THE ’80s football was always about delightful tales.
The era was coined for thrills, rivalries, match-fixing, controversies, and some of the rarest and most bizarre events.
The many former footballers, officials and fans would attest to some exciting untold stories.
Like the 1984 midair life jacket incident en route to a league game in Labasa, the 86’ flyover that mesmerized a goalkeeper into conceding an easy goal, another sold-out on a long loaf of bread, and the jaw-dropping head honcho’s admission of his team’s black magic ritual that capped the historic decade.
Life jacket incident
Former Nasinu and national footballer of the 80s, the late Kuddous Hussein, vivacious as he was, cracked up the learned judge when he appeared before him in Nausori Court for meddling with a life jacket on a Fiji Airways flight to Labasa.
Hussein’s jarring actions send a plume of carbon dioxide gas strewn into the cabin, forming a smoky airmass.
The pilot diverted the plane to Nausori Airport where he was whisked away by authorities for questioning.
Before the court
The defender represented himself, and on the behest of the judge had to explain in a short essay why he chose to act irresponsibly by over blowing the life jacket.
“The flight crew often run safety rehearsals in case there was an emergency, he explained.
“But say a real situation unfolded how many would properly use them for deployment, I tried out and here I’m in trouble with the law.”
Cleared of all charges
Hussein was cleared of the charge but not before cracking up the learned judge and the court with his honest explanation with a sense of humour.
He made the judge ponder on the real-time situation, of how to use the life jacket.
“I made the pilot make a U-turn midair, who else could do that?.”
Hussein was later given a ‘life jacket’ name in the sporting circles.
Plane watcher
And while at Nausori and at Ratu Cakabou Park, former Nadroga goalkeeper, Jo Kurivitu who hailed from the uphills of Navosa, was awe-struck on a low-flying aircraft during an IDC, match that he lost sight of the action and allowed an easy goal scored.
Captain Abraham Watkins’ triad on Kurivitu and his reaction is not printworthy, bleep, bleep and bleep.
The 1986 IDC, incident is still being talked about by former footballers and fans while relishing on the ‘blast from the past’ stories.
Former football commentator, late, Joseph (Jo) Singh frequently used ‘life jacket and flyover’ as cliches while calling out plays.
Bread sell out
It was also a calling out on a Nadi district goalkeeper, who got sold out among other things on a long loaf of bread.
The district fans and former officials will vouch for this footballer’s actions without the mention of his name, but Nadi fans still chuckle over his larks.
A habit he had formed and every time opportunity served, he would pull it only to blame on a defensive gaffe.
Hilarious as it sounds, the goalkeeper had an associate who would broker a deal with opposing teams then take to the bleachers and use sign language to get to work.
Work? to get scored on.
“Funny,” said a former Nadi official, who wishes to remain anonymous.
“There was a time the district was not doing so well, it only gave the goalkeeper the reason to do what he did, obviously he denied but it’s what it is.”
Jaw-dropping admission
The biggest jaw-dropping admission was made in Vancouver by a former Ba official.
A high-profile Ba official was on holiday when overzealous football fans gathered to meet and greet and ask about Ba’s historic 6-in-a-row run, 1975-1980.
When asked by a Ba fervent if the district did ‘voodoo’ powers that be, to enhance their run, the official was quick to admit he feared God more than anything else and that he was always aware of it.
He said while he knew of the circumstances, he couldn’t confirm if it did help with winning.
“I offered money to (Jo) Tubuna, Waisea Naicova and others, I did, but did it work, I don’t know.”
The admission didn’t surprise many, who reminded the official that during the period 75-80, the district had won six consecutive championships.
“We didn’t need an affirmation,” said a Nadi football diehard, whose district lost to Ba in the grand finals in 1977,1979 and 1980.
The preposterous claim was made before former Rewa, Suva and national rep, Mohammed Yusuf, Ba and Vancouver Whitecaps star, Ivor Evans and former Rewa football president Daven Prasad.
That shed a silver light on the supremacy and the stardom of the district in all respects.
And the delightful tales of the untold, revealed.
