The dark day that Inter Milan ‘cheated’ Liverpool out of place in the European Cup final

Bill Shankly’s side were knocked out of the 1965 European Cup by Inter Milan in suspicious circumstances.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

For most Liverpool fans, a Champions League trip to Inter Milan will conjure up pleasant memories.

They last faced the blue and black side of Milan in 2008, taking a 2-0 lead to Italy and a commanding stance in the round-of-16 tie.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Fernando Torres scored the only goal of that game in a 1-0 win which took Rafa Benitez’ side through 3-0 on aggregate.

But few will remember Liverpool’s only other trip to the San Siro to face Inter - a European Cup semi-final tie in 1965 marred by controversy and suspicion of match-fixing.

The first leg

A tense moment for Liverpool players Tommy Smith (left) and Geoff Strong (second from right) as Inter-Milan player Mario Corso lunges in with a header during an attack by the Italian side in a semi-final, first leg match at Anfield, 5th May 1965. Photo: Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesA tense moment for Liverpool players Tommy Smith (left) and Geoff Strong (second from right) as Inter-Milan player Mario Corso lunges in with a header during an attack by the Italian side in a semi-final, first leg match at Anfield, 5th May 1965. Photo: Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
A tense moment for Liverpool players Tommy Smith (left) and Geoff Strong (second from right) as Inter-Milan player Mario Corso lunges in with a header during an attack by the Italian side in a semi-final, first leg match at Anfield, 5th May 1965. Photo: Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Liverpool, under Bill Shankly, were enjoying their debut season in the European Cup and had made it to the semi-finals after winning a coin toss against German outfit FC Koln - this after both legs ended 0-0 and the play-off ended 2-2.

The weekend prior to their first-leg against Inter Milan, the Reds had won the FA Cup thanks to a 2-1 win against Don Revie’s Leeds United and they paraded the trophy around a raucous Anfield before kick-off.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Goals from Roger Hunt, Ian Callaghan and Ian St John gave Liverpool a comfortable 3-1 advantage to take to Italy in the return leg and many believed they would advance to the final.

The second leg

Inter - on the back foot and desperate to gain an advantage - demonised Liverpool players and supporters in the build-up to the return leg, labelling fans as animals and accusing Shankly’s men of taking pills in order to win the first game.

And within just 10 minutes Inter had scored twice and drawn level on aggregate - away goals, as is now the rule again, did not count at this time.

Mario Corso netted Inter’s first, scoring directly from a supposedly indirect free-kick, before Joaquin Peiro took the ball from Liverpool goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence as he was readying to clear it and rolled into an empty net just a minute later.

Something just didn’t seem right.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Giacinto Facchetti scored what turned out to be the winner just after the hour mark, but there was time for more controversy as Reds striker Ian St John was called for offside after putting the ball in the net.

Liverpool were dumped out 4-3 on aggregate and defender Tommy Smith was so incensed by the referee that he chased him off the pitch and kicked him.

Tommy Smith was not happy with the referee and chased him down the tunnel. Photo: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesTommy Smith was not happy with the referee and chased him down the tunnel. Photo: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Tommy Smith was not happy with the referee and chased him down the tunnel. Photo: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Fixed?

Liverpool players have long since maintained that the referee in that game, Maria Ortiz de Mendebil, had been got to and Smith said as much in a Liverpool ECHO column in 2007: “What happened in that second leg of the European Cup semi final in the San Siro left me feeling cheated.

“The Italians didn’t win it – the referee won it for them – and the only surprise was that they didn’t carry him off shoulder high at the end.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Both of Inter Milans first-half goals were controversial, with Reds players certain that the referee called for an indirect free-kick and bemused at how Peiro was allowed to steal the ball from Lawrence and tap into an empty net.

St John’s perplexing offside call confirmed to Shankly’s men that they were being denied a fair chance at European glory.

Inter had made it to the semi-final the year before as well and beat Borussia Dortmund thanks to some more questionable officiating.

Their secretary, Italo Allodi, was also accused of fixing another European Cup semi-final - this time with Juventus in 1973 - against Brian Clough’s Derby County.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Inter had never been found guilty of corruption in that memorable Liverpool game but the Reds left Italy counting themselves incredibly unfortunate - at the very least.

Spanish official Ortiz de Mendebil denied any wrongdoing all the way up to his death in 2015 and continued to officiate European games for over a decade.

Inter Milan went on to win the 1965 European Cup - their second in a row - when they beat Benfica 1-0 at the San Siro.

Liverpool had to wait until 1977 to finally be crowned kings of Europe, beating Borussia Monchengladbach in Rome some 12 years after the suspected injustice.