Sarrià, January 5, 1969. There is no room for a soul in the Spanish stadium, impassable due to the rain that has fallen since the previous night. It is Sunday, Three Kings Eve, and the summit match of the League, between Espanyol and Madrid, has been scheduled for 12 in the morning. The chronicles of the time – and personal memory – speak of a packed house, some 40,000 spectators at times between umbrellas, and of a passionate atmosphere with numerous banners in favor of Madrid, which has just closed the first round with more than half a title in your pocket. In 15 games he has added 27 of the 30 possible points. Barcelona, ??second, is seven behind. That Madrid that Miguel Muñoz directs for the ninth consecutive season does not give in even by chance. He has an eleven of those that are recited: Betancourt; Calpe, De Felipe, Sanchís; Pirri, Zoco… Espanyol, on the other hand, flirts with relegation. He has dismissed the Hungarian Kalmar and trusts in the experience of Egarense Antoni Argilés, one of the club’s legends, right back and captain until his recent retirement. There are many quality names in the Spanish team, the chronicles highlight that “it has great football creative figures”… but the results do not arrive.
In their complicated trip to Sarrià, Madrid will emerge unscathed: a 1-1 draw. In fact, they will only lose one game in the entire League and that was three days from the end, an anecdote. Their superiority was overwhelming, but Espanyol withstood the storm. “In addition to playing soccer, they score like hunting dogs,” summarized the Spanish mastermind José María, an Asturian with a very fine left foot who, apart from boosting the team’s play, was life insurance in fouls on the edge of the area. His teammates knew from which exact point he was infallible and right there the falls occurred, so that the referee on duty would sting.
The match, despite the waterlogged terrain, even with some extensive gaps, has a vibrant first half. Amancio advances Madrid in the 28th minute, after a combination between Velázquez and Grosso, and Espanyol responds without dismay. In the overall match, the blue and white team had greater dominance and took more corner kicks (14 to 4), but Madrid shot more and better, despite significant losses. That day, José Luis took Pirri’s place, injured, and Miguel Pérez completed the lead.
The decoration changes in the second half, the referee’s whistle shakes. In the first minutes comes the scandal that has gone down in history and that the chronicles, from Madrid and Barcelona, ??agree in blaming the Asturian referee, Medina Iglesias. In a scuffle between Miguel Pérez and José María, with the Madrid player attacking the blue and white before the referee’s impassive gaze, a serious brawl broke out. That theatrical performance had it all. Dog day, packed stands, knee-deep mud, police jumping onto the theoretical grass with water protection capes, pushing and punching, grabbing and insulting and also flying pads. José María then takes justice into his own hands and focuses his anger on José Luis, of whom Marca himself said that he was a player “who does not seem called to bring peace to the football fields in view of the fouls that “he does and what they do to him.” José María, on the street. Major scandal. “In my time, the referees were with Madrid, they always played with a disadvantage,” the blue and white recalled years later.
Let’s keep going. Now recovered, José Luis faces Riera, who was never a little angel either. The Spanish defender must have told him something because José Luis responded with a superb left foot shot that was literally portrayed. So much so that at Marca they renamed the white midfielder Joe Louis. And thus the second expelled falls. One per side. The photo of the second punch appeared all over the press and the spectacular nature left no room for doubt. Or if? Riera turns his face and behind him Knee supports his back. A scene worthy of the end of the act and the fall of the curtain, while Miguel Pérez, the instigator of all the anger, emerges unscathed, although he was pursued with axes until the end.
However… Years later, Riera explained the action in detail in an interview for this newspaper: “Since they had fired José María, I went to provoke. I went after Amancio, but he saw me coming. ‘That I am more veteran than you,’ he told me. Then I stood next to José Luis, who hadn’t been in Madrid that long, and it hit him. I hit him in the stomach, nothing, weak. He knew that either he would get on the ground, if he was smart, or he would hit me like hell. As soon as I saw him move his arm I was already falling. He didn’t even touch me.” Espanyol managed to balance in the 82nd minute, with a header from Vall to Re’s cross, and there the game died, the tie was good for everyone.
The Competition Committee meeting was awaited with trepidation. And the sanctions fell: four games for José María and as many for José Luis. In addition, two games for Riera and Miguel Pérez and a one-month suspension for Medina Iglesias “for omitting data from the minutes and lack of authority.” It was a sublime show, although perhaps not suitable for minors.