ATLANTA — Somewhere in the next life Antonio Ubaldo Rattin is throwing heavenly darts at England squad photos and tearing up pictures of the Union Jack.
The former Boca Juniors and national team captain, who died earlier this month aged 89, had come to symbolise in more innocent times the anti-English sentiment in Argentina.
The animus he felt was entirely football-related and rooted in the perceived bias against Argentina at the 1966 World Cup held in England. Sixty years on, his actions appear no less petulant than they did when he stubbornly refused to accept his sending off for dissent, initially declining to leave the pitch and then plonking himself on the red carpet in front of the Royal Box.
That moment defined his life, Rattin returning to it whenever the opportunity arose in interviews with English journalists. He had already been booked before ploughing into the back of Geoff Hurst.
Though this did not trigger his immediate exit, German referee Rudy Kreitlein acted following the resultant free-kick, offended by what he later described as Rattin’s repeated outbursts, which he interpreted as dissent despite having no Spanish. England won 1-0 en route to their only World Cup success.
