up an intense rivalry. Leeds needed a win in their final game of the season to secure the title but could only manage a 3–3 draw with Birmingham City at St Andrew's – Charlton scored the equalising goal on 86 minutes but they could not push on for a winner. They gained some measure of revenge over Man United by beating them 1–0 in the replay of the FA Cup semi-finals. Leeds met Liverpool in the final at Wembley, and the game went into extra-time after a goalless draw. Roger Hunt opened the scoring three minutes into extra-time, but seven minutes later Charlton headed on a cross for Bremner to volley into the net for the equaliser; with seven minutes left Ian St John scored for Liverpool to win the game 2–1.

United again competed for honours in the 1965–66 season, finishing second to Liverpool in the league and reaching the semi-finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. It was the club's first season in European competition, and they beat Italian side Torino, East German club SC Leipzig, Spanish club Valencia and Hungarian outfit Újpest, before they were beaten 3–1 by Spanish side Real Zaragoza at Elland Road in a tiebreaker game following a 2–2 aggregate draw. Charlton caused controversy against Valencia after he and defender Vidagany began fighting after Vidagany kicked Charlton in an off-the-ball incident; Charlton never actually struck the Spaniard, who hid behind his teammates.

The 1966–67 season proved frustrating for United, despite the introduction of another club great in the form of Eddie Gray. Leeds finished fourth, five points behind champions Manchester United, and exited the FA Cup at the semi-finals after defeat to Chelsea. They made progress in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, beating DWS (Netherlands), Valencia, Bologna (Italy) and Kilmarnock (Scotland) to reach the final, where they were beaten 2–0 on aggregate by Yugoslavian outfit Dinamo Zagreb. At the end of the season he was named as the Footballer of the Year, succeeding his brother who had won the award the previous year. During the award ceremony he told a number of amusing stories and won a standing ovation from the crowd; this started him on a successful sideline as an after-dinner speaker.

Charlton developed a new ploy for the 1967–68 season by standing next to the goalkeeper during corners to prevent him from coming out to collect the ball; this created havoc for opposition defences and is still a frequently used tactic in the modern era. However, for the second successive season Leeds finished fourth and exited the FA Cup at the semi-finals, this time losing 1–0 to Everton at Old Trafford. They finally won major honours by beating Arsenal 1–0 in the final of the League Cup; Terry Cooper scored the only goal of the game despite allegations that Charlton pushed goalkeeper Jim Furnell in the build-up to the goal. Leeds then went on to lift the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup after beating CA Spora Luxembourg, FK Partizan (Yugoslavia), Hibernian (Scotland), Rangers (Scotland) and Dundee (Scotland) to reach the final with Hungarian club Ferencvárosi. They won 1–0 at Elland Road and drew 0–0 in Budapest to claim their first European trophy.

Charlton helped Leeds to their first ever Football League title in 1968–69, as they lost just two games to finish six points clear of second-place Liverpool. They secured the title with a goalless draw at Anfield on 28 April, and Charlton later recalled the Liverpool supporters affectionately called him "big dirty giraffe" and that manager Bill Shankly went into the Leeds dressing room after the match to tell them they were "worthy champions".

United opened the 1969–70 campaign by winning the Charity Shield with a 2–1 win over Manchester City, and went on to face realistic possibility of winning the treble – the league, FA Cup and European Cup. However they missed out on all three trophies as the games built up towards the end of the season, and the league title was the first to slip out of their hands as Everton went on to build an insurmountable lead. They then bowed out of the European Cup after a 3–1 aggregate defeat to Celtic, including a 2–1 loss at Hampden Park in front of a UEFA record crowd of 136,505. They took two replays to overcome Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals (Bremner scored the only goal in 300 minutes of football), but lost 2–1 in the replayed final to Chelsea after the original 2–2 draw, in which Charlton opened the scoring. Charlton took responsibility for Peter Osgood's goal in the replay as he was distracted from marking duties as he was trying to get revenge on a Chelsea player who had kicked him.

Charlton caused controversy early in the 1970–71 season as in an October appearance on the Tyne Tees football programme, he said he'd once had a "little black book" of names of players whom he intended to hurt or exact some form of revenge upon during his playing days. He was tried by the Football Association and was found not guilty of any wrongdoing after arguing that the press had misquoted him. He admitted that though he never actually had a book of names he had a short list of names in his head of players who had made nasty tackles on him and that he intended to put in a hard but fair challenge on those players if he got the opportunity in the course of a game. Leeds ended the season in second place yet again, as Arsenal overtook them with a late series of 1–0 wins despite Leeds beating Arsenal in the penultimate game of the season after Charlton scored the winning goal. The final tally of 64 points was a record high for a second-placed team. In the last ever season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup they beat Sarpsborg FK (Norway), Dynamo Dresden (Germany), Sparta Prague (Czechoslovakia), Vitória (Portugal) and Liverpool to secure a place in the final against Italian club Juventus. They drew 2–2 at the Stadio Olimpico and 1–1 at Elland Road to win the cup on the away goals rule. They had the opportunity to win the cup permanently, but lost 2–1 to Barcelona at Camp Nou in the trophy play-off game.

Leeds finished second in the 1971–72 season for the third successive time, this time ending up just one point behind champions Derby County after losing to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on the final day of the season. However Charlton managed to complete his list of domestic honours as Leeds beat Arsenal 1–0 in the FA Cup final; he kept Charlie George to a very quiet game as Leeds successfully defended their slender lead.

Charlton was limited to 25 appearances in the 1972–73 campaign and suffered an injury in the FA Cup semi-final against Wolves which ended his season. After failing to regain his fitness for the final, he announced his retirement. Madeley played in his place but Gordon McQueen had been signed as his long-term replacement. He played his testimonial against Celtic, and was given £28,000 of the £40,000 matchday takings.

## International career

With Charlton approaching his 30th birthday, he was called up by Alf Ramsey to play for England against Scotland at Wembley on 10 April 1965. The game ended 2–2 despite England being forced to end the game with nine men after picking up two injuries; he assisted his brother Bobby for England's first goal. Ramsey later said that he picked Charlton to play alongside Bobby Moore as he was a conservative player able to provide cover to the more skilful Moore, who could get caught out if he made a rare mistake. The defence remained relatively constant in the build up to the 1966 FIFA World Cup: Gordon Banks (goalkeeper), Ray Wilson (left-back), Charlton and Moore (centre-backs), and George Cohen (right-back). After playing in a 1–0 win over Hungary the following month, Charlton joined England for a tour of Europe as they drew 1–1 with Yugoslavia and beat West Germany 1–0 and Sweden 2–1. He played in a 0–0 draw with Wales and a 2–1 win over Northern Ireland to help England win the British Home Championship, though sandwiched between these two games was a 3–2 defeat to Austria – the first of only two occasions he was on the losing side in an England shirt. He played all nine England games in 1965, the final one being a 2–0 win over Spain at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

England opened the year of 1966 on 5 January with a 1–1 draw with Poland at Goodison Park; Ramsey's managerial ability was demonstrated during the game as the equalising goal came from Bobby Moore, who was allowed to surge forward as Charlton covered the gap he left behind in defence. Charlton played in six of the next seven international victories as England prepared for the World Cup. The run started with impressive victories over West Germany and then Scotland in front of 133,000 fans at Hampden Park. He scored his first international goal with a deflected shot on 26 June, as England recorded a 3–0 victory over Finland at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. He missed the match against Norway but returned to action with a headed goal in a 2–0 win over Denmark at Idrætsparken.

England drew 0–0 in their opening group game of the World Cup against Uruguay after the South Americans came to play for a draw. They then beat Mexico 2–0 after a "tremendous goal" from Bobby Charlton opened up the game shortly before the half-time whistle. England beat France 2–0 in the final group game, with Charlton assisting Roger Hunt after heading the ball onto the post. England eliminated Argentina in the quarter finals with a 1–0 win – their efforts were greatly aided after Argentine centre-half Antonio Rattín was sent off for dissent, after which Argentina stopped attacking the ball and concentrated of holding out for a draw with their aggressive defending. England's opponents in the semi-finals were Portugal, who had giant centre-forward José Torres to compete with Charlton for aerial balls. Late in the game Charlton gave away a penalty by sticking out a hand to stop Torres from scoring; Eusébio scored the penalty but was largely contained by Nobby Stiles, and England won the game 2–1 after two goals from Bobby Charlton.

West Germany awaited in the final at Wembley, and they took the lead through Helmut Haller on 12 minutes; Charlton felt that he could have blocked the shot but at the time he believed that Banks had it covered, though it was Wilson who was at fault for allowing Haller the chance to shoot. England came back and took the lead, but with only a few minutes left in the game Charlton gave away a free kick after fouling Uwe Seeler whilst competing for an aerial ball; Wolfgang Weber scored the equalising goal from a goalmouth scramble created from the free kick. Geoff Hurst scored two goals in extra-time to win the game 4–2.

After the World Cup England lost the annual Home Championship to Scotland after a 3–2 defeat in April 1967, Charlton scored for the second successive international game running after also finding the net against Wales the previous November. He injured his foot during the game as he broke two sesamoid bones in his big toe. As his career went on he began to miss England games with niggling injuries so as to avoid friendly games in favour of playing important matches for Leeds; Brian Labone would take his place in the England team during Charlton's absences. He was named in the squad for UEFA Euro 1968, but did not feature in either of England's games. He won five caps in 1969, helping England to a memorable 5–0 win over France and scoring in a 1–0 win over Portugal from a corner taken by his brother Bobby.

In mid-1970, Ramsey named Charlton in his squad of 22 for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. However, he favoured Labone over Charlton and only picked Charlton for his 35th and final England game in the 1–0 group win over Czechoslovakia at the Estadio Jalisco. England lost in the quarter finals to West Germany, and on the flight home, Charlton asked Ramsey not to consider him for international duty again. He had agonised over how to break the news to Ramsey, and eventually said: "Great times ... absolute privilege ... getting older ... slowing down ... not sure I am up to it any more ... time to step down." Ramsey listened, then agreed with him: "Yes, I had reached that conclusion myself."

## Managerial career

### Middlesbrough

Charlton was offered the job as manager of Second Division club Middlesbrough on his 38th birthday in 1973. He declined to be interviewed for the position, and instead handed the club a list of responsibilities he expected to take, which if agreed to would give him total control of the running of the club. He refused a contract, and would never sign a contract throughout his managerial career. He took a salary of £10,000 a year despite the chairman being willing to pay a lot more; his only stipulations were a gentleman's agreement that he would not be sacked, assurances that he would have no interference from the board in team affairs, and three days off a week for fishing and shooting. He decided to first repaint Ayresome Park and to publicise the upcoming league campaign so as to generate higher attendance figures.

Charlton took advice from Celtic manager Jock Stein, who allowed him to sign right-sided midfielder Bobby Murdoch on a free transfer. Besides Murdoch the club already had ten players who Charlton moulded into a championship winning side: Jim Platt (goalkeeper), John Craggs (right-back), Stuart Boam and Willie Maddren (centre-backs), Frank Spraggon (left-back), David Armstrong (left midfield), Graeme Souness (central midfield), Alan Foggon (attacking midfield), John Hickton and David Mills (forwards). Some of these players were already settled at the club and in their positions, whilst Charlton had to work with some of the other players. He moved Souness from left midfield to central midfield to compensate for his lack of pace and coached him to play the ball forward rather than side to side as was his instinct. Foggon was played in a new role which Charlton created to break the offside trap set by opposition defenders, an extremely fast player he was instructed to run behind defenders and latch on to the long ball to find himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

Middlesbrough secured promotion with seven games still to play of the 1973–74 season, and Charlton actually told his team to settle for a point away at Luton Town so they could win the title at home but his players ignored his instruction to concede a goal and the title was secured with a 1–0 win at Kenilworth Road. They won the title by a 15-point margin (at the time only two points were awarded for a win); in contrast promoted Carlisle United (3rd) finished only 15 points ahead of Crystal Palace (20th), who were relegated. He was named Manager of the Year, the first time that a manager outside of the top-flight had been given such an honour.

He continued to manage and change every aspect of the club, and took the decision to disassemble the club's scouting network to instead focus on local talent in Northumberland and Durham. His only major new signing of the 1974–75 season was Terry Cooper, a former Leeds United teammate. They adapted well to the First Division, finishing in seventh place, but would have finished fourth and qualified for Europe had Derby County not scored a last second goal against them on the last day of the season.

Building for the 1975–76 campaign he signed Phil Boersma from Liverpool to replace Murdoch, but Boersma never settled at the club and was frequently injured. They finished in 13th place, and went on to win the Anglo-Scottish Cup with a 1–0 win over Fulham. They also reached the semi-finals of the League Cup, and took a 1–0 lead over Manchester City into the second leg at Maine Road, where they were soundly beaten 4–0. However teams had begun to learn how to combat Charlton's attack strategy and left their centre-backs on the outside of the penalty box to neutralise the threat of Foggon. Despite the team's steady progress the club's board voted to sack Charlton in July 1976 after becoming increasingly concerned that he was overstepping his authority in negotiating business deals on behalf of the club and choosing the club's strip. However, the club chairman overruled the decision and Charlton remained in charge.

With Hickton coming to the end of his career Charlton tried to sign David Cross as a replacement but refused to go above £80,000 and Cross instead went to West Ham United for £120,000. Middlesbrough finished the 1976–77 campaign in 12th place and Charlton left the club at the end of the season on the belief that four years was an optimum time with one group of players and that he had reached his peak with them – he later regretted his decision and stated that he could have led the club to a league title if he had stayed and signed two more top quality players. He applied for the job of England manager after Don Revie quit the role and after Brian Clough was ruled out by the Football Association but did not receive a reply to his application, and he vowed never to apply for another job again and instead wait until he was approached.

### Sheffield Wednesday

In October 1977, he replaced Len Ashurst as manager at Sheffield Wednesday, who were then bottom of the Third Division. He appointed as his assistant Maurice Setters, who had experience managing at that level but had effectively ruled himself out of another management job after taking Doncaster Rovers to court for unfair dismissal. The two agreed that while the standard of football in the division was low the work rates were high and so the best way to make progress would be to play long balls into the opposition penalty area whilst recruiting big defenders to avoid being caught out by opposition teams with similar tactics. He took the "Owls" to mid-table safety with a 14th-place finish in the 1977–78 season, though they did suffer embarrassment by being knocked out of the FA Cup by Northern Premier League side Wigan Athletic.

His priority in summer 1978 was to find a target man for Tommy Tynan to play alongside and he found it in Andrew McCulloch, who arrived from Brentford for a £70,000 fee. He signed Terry Curran as a winger but eventually moved him up front to play alongside McCulloch. He sold goalkeeper Chris Turner to Sunderland and replaced him with the bigger Bob Bolder. He further raised the average height of the team by signing uncompromising centre-half Mick Pickering from Southampton. The team failed to advance in the league, finishing the 1978–79 season again in 14th spot. They did make their mark on the FA Cup in the Third Round by taking eventual winners Arsenal to four replays before they eventually succumbed to a 2–0 defeat.

Charlton's major acquisition for the 1979–80 campaign was signing Yugoslavia international midfielder Ante Miročević for a £200,0000 fee from FK Budućnost Podgorica. Miročević proved unable to handle the British winter but otherwise added flair to the team in fairer weather. Wednesday went on to secure promotion with a third-place finish and Curran finished as the division's top-scorer.

As the 1980–81 season came around Wednesday had young talent such as Mark Smith, Kevin Taylor, Peter Shirtliff and Mel Sterland breaking into the first team. The club were comfortable in the Second Division, finishing in tenth position.

Wednesday pushed for promotion in the 1981–82 season but ended just one place and one point outside the promotion places and would have actually been promoted under the old two points for a win system that was replaced by the three points for a win system at the beginning of the campaign.

In building for the 1982–83 campaign, Charlton signed experienced defender Mick Lyons from Everton and by Christmas Wednesday were top of the table. The club had a limited squad and successful cup runs took their toll, as did injuries to McCulloch and Brian Hornsby as they drifted down to sixth place by the close of the season. They reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing 2–1 to Brighton & Hove Albion at Highbury with key defender Ian Bailey out with a broken leg sustained the previous week. Charlton announced his departure from Hillsborough in May 1983 despite pleas from the directors for him to stay.

In March 1984, Malcolm Allison left Middlesbrough and Charlton agreed to manage the club until the end of the 1983–84 to help steer the club away from the Second Division relegation zone. He was unpaid except for expenses and only took the job as a favour to his friend Mike McCullagh, who was the club's chairman. Middlesbrough ended the season in 17th place, seven points clear of the relegation zone.

### Newcastle United

Charlton was appointed manager of Newcastle United in June 1984 after being persuaded to take the job by Jackie Milburn. Arthur Cox had left the club after leading the "Magpies" to the First Division and key player Kevin Keegan announced his retirement. His first action was to release Terry McDermott from his contract, who refused to agree to Charlton's offer of a new contract. He had little money to spend in preparation for the 1984–85 season, though he did have young talents in Chris Waddle and Peter Beardsley. He signed midfielder Gary Megson and big striker George Reilly. The "Toon" finished safely in 14th place, and a teenage Paul Gascoigne was on the verge of breaking into the first team.

Charlton resigned at the end of pre-season training for the 1985–86 campaign after fans at St James' Park started calling for his dismissal after the club failed to secure the signing of Eric Gates, who instead joined Lawrie McMenemy at Sunderland.

### Republic of Ireland

Charlton was approached by the FAI to manage the Republic of Ireland in December 1985. His first game in charge was on 26 March 1986 against Wales at Lansdowne Road which ended in a 1–0 defeat. In May 1986, Ireland won the Iceland Triangular Tournament at Laugardalsvöllur, in Iceland's capital of Reykjavík, with a 2–1 victory over Iceland and a 1–0 win over Czechoslovakia. By this time Charlton had developed his tactics, which were based on the traditional British 4–4–2 system, as opposed to the continental approach of using deep-lying midfielders, as he noted that most of the Ireland international players plied their trade in England. Crucially he instructed all members of his team to pressure opposition players and in particular force ball-playing defenders into mistakes.

#### Euro 1988

Qualification for Euro 1988 meant winning a group containing Belgium, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Scotland. The campaign opened with Belgium at the Heysel Stadium, and though Ireland contained danger man Nico Claesen, they had to settle for a 2–2 draw after conceding twice from corner-kicks; Frank Stapleton and Liam Brady scored the goals for Ireland. They then dominated Scotland at Lansdowne Road, but failed to find the net and instead drew 0–0. In the return fixture at Hampden Park Mark Lawrenson scored an early goal and another clean sheet won the Irish their first win of qualification. The campaign faltered with a 2–1 loss in Bulgaria, though Charlton was furious with referee Carlos Silva Valente as he felt that both of Lachezar Tanev's goals should not have counted as Nasko Sirakov allegedly pushed Mick McCarthy in the build-up to the first and he felt that Sirakov was outside the penalty box when he was fouled by Kevin Moran – Valente instead gave a penalty. They picked up another point after a 0–0 draw with Belgium in Dublin. Despite not particularly impressing, Ireland then picked up six points with two victories over Luxembourg. They ended the campaign with a 2–0 home win over Bulgaria, Paul McGrath and Kevin Moran the scorers, though Liam Brady (an ever-present in qualification) picked up a two match suspension after lashing out late in the game after being repeatedly kicked by Bulgarian midfielder Ayan Sadakov. Despite the victory the Irish had to rely on a favour from the Scots in order to qualify, who duly obliged with a 1–0 victory, courtesy of Gary Mackay – a substitute earning his first cap – in Sofia to keep Bulgaria one point behind Ireland in the table.

The build up to Euro 1988 in West Germany was far from ideal, as key player Mark Lawrenson was forced to retire after injuring his Achilles tendon, Liam Brady picked up a serious knee injury and Mark Kelly was also injured. The first match of the tournament was against England at the Neckarstadion, and Charlton reasoned that the threat posed by English wingers Chris Waddle and John Barnes could be nullified by allowing the English defence to feel comfortable on the ball without allowing them a pass; this made the build-up play slow and containable. His game-plan worked and Ireland claimed a 1–0 win after Ray Houghton secured an early lead. He then compensated for a series of injuries by playing Ronnie Whelan and Kevin Sheedy in central midfield, and was rewarded with a great performance and a good point in a 1–1 draw with the Soviet Union at the Niedersachsenstadion, Whelan scoring the goal. To qualify they only needed a point against the Netherlands at the Parkstadion, and Charlton devised a time-wasting plan with goalkeeper Packie Bonner that he was forced to abandon after referee Horst Brummeier was less than impressed. Ireland lost the game 1–0 after Wim Kieft scored an 82nd-minute goal. England and Ireland were eliminated while Netherlands and the Soviet Union qualified – both teams would go on to contest the final, which the Dutch won 2–0.

#### 1990 World Cup

Qualification for the 1990 World Cup required Charlton to mastermind a top two finish in a group consisting of Spain, Hungary, Northern Ireland and Malta. The campaign started on hostile ground at Belfast's Windsor Park, and he had stand-in goalkeeper Gerry Peyton to thank for the point gained from a goalless draw with Northern Ireland. A series of injuries left only a skeleton squad to face Spain at the Estadio Benito Villamarín, leaving a recall for defender David O'Leary, and Ireland were well beaten 2–0. They then left Budapest's Népstadion with a point from another goalless draw, though they were criticised for not taking all two points after dominating the game. The next four fixtures would be played at Lansdowne Road, and all four games ended in victory. First they beat Spain 1–0 after an own goal from Míchel, then they overcame Malta and Hungary with 2–0 wins, before beating Northern Ireland 3–0. Qualification for Ireland's first World Cup was assured at the Ta' Qali National Stadium after John Aldridge scored both goals in another 2–0 victory.

Ireland's group opponents in Italia '90 were England, Egypt and the Netherlands. Charlton felt that England's four-man midfield of Waddle, Barnes, Bryan Robson and Paul Gascoigne did not offer enough protection to the back four, and he was proved correct when Kevin Sheedy cancelled out Gary Lineker's opener to secure a 1–1 draw in the group opener at the Stadio Sant'Elia. A poor performance against a negative Egyptian side at the Stadio La Favorita meant that neither side scored a goal in a dour draw. They ended the group with a 1–1 draw with the Dutch, Niall Quinn cancelling out Ruud Gullit's opener in the 71st minute, after which both sides settled for a stalemate as a draw meant that both qualified ahead of Egypt. Ireland then defeated Romania in the Second Round match at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris which went to penalties after a 0–0 draw, before the whole team had a meeting with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.

One of the most iconic moments from Ireland's unexpected success in Italia 90, (the 1990 FIFA World Cup), took place at Walkinstown roundabout, Dublin on 25 June 1990 after Ireland beat Romania on penalties. Crowds emerged from the nearby public houses of the Kestrel and Cherry Tree and invaded the roundabout to celebrate the win. Amateur footage of the joyous scenes became synonymous with Ireland's success that year and epitomised the sense of hope which prevailed throughout the country, especially after a decade of economic recession. After Charlton passed away in 2020, fans gathered at the roundabout to recreate the moment and pay their respects to the past manager.

Ireland eventually went out to the host country, Italy, 1–0 in the quarter-finals at the Stadio Olimpico. A lapse of concentration meant that Italy's Salvatore Schillaci scored on 38 minutes, and Ireland failed to build up enough chances to find the equalising goal. After returning to Dublin over 500,000 people turned out to welcome the team back.

#### Euro 1992 qualifying

Qualification for Euro 92 in Sweden left Ireland facing a group of England, Poland and Turkey. They opened in style with a 5–0 home win over the Turks and then drew 1–1 home and away with the English; Ireland were the better team than England in both encounters and Charlton said that they "twice let them off the hook" after Houghton missed easy chances in both games. A 0–0 draw at home with Poland followed, and they were then leading 3–1 in the return fixture in Poznań but conceded two late goals to end the match at 3–3. Ireland beat Turkey 3–1 in Istanbul despite the intimidating atmosphere of the İnönü Stadium, but were denied a place in the tournament as England scored a late equalizing goal in Poland to secure the point that would take them above Ireland in the group.

#### 1994 World Cup

To qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the US, Ireland had to finish first or second in a seven team group of Spain, Denmark, Northern Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Albania. Lithuania, Latvia and Albania proved to be little threat to the Irish, and both home and away fixtures against these three teams earned Ireland the maximum two points. The two most difficult fixtures – Denmark and Spain away – ended in goalless draws, and John Aldridge had a goal disallowed for offside against the Spanish which even Spain manager Javier Clemente said should have stood. Ireland then beat Northern Ireland 3–0 at home before settling for a 1–1 draw with Denmark. The qualification campaign was then derailed in the opening 26 minutes of the home tie with Spain as the Spanish took a three-goal lead; the game ended 3–1, with John Sheridan's late consolation eventually proving crucial at the end of the campaign. The final game was in Belfast against Northern Ireland during a tense period of The Troubles. Jimmy Quinn put Northern Ireland into the lead on 74 minutes, but four minutes later Alan McLoughlin scored the equalising goal to allow the Republic of Ireland to secure second place in the group due to their superior goals scored tally over Denmark. When Quinn scored Northern Ireland assistant manager Jimmy Nicholl shouted "Up yours!" to his counterpart Maurice Setters (Charlton's assistant); in response to this Charlton approached Northern Ireland manager Billy Bingham at the final whistle and told him "Up yours too, Billy".

In the build up to the World Cup Charlton gave out first caps to Gary Kelly, Phil Babb and Jason McAteer; he had difficulty convincing McAteer to join Ireland as he first had to turn down an approach by the FA to play for the England under-21s. He scheduled difficult matches before the tournament and Ireland picked up positive results by beating both the Netherlands and Germany away from home. Ireland opened the group stage of the tournament by beating Italy 1–0 at the Giants Stadium, Ray Houghton scoring the winning goal on 11 minutes. They then fell to a 2–1 defeat to Mexico at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, during which Charlton had a pitch-side argument with an official who was preventing substitute John Aldridge (who went on to score the consolation goal) from taking the pitch minutes after his teammate Tommy Coyne had left the pitch and sat down on the bench. For his arguing, Charlton was suspended by FIFA for the final group game against Norway, and had to watch from the commentary box as Ireland qualified with a 0–0 draw. They faced the Netherlands in the Round of 16; Dennis Bergkamp put the Dutch ahead on 11 minutes after Marc Overmars took advantage of a mistake by Terry Phelan, and Wim Jonk scored the second and final goal of the game from 30 yards after Packie Bonner fluffed an otherwise routine save. For his achievements Charlton was awarded the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 1994 by Lord Mayor Tomás Mac Giolla, the first Englishman to be given the honour since 1854.

#### Euro 1996 qualifying

Ireland failed to qualify for Euro 96, despite a strong start to the group, when they won their opening three games, including a 4–0 win against Northern Ireland. The Republic's next game was also against Northern Ireland, although the result was a 1–1 draw. From that point onwards the Republic stuttered badly as injuries struck down key players Roy Keane, Andy Townsend, John Sheridan and Steve Staunton. After beating the highly fancied Portugal, the Irish then endured an embarrassing 0–0 draw to Liechtenstein (this was Liechtenstein's only point in their ten matches), before losing twice to Austria, on both occasions by three goals to one. Although they defeated Latvia, Ireland needed to beat Portugal in Lisbon to qualify outright, but lost 3–0. They finished second in the group, ahead of Northern Ireland on goal difference, but as the worst performing runners-up they had to win a play-off game at Anfield against the Netherlands; Ireland lost 2–0 after a brace from Patrick Kluivert. Charlton resigned shortly after the game.

> "In my heart of hearts, I knew I'd wrung as much as I could out of the squad I'd got – that some of my older players had given me all they had to give."

## Personal life

Charlton married Pat Kemp on 6 January 1958, and his brother Bobby acted as his best man. They had three children: John (born in January 1959), Deborah (born 1961) and Peter, who was born just after Charlton senior played in the 1966 World Cup final. During the 1960s he ran two clothes shops in Leeds, and he also later operated the club shop at Elland Road. Charlton was a keen amateur fisherman and took part in field sports. Politically, Charlton was a socialist. He was a founding supporter of the Anti-Nazi League. Along with his wife, he was a supporter of the UK miners' strike of 1984-85, and lent two of his cars to striking miners for travelling to pickets. He appeared on Desert Island Discs in 1972 and 1996, and chose to take with him The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, the Encyclopaedia of How to Survive, a spyglass, and a fishing rod. Charlton was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1973 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.

He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1974 Birthday Honours. In 1996, he was awarded honorary Irish citizenship. The honour amounts to full Irish citizenship; it is the highest honour the Irish state gives and is rarely granted. In 1994, he was made a Freeman of the city of Dublin, and was given an Honorary degree of Doctor of Science (D.Sc) by the University of Limerick on 9 September 1994. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad in 2020. In 1997, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Northumberland. Charlton was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of his contribution to the English game. There is a life-size statue of him at Cork Airport in Ireland, representing him sitting in his fishing gear and displaying a salmon. On 4 December 2019, he was made a Freeman of the City of Leeds along with the other members of the Revie team of the 1960s and 1970s, but was unable to attend the ceremony.

He revealed in his 1996 autobiography that he had a strained relationship with his brother Bobby. Jack felt Bobby began to drift away from the Charlton family following his marriage to Norma, who did not get along with their mother. Bobby did not see his mother after 1992 until her death on 25 March 1996 as a result of the feud, though he and Norma did attend her funeral. Though the two brothers remained distant, Jack presented Bobby with his BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award on 14 December 2008.

### Death

Charlton died at his home in Ashington Northumberland on 10 July 2020 at the age of 85 after suffering from lymphoma and dementia. The following day his former club Leeds United won 1-0 over Swansea City with a last minute winner; the goalscorer Pablo Hernández dedicated his goal to Charlton.

On 20 July, ten days after his death, Irish fans gathered at Walkinstown roundabout in Dublin to recreate the highwater mark of Ireland's success at the 1990 World Cup under Charlton and to pay their respects. Put 'Em Under Pressure, the official song of the Republic of Ireland national football team's 1990 campaign, (which features soundbites of Charlton uttering the eponymous phrase) was played at 12:30pm synchronously with all national radio stations to remember the man who had led Ireland to their first-ever major tournament at Euro '88, as well as two World Cups in Italy (1990) and USA (1994).

Charlton became the 12th player from the 1966 FIFA World Cup squad to die, after Bobby Moore (1993), Alan Ball (2007), John Connelly (2012), Ron Springett (2015), Gerry Byrne (2015), Jimmy Armfield (2018), Ray Wilson (2018), Gordon Banks (2019), Martin Peters (2019), Peter Bonetti (2020) and Norman Hunter (2020).

## Career statistics

### Club

### International

Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Charlton goal.

### As a manager

## Honours

### Player

Leeds United

- Football League First Division: 1968–69
- Football League Second Division: 1963–64
- FA Cup: 1971–72
- Football League Cup: 1967–68
- FA Charity Shield: 1969
- Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1967–68, 1970–71

England

- British Home Championship: 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69
- FIFA World Cup: 1966
- UEFA European Championship third place: 1968

Individual

- FWA Footballer of the Year: 1967
- English Football Hall of Fame: 2005
- PFA Team of the Century (1907–1976): 2007

### Manager

Middlesbrough

- Football League Second Division: 1973–74
- Anglo-Scottish Cup: 1975–76

Sheffield Wednesday

- Football League Third Division third-place promotion: 1979–80

Republic of Ireland

- Iceland Triangular Tournament: 1986

Individual

- English Manager of the Year winner: 1974
- Philips Sports Manager of the Year: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993

## See also

- Put 'Em Under Pressure, the official song to the Republic of Ireland national football team's 1990 FIFA World Cup campaign in Italy.

English footballer and manager (1935–2020)

English Football League representative players

English expatriate sportspeople in Ireland

Men's association football central defenders

Officers of the Order of the British Empire

Republic of Ireland national football team managers


UEFA Euro 1984 final

The UEFA Euro 1984 Final was the final match of Euro 1984, the seventh European Football Championship, UEFA's top football competition for national teams. The match was played at Parc des Princes in Paris, France, on 27 June 1984 and was contested by France and Spain. France qualified for the finals as hosts of the tournament, and faced Denmark, Belgium and Yugoslavia in the group stage before a victory over Portugal in the semi-final saw them progress to their first European Championship final. Spain ended top of their qualifying group, which included a 12–1 win over Malta, and progressed to UEFA Euro 1984 Group 2. There they played Romania, Portugal and West Germany, before defeating Denmark in the semi-final on penalties.

The final was played in front of 47,368 spectators and was refereed by Vojtech Christov from Czechoslovakia. Both sides had chances to score but the first half ended goalless. In the 54th minute, Yvon Le Roux was booked for fouling Santillana. Three minutes later, France took the lead. The referee awarded a free kick after it appeared that Bernard Lacombe had been fouled on the edge of the Spain penalty area. Michel Platini's low shot curved around the wall, Spain's goalkeeper Luis Arconada fumbled it and ended up pushing it into his own net, to make it 1–0 to France. With five minutes of the match remaining, Le Roux tripped Manuel Sarabia and was sent off after being awarded a second yellow card, reducing France to ten players and becoming the first player ever to be dismissed in a European Championship final. Seconds into stoppage time, Jean Tigana's pass allowed Bruno Bellone to run through and chip the ball over Arconada as he ran off his line. The match ended moments later with France winning 2–0 to claim their first international football title.

## Background

UEFA Euro 1984 was the seventh edition of the UEFA European Football Championship, UEFA's football competition for national teams. Qualifying rounds were played on a home-and-away round-robin tournament basis prior to the final tournament taking place in France, between 12 and 27 June 1984. There, the eight qualified teams were divided into two groups of four with each team playing one another once. The winners of each group then faced the runners-up from the other group in the semi-finals, the winners progressing to the final.

In the previous international tournament, the 1982 FIFA World Cup, France were knocked out in the semi-final by West Germany after a penalty shoot-out, and lost 3–2 to Poland in the third-place play-off. Spain failed to progress past the second qualifying group stage, losing to West Germany and drawing with England. The UEFA Euro 1984 Final was the twentieth meeting between France and Spain, with ten of those matches being won by Spain, four by France and the remainder ending in a draw. They had never faced each other in a competitive game.

## Route to the final

### France

As tournament hosts, France automatically qualified for UEFA Euro 1984 Group 1 where they faced Denmark, Belgium and Yugoslavia in a round-robin tournament where each team played every other team once. France's first group match was against Denmark at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 12 June 1984. As the first half was drawing to a close, a tackle between Denmark's Allan Simonsen and Yvon Le Roux left the Danish player with a broken leg and forced his side to substitute him for John Lauridsen. Goalless at half time, the Denmark goalkeeper Ole Qvist made two separate saves from Michel Platini headers but with twelve minutes remaining, France took the lead. Ivan Nielsen's attempt to intercept a pass resulted in the ball falling to Platini whose shot from outside the Denmark penalty area deflected off Søren Busk's head and flew into the goal. In the 87th minute, Manuel Amoros reacted to fouls by both Lauridsen and Jesper Olsen, first by throwing the ball at Olsen and then headbutting him in the face: he was sent off by Volker Roth, the German referee, and the match ended 1–0.

In their second group game, France faced Belgium at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes on 16 June 1984. In warm conditions, France dominated the match with Georges Grün making a goal-line clearance in the first thirty seconds. In the fourth minute, Patrick Battiston's 30-yard (27 m) shot struck the crossbar and the ball fell to Platini who sidestepped a defender before striking it into the corner of Belgium's goal. Belgium then missed numerous chances to score: Jan Ceulemans saw his header cleared off the goal-line by Luis Fernandez, Michel De Wolf's shot hit the crossbar and Erwin Vandenbergh's header went wide of France's goal. Alain Giresse doubled France's lead in the 33rd minute, chipping the ball over Jean-Marie Pfaff, the Belgium goalkeeper, after playing a one-two with Jean Tigana. In the 44th minute, Didier Six took the ball round Pfaff and crossed it to Giresse. He passed back to Fernandez who headed it into the Belgium goal to make it 3–0 at half time. In the 74th minute, Bernard Genghini pass to Six who was fouled by Pfaff. Platini took the resulting penalty, striking it into the middle of the goal to make it 4–0. With a minute remaining, Platini completed his hat-trick with a header which went in off the goalpost from Giresse's free kick, and France won 5–0.

The final group match for France was against Yugoslavia at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne on 19 June 1984. Yugoslavia took the lead in the 31st minute after Miloš Šestić beat Tigana and Giresse, exchanged passes with Safet Sušić before striking the ball into the top corner of the France goal. Giresse's shot then hit the crossbar but the first half ended 1–0 to Yugoslavia. Thirteen minutes after the interval, Jean-Marc Ferreri dispossessed Ljubomir Radanović and passed to Platini who struck the ball under Zoran Simović, the Yugoslavia goalkeeper, to level the score. Three minutes later, Battiston's cross found Platini who scored with a diving header to give France the lead. Joël Bats then saved an attempt from Mehmed Baždarević before Platini completed his second hat-trick of the tournament when he scored with a direct free kick which looped over the wall and into the top corner of the Yugoslavia goal. With ten minutes remaining, Stjepan Deverić was fouled by Maxime Bossis in the France box and Dragan Stojković scored the resulting penalty after a retake. France won the game 3–2 to finish their qualifying group top and progressed to the semi-finals.

There they faced the runners-up of Group 2, Portugal, at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on 23 June 1984. O'Brien describes the first twenty minutes of "one of the most unforgettable internationals of all time" as "dismayingly poor". Midway through the half, Platini was fouled by Jaime Pacheco and Jean-François Domergue struck the resulting free kick from 25 yards (23 m) over the wall and into the top corner of the Portugal goal, and France held a 1–0 lead at half-time. Early in the second half, Bento made saves against Fernandez and Giresse before Fernando Chalana played the ball into the France penalty area and found Jordão who headed it past Bats to equalise in the 74th minute. Bento then made saves to deny Platini and Six and regular time ended with the score at 1–1, sending the match into extra time. Both sides had opportunities to score, but midway through the first period of additional time, Chalana played a cross to Jordão who miskicked his volley into the ground but the ball bounced over Bats and into the France goal to give Portugal a 2–1 lead. Portugal adopted a defensive approach but with six minutes remaining, Domergue scored his and France's second goal, lifting the ball over Bento after play continued despite Platini being brought down by João Pinto. In the final minute, Tigana took possession of the ball, held off João Pinto, before passing to Platini who was 6 yards (5 m) out from goal: he turned and struck the ball into the roof of the Portugal net. France won the match 3–2 and secured passage to their first European Championship final.

### Spain

Spain were drawn into group 7 of the UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying phase, where they faced the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, Iceland and Malta in a home-and-away round-robin tournament. They finished top of the group with six wins, including a 12–1 victory over Malta, one draw and one defeat, to the Netherlands. Despite being tied on points and goal difference with the Netherlands, Spain progressed having scored more goals. In UEFA Euro 1984 Group 2, they were drawn alongside Portugal, 1980 winners West Germany and Romania.

The first group game saw Spain face Romania at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne on 14 June 1984. In front of the tournament's smallest crowd of 16,972, Spain took the lead midway through the first half. Nicolae Ungureanu conceded possession to Juan Señor who passed to Ricardo Gallego. The Romania goalkeeper Silviu Lung pulled him down and Francisco Carrasco scored the resulting penalty to make it 1–0. The scores were level 13 minutes later when Marcel Coraș passed to László Bölöni who struck the ball into the near corner of Spain's goal. Mircea Rednic then shot wide from 7 yards (6 m). After a second half of limited opportunities to score, the match ended 1–1.

Spain's opponents for their second group match were Iberian rivals Portugal who they played at the Stade Vélodrome on 17 June 1984. Manuel Bento, the Portugal goalkeeper, made saves from Santillana and Gallego in the first half which ended goalless. Soon after the interval, Bento dropped a shot from Santillana but recovered in time to prevent Rafael Gordillo from scoring. In the 52nd minute, Álvaro passed to António Sousa who chipped the ball over Luis Arconada, the Spain goalkeeper, to give Portugal the lead. Chalana went close to doubling his side's lead but his shot struck the Spain crossbar. With 17 minutes to go, Carraasco's corner was not cleared by the Portugal defence and after Andoni Goikoetxea headed it goalbound, Santillana eventually scored to make it 1–1. Bento made a late save from Carrasco, and the match ended in a draw.

In their final group game which was held at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 20 June 1984, Spain's opponents were West Germany. West Germany started the game strongly: an early header from Hans-Peter Briegel struck the Spain crossbar, José Antonio Camacho cleared the ball off his own goal-line, Arconada's lengthy run ended with him shooting just wide of the post, another Briegel header hit the underside of the bar and Andy Brehme hit the post, while Goikoetxea was substituted through injury for Salva Ballesta after tackling Rudi Völler from behind. Before half-time, Uli Stielike fouled Salva García in the West Germany penalty area but Carrasco's penalty kick was saved by Toni Schumacher. Klaus Allofs missed two chances to score early in the second half before Schumacher blocked a shot from Carrasco and Antonio Maceda's header was cleared off the West Germany goal-line by Stielike. Arconada then saved a strike from Karl-Heinz Rummenigge "with superhuman speed" before denying Lothar Matthäus' half-volley. With less than a minute remaining, Pierre Littbarski's shot was off-target and Spain attacked en masse. Matthäus fouled Francisco and from the resulting free kick, Maceda scored with a low header after Schumacher failed to gather the ball. The match ended 1–0 and Spain ended the qualification phase top of the group, although tied with Portugal on points and goal difference, with a superior number of goals scored, and progressed to the semi-finals.

Their opponents were Denmark and the match was played at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon on 24 June 1984. Qvist made an early save from a Carrasco header before Denmark took the lead in the seventh minute. Frank Arnesen's cross was pushed onto the Spain crossbar by Arconada after a header from Preben Elkjær but Søren Lerby scored from the rebound to make it 1–0 to Denmark. The second half saw chances for both sides, with Denmark, in particular, being profligate in front of goal. Midway through the second half, Gordillo's cross eventually found Maceda who struck the ball into the bottom corner to level the score. Arnesen was then substituted for Olsen and although Denmark had two late chances to score, regular time ended 1–1 and the match went into extra time. Spain increased the pressure and Klaus Berggreen was sent off two minutes into the second period of additional time for a pull on Camacho. Arcando then saved from both Elkjær's free kick and Nielsen's follow-up shot and extra time ended with the scores still level, taking the match to a penalty shoot-out. Both sides scored their first four kicks: Kenneth Brylle, Olsen, Michael Laudrup and Lerby for Denmark; Santillana, Señor, Santiago Urquiaga and Víctor Muñoz for Spain. Elkjær took Denmark's fifth penalty and struck the ball over the crossbar. Manuel Sarabia, a second-half substitute, scored Spain's fifth penalty to secure his side's 5–4 victory and progression to their first European Championship final since the 1964 tournament.

### Summary

## Match

### Pre-match

Maceda and Gordillo were suspended and thus not available for selection by Spain, so Urquiaga and Francisco López were brought into the starting eleven. France made a single change to their team with Bruno Bellone coming in to replace Six.

### Summary

The final took place at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 27 June 1984 in front of 47,368 spectators and was refereed by Vojtech Christov from Czechoslovakia. In the opening minute, France won a free kick from which Bellone passed to Giresse whose shot was caught by Arconada. Urquiaga's cross was then punched out by Bats but fell to Víctor: his shot was blocked and Francisco's strike went wide of France's goal. In the 12th minute, Bellone's cross was narrowly missed by Lacombe and five minutes later, Señor's free kick was headed across the goal by Santillana and found Víctor but his header went over the France crossbar. In the 26th minute, Spain's Gallego was shown a yellow card for a foul on Bellone, and soon after Fernandez became the first France player to be booked, this time for dissent. Spain's Santillana missed two chances to score before half-time: his header was cleared off the line by Battiston, before his shot was wide of France's goal, and the first half ended goalless.

Neither side made any changes during the interval, and in the 54th minute, Yvon Le Roux was booked for fouling Santillana. Three minutes later, France took the lead. The referee awarded a free kick after it appeared that Lacombe had been fouled by Salva on the edge of the Spain penalty area. Platini's low shot curved around the wall, Arconada fumbled it and ended up pushing it into his own net, to make it 1–0 to France. Salva was then forced to make a clearance from Giresse before Arconda saved Lacombe's volley. Giresse's strike was wide after a run from Tigana in which he beat three Spain defenders. With five minutes of the match remaining, Le Roux tripped Sarabia and was sent off after being awarded a second yellow card, reducing France to ten players and becoming the first player ever to be dismissed in a European Championship final. Seconds into stoppage time, Tigana's pass allowed Bellone to run through and chip the ball over Arconada as he ran off his line. The match ended moments later with France winning 2–0 to claim their first international football title.

### Details

## Post-match

France's Giresse, Tigana and Platini, were named in the UEFA team of the tournament, but no Spain player was selected. As of 2021, Platini's nine goals remains the record for the most scored during the tournament finals. He had won the 1983 Ballon d'Or, but retained it at the 1984 ceremony before winning it a third time in 1985. Platini was awarded the European Championship trophy by Jacques Chirac.

The France manager Michel Hidalgo later suggested that his side's success was "a triumph for attacking football after years of defensive attitudes". Platini said "It was a great moment for French football and for French sport as a whole ... We were superior to everybody and expressed ourselves on the pitch." British sports commentator John Motson described Platini as "unbelievable ... He was playing teams on his own. He was out of this world, a superstar. No team was able to contain him." French international footballer Emmanuel Petit later said "It was probably the most beautiful French team to watch in history."

In the next international tournament, the 1986 FIFA World Cup, France were beaten by West Germany in the semi-finals, but secured third place with a 4–2 victory in the play-off over Belgium, the side which had knocked Spain out in a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-finals.

## See also

- France at the UEFA European Championship
- Spain at the UEFA European Championship
- France–Spain football rivalry

Final game of the UEFA Euro 1984

International association football competitions hosted by Paris