Football at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Football was one of the 154 events at the 1920 Summer Olympics, held in Antwerp, Belgium. It was the fifth time association football was on the Olympic schedule. The tournament was expanded to 14 countries, including a non-European nation (Egypt) for the first time.[1]

1920 Men's Olympic Football Tournament
Tournament details
Host countryBelgium
Dates28 August – 5 September 1920
Teams15 (from 2 confederations)
Venue(s)4 (in 3 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Belgium (1st title)
Runners-up Spain
Third place Netherlands
Fourth place Italy
Tournament statistics
Matches played17
Goals scored70 (4.12 per match)
Attendance150,600 (8,859 per match)
Top scorer(s) Herbert Carlsson
(7 goals)
Football at the
1920 Summer Olympics
Tournament
men's tournament
Squads
squads

As these were the first Olympics after World War I, football teams representing the Central Powers were not invited (Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey). The English Football Association had withdrawn from FIFA – together with the associations of the other UK nations (Scotland, Ireland and Wales) – after rejection of their demand that the federations of Germany, Austria and Hungary be excluded from that organisation. FIFA nevertheless accepted the entry of a Great Britain team, representing the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, judging that countries entering the Olympic Games in other sports should not be excluded from the football tournament.[2] As in the two preceding Olympic football tournaments, all Great Britain players were from England.

Britain had won the 1908 and 1912 gold medals but were beaten by Norway 1–3 in the first round and thus eliminated from the 1920 tournament. (The Norway national football team thus celebrated one of their iconic victories, to be followed by the elimination of Nazi Germany at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the 1993 win over England in World Cup qualifying, and the 2–1 defeat of reigning world champions Brazil at the 1998 World Cup.)

The final match and gold medals were won by host Belgium against Czechoslovakia, which participated in an international competition for the first time. With the score 2–0, the Czechoslovaks walked off to protest the officiating, and were subsequently disqualified.[1]

With Czechoslovakia disqualified, the tournament was rearranged to determine silver and bronze medalists. Since Belgium had received a first-round bye, the beaten quarter-finalists (Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden) faced each other to determine who would play the Netherlands, the semifinal loser to Belgium and now assured of a medal.

The tournament ended with Belgium winning the Gold medal match, while the Netherlands won the bronze.[3][4][2]

Venues
Antwerp
Antwerp
Olympisch Stadion Stadion Broodstraat
Capacity: 35,000 Capacity: Not known
Ghent Brussels
Jules Ottenstadion Stade Joseph Marien
Capacity: Not known Capacity: Not known

Squads
Main article: Football at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's team squads

Tournament

15 teams entered the competition, which was organized on a knockout basis, but Switzerland withdrew on the morning before the first round due to internal dissent, meaning France were given a first-round forfeit.

As such, 12 teams entered the first round, with the winners joining host Belgium in the quarter-finals.

Norway defeated Great Britain in the first round, considered by Elo as one of the greatest football upsets of all time.[5]

Czechoslovakia, participating in their first international tournament, made it to the final, beating Yugoslavia (who also played their first ever international match in the competition), Norway, and France, while Belgium, after their first-round bye, beat Spain and the Netherlands to qualify for the final.

The final was abandoned in the 39th minute and Belgium were awarded the gold medal after Czechoslovakia walked off to protest the performance of the English referee, John Lewis and his linesmen.[6]

A form of the Bergvall System[7] was used to determine second and third places. Firstly, the beaten quarter-finalists played off, and Spain emerged triumphant, overcoming Sweden 2-1 and Italy 2-0.

Under the original format, Spain would have played off against the teams beaten in the main tournament by gold medalists Belgium, with the winners playing off for second and third, but Czechoslovakia had been disqualified, and Belgium had received a first-round bye.

Therefore, Spain advanced straight to the silver medal match against the Netherlands, who had been beaten by Belgium in their semi-final. Spain won 3–1.

Exhibition match

This match was not part of the tournament, but was organised after both teams were eliminated. Some sources erroneously refer to this as an eighth-place match or as part of the silver and bronze medal tournament.

Egypt 4–2 Kingdom of SCS
Abaza 43', ??'
Allouba ??'
Hegazi ??'		 Report Dubravčić ??'
Ružić ??'
Attendance: 500
Referee: Rafael van Praag (NED)

Results

Original Bracket
First round Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
        
 Belgium Bye
 
 Belgium 3
 Spain 1
 Spain 1
 Denmark 0
 Belgium 3
 Netherlands 0
 Sweden 9
 Greece 0
 Sweden 4
 Netherlands (a.e.t.) 5
 Luxembourg 0
 Netherlands 3
 Belgium 2
 Czechoslovakia 0
 France 2
  Switzerland 0
 France 3
 Italy 1
 Italy 2
 Egypt 1
 France 1
 Czechoslovakia 4
 Czechoslovakia 7
 Yugoslavia 0
 Czechoslovakia 4
 Norway 0
 Great Britain 1
 Norway 3

First round
Belgium Bye
Czechoslovakia 7–0 Kingdom of SCS
Vanik 20', 46', 79'
Janda 34', 50', 75'
Sedláček 43'		 Report
Attendance: 600
Referee: Raphael Van Praag (BEL)
Spain 1–0 Denmark
Arabolaza 54' Report
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Willem Eymers (NED)
Italy 2–1 Egypt
Baloncieri 25'
Brezzi 57'		 Report Osman 30'
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Paul Putz (BEL)
Norway 3–1 Great Britain
Gundersen 13', 51'
Wilhelms 63'		 Report Nicholas 25'
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Johannes Mutters (NED)
Netherlands 3–0 Luxembourg
J. Bulder 30'
Groosjohan 47', 85'		 Report
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Georges Hubrecht (BEL)
France 2–0
Awarded		  Switzerland
Sweden 9–0 Greece
Olsson 4', 79'
Karlsson 15', 20', 21', 51', 85'
Wicksell 25'
Dahl 31'		 Report
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Charles Barette (BEL)

Quarter-finals
Netherlands 5–4 (a.e.t.) Sweden
Groosjohan 10', 57'
J. Bulder 44', 88' (pen.)
De Natris 115'		 Report Karlsson 16', 32'
Olsson 20'
Dahl 72'
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Josef Fanta (TCH)
Czechoslovakia 4–0 Norway
Vanik 8'
Janda 17', 66', 77'		 Report
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Charles Barette (BEL)
France 3–1 Italy
Boyer 10'
Nicolas 14'
Bard 54'		 Report Brezzi 33' (pen.)
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Henri Christophe (BEL)
Belgium 3–1 Spain
Coppée 11', 52', 55' Report Arrate 62' (pen.)
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Johannes Mutters (NED)

Semi-finals
Czechoslovakia 4–1 France
Mazal 18', 75', 87'
Steiner 70'		 Report Boyer 79'
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Johannes Mutters (NED)
Belgium 3–0 Netherlands
Larnoe 46'
Van Hege 55'
Bragard 85'		 Report
Attendance: 22,000
Referee: John Lewis (GBR)

Gold medal match
Belgian striker Robert Coppée opens the scoring of the final, with a penalty kick against goalkeeper Rudolf Klapka

The final was highly controversial, and is the only time as of 2021 that an international final has been abandoned. Belgium were awarded the gold medal by default after Czechoslovakia walked off the field in the 39th minute (with Belgium leading 2-0) to protest the officiating after Czechoslovak left-back Karel Steiner was ejected for assaulting Robert Coppée.

The Czechoslovaks were also unhappy with the performance of the 65-year-old English referee, John Lewis, who had already refereed the Belgian semi-final victory over the Netherlands, a match observed by the Czechoslovaks (it had taken place on the same day and in the same stadium as their own victory against France), as well as the English linesmen, Charles Wreford-Brown and A. Knight, who had allowed a contentious second Belgian goal in the 30th minute that Henri Larnoe had converted.

The Czechoslovaks immediately protested the result of the final,[note 1] but their protest was dismissed, and the Czechoslovak team was disqualified from the tournament.

1920 Summer Olympics Football Final
Belgium 2–0 Czechoslovakia
Coppée 6' (pen.)
Larnoe 30'		 Report
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: John Lewis (GBR)

Repechage bracket

The original format had a knockout tournament between the four teams eliminated during the quarter-finals, with the winner of that tournament playing off against the teams beaten in the main tournament by gold medalists Belgium, and the winners of these matches playing off for silver and bronze medals.

However, since Czechoslovakia had been disqualified and Belgium had received a first-round bye, the third round was scratched and Spain automatically advanced to the silver and bronze medal match against the Netherlands.

  First round     Second round     Silver/Bronze medal match
                           
  QF  Italy (a.e.t.) 2  
  QF  Norway 1         SF  Netherlands 1
        QF  Italy 0     QF  Spain 3
        QF  Spain 2  
  QF  Spain 2    
  QF  Sweden 1  

First round
Italy 2–1[note 2] (a.e.t.) Norway
Sardi 46'
Badini 123'		 Report Andersen 41'
Attendance: 500
Referee: Louis Fourgous (France)
Spain 2–1 Sweden
Belauste 51'
Acedo 53'		 Report Dahl 28'
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Giovanni Mauro (Italy)

Second round
Spain 2–0 Italy
Sesúmaga 43', 72' Report
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Paul Putz (Belgium)

Silver/Bronze medal match
Spain 3–1 Netherlands
Sesúmaga 7', 35'
Pichichi 72'		 Report Groosjohan 68'
Attendance: 14,000
Referee: Paul Putz (Belgium)

Final ranking

Final positions:[2][8]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Result
 Belgium 3 3 0 0 8 1 +7 6
 Spain 5 4 0 1 8 3 +5 8
 Netherlands 4 2 0 2 9 10 −1 4
4  Italy 4 2 0 2 5 7 −2 4 Eliminated in playoffs
5  Sweden 3 1 0 2 14 7 +7 2
6  France 2 1 0 1 4 5 −1 2
7  Norway 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 2
8  Egypt 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0 Eliminated in first round
9  Denmark 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
10  Great Britain 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2 0
11  Luxembourg 1 0 0 1 0 3 −3 0
12 Kingdom of SCS 1 0 0 1 0 7 −7 0
13  Greece 1 0 0 1 0 9 −9 0
DSQ  Czechoslovakia 4 3 0 1 15 3 +12 6 Disqualified
Source: FIFA

Medalists
Hosts and tournament winners Belgium before the final
Team of Spain, silver medalist
Gold Silver Bronze
 Belgium

Coach: Raoul Daufresne

  Spain

Coach: Francisco Bru

  Netherlands

Coach: Fred Warburton

Goalscorers
Topscorer Herbert Carlsson
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal

Notes
  1. Their protests, translated from the original French, were as follows:
    1. We were allocated an English linesman, which is in contradiction with the rules which state that each participating nation has the right to one of both linesman. This violation of the rules was prejudicial to us during the game, because the English linesman was not impartial and this is why we seek the cancellation of the match. Immediately after the game we brought this notice to the attention of M. Rodolphe Seeldrayers.
    2. The majority of the decisions of the referee Mr. Lewis were wrong and it was obvious that it gave the public the wrong impression about our game. Also both Belgian goals were the result of incorrect decisions of the referee and we seek a rigorous investigation on that point.
    3. During the match, Belgian soldiers were introduced to the crowd until they circled the pitch and because of their provocative presence our players were unable to play their normal game. As a result of the very regrettable incident at the end of the match when there was a pitch invasion led by the soldiers and our national flag was insulted we will not participate until we have received an apology from the (Belgian) soldiers.[7]
  2. After 120 minutes expired with the score tied at 1–1, both captains and the referee agreed to play a second extra time of 2x15 minutes, meaning this match lasted 150 minutes.

References
  1. Olympic Football Tournament, Antwerp 1920 - Overview on FIFA.com
  2. VII. Olympiad Antwerp 1920 Football Tournament by Karel Stokkermans on the RSSSF
  3. THE VIIth SUMMER GAMES - Football Archived 22 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine on MarcOlympics.org
  4. "Football at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  5. World Football Elo Ratings: Biggest Upsets
  6. "VII. Olympiad Antwerp 1920 Football Tournament". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  7. VIIeme Olympiade, Anvers 1920: Official report on LA84 Digital Library Collection
  8. 1920 Antwerp Olympic Football Tournament on Football Mundial.com
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