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| England players wait at the airport prior to flying out to Mexico |
According to this legend, the England manager suffered this indignity on arriving in Mexico City for the World Cup in 1970.
The story goes that Alf Ramsey had a low opinion of the integrity and cuisine of all Latin Americans (see his infamous 'animals' comment after Ratin was sent off for Argentina in 1966). Worried about foul-play and/or upset stomachs, Alf ordered that English food be flown in for the tournament.
Outraged by this challenge to their food importation laws, the Mexican authorities (allegedly) incinerated the long travelled British pork sausages on the tarmac at Mexico City Airport.
I cannot find proof of this (alleged) Mexican stand-off. But there was plenty going on to fuel Alf's suspicions of foreign conspiracies: the peculiar Bogota bracelet incident, for example. And then star goalkeeper, Gordon Banks, went down with food poisoning on the eve of Quarter Final against West Germany.
If only Gordon had stuck with British fish and chips ....
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