Roberto Rojas is a former Chilean goalkeeper. Rojas is famous for a 1989 on-the-field incident in which he faked an injury in an attempt to avoid a loss by the Chilean national team. The incident resulted in a lifetime ban for Rojas. A football goalkeeper leaves the ground to parry a shot on goal In many team sports, a goalkeeper (termed goaltender, netminder, goalie, or keeper in some sports) is a designated player that is charged with directly preventing the opposite team from scoring by defending the goal. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... First international Argentina 3 - 1 Chile (Buenos Aires, Argentina; 27 May 1910) Biggest win Chile 7 - 0 Venezuela (Santiago, Chile; 29 August 1979) Biggest defeat Brazil 7 - 0 Chile (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 17 September 1959) World Cup Appearances 7 (First in 1930) Best result Third place, 1962 Copa Am...

Career

Rojas was born and raised in Chile. He began his career in 1983 with the Chilean club Aviación. Rojas would go on the play for Colo Colo from 1983 until 1987. With Colo Colo, Rojas won nationals titles in 1983 and 1986. In 1987, after a successful performance in the Copa América 1987 championship, he transferred to Brazil's São Paulo FC where he remained until 1989. For other uses, see Colo-Colo (disambiguation) Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo is Chiles most popular football club. ... The Copa América 1987 was held in Argentina from June 27 to July 12, 1987. ... São Paulos Mascot São Paulo is a very traditional Brazilian football team from São Paulo, founded on January 25, 1930, and Re-founded on December 16, 1935. ...

1990 World Cup Qualifying Incident

In 1989, Rojas was in goal for Chile's 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Brazil at Rio De Janeiro's Maracanã stadium. Chile, down 1-0, would be eliminated from the upcoming World Cup with a loss. Around the 67-minute mark, Rojas fell to the pitch writhing and holding his forehead. A firework, thrown from the stands by a Brazilian fan named Rosemary de Mello, was smoldering about a yard away. Rojas, his head bloodied, was carried off the field by his teammates who then refused to return claiming conditions were unsafe. The match went unfinished. Qualifying countries The 1990 FIFA World Cup, the 14th staging of the World Cup, was held in Italy from June 8 to July 8. ... The Estádio do Maracanã, Maracanã stadium, (official name: Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho) ( ), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is one of the largest football stadiums in the world. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Fireworks. ...

Video evidence later showed that Rojas had not been hit by the firework. His head injury was discovered to have been self-inflicted with a razor blade hidden in his glove. FIFA awarded Brazil a 2-0 win, effectively eliminating Chile from the 1990 World Cup. As a consequence, Chile was banned from the 1994 FIFA World Cup and Rojas was banned for life. Qualifying countries The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. ...

In 2001, following a request for pardon, Rojas' ban was lifted by FIFA.

External links

• YouTube video footage of the Brazil incident
• FIFA lifts Rojas lifetime ban