2026 FIFA World Cup Countdown: Spit It Out ... Oh, You Already Have

14 Days to Go: Repellent Rijkaard Gobs On Voller

Typically, the World Cup is a stage upon which sportsmanship is at its finest – with the eyes of the world watching every game, the smallest misstep could be caught by the camera or simply by eagle-eyed viewers, and things can very quickly snowball.

In the blink of an eye, the offending individual is vilified, criticised and scrutinised, and, in rare cases such as Zinedine Zidane’s, a player's entire career can be defined by one moment of madness on the grandest stage of all.

Fortunately, these circumstances are rare, but when they occur, they tend to grab the headlines more tightly than moments of brilliance or entertaining games, and few incidents became more infamous than a rather disgusting clash between the Netherlands' Frank Rijkaard and West Germany’s Rudi Voller during their last 16 clash at Italia 90.

Big Game Feel

Tensions were always going to be running high when the Oranje took on Die Mannschaft – after all, it was only 16 years prior that West Germany had denied the Netherlands their first ever World Cup trophy, beating a Dutch golden generation in the 1974 final that included the likes of Johan Cruyff and Rob Resenbrink.

6️⃣ Netherlands – 3 World Cup finals, NO trophy

1974: Lost final to Germany.
1978: Lost final to Argentina.
2010: Lost final to Spain.

Three finals. Three defeats. Imagine the heartbreak of Dutch fans. 💔 pic.twitter.com/6xWiwvFJro

— PND | Football Media (@PeterNotDrury) March 18, 2025

16 years later, the Netherlands had produced yet another raft of outrageous talent, with a lineup that featured the likes of Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Ronald Koeman and Frank Rijkaard.

Remarkably, despite the jaw-dropping ability featured in the orange half of the field, West Germany were still considered favourites, having played a part in three of the last four World Cup finals.

It was easy to see why – Lothar Matthaus, Jurgen Klinsmann, Andreas Brehme, Jurgen Kohler; the big names were peppered all around the starting eleven and the bench. In fact, it was a tricky job to pinpoint exactly where the West Germans had a weakness.

It didn’t help that by the time the last 16 clash came around, the Netherlands hadn’t actually won a game at the tournament, finishing third in a group containing England, the Republic of Ireland and Egypt with a record of three draws.

Germany, meanwhile, had dominated Group D, beating Yugoslavia 4-1 and the UAE 5-1, before falling to a 1-1 draw with Colombia in their final group game, albeit with a rotated side. Topping the group, they were tipped as the team to beat in the knockout stages, their scoring power and quality players all over the pitch capable of overwhelming even the most organised opposition.

Despite all of their own class, the Dutch were considerable underdogs, and clearly tensions were high as the Oranje prioritised survival, with revenge for their final defeat only adding fuel to the fire. The stage was set for an intense affair, and intense it was.

Happy 54th birthday, two-time #UCL winner with AC Milan & Rossoneri legend Frank Rijkaard!

Favourite Dutch player ever? pic.twitter.com/2WOA010iHU

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 30, 2016

New Hair Product, Rudi?

The game began frenetically, with both sides missing chances at either end – Matthaus blazed over from range, while Wouters' attempted chip and a diving header by Aron Winter both found their way over the German bar.

Less than 20 minutes in, Rijkaard and Voller clashed for the first time, with the Dutch defender booked for a lunging tackle on the German, which, while reckless, made very little contact with the attacker. Rijkaard protested his innocence, but upon being booked, quickly engaged in a war of words with his opponent.

The referee put a stop to the argument and turned away, thinking all was resolved, but Rijkaard saw his opening. With the referee facing away, the big Dutchman coughed up a sickening blob of spit and shot it right into Voller’s dense, curly hair. Vile, in every sense of the word.

Bafflingly, it was Voller who was booked for his protests, with the referee not having any of his complaints despite the German presenting his gloriously matted hair for inspection. In all honesty, the referee was probably sick and tired of all the childish petulance and simply wanted to get on with the game.

🌎🏆 2026 FIFA World Cup Countdown

Day 86/100: Repellent Rijkaard Gobs on Rudi Völler ... Twice 🇩🇪🇳🇱

Frank Rijkaard clearly wasn't in the right headspace when the Netherlands faced West Germany in the last 16 of the 1990 World Cup.

One dive is all it took for Rijkaard to be… pic.twitter.com/QHWziaxgmy

— Football Park (@thefootballpark) May 29, 2026

Moments later, though, the two were at it again. Voller was brought down by Netherlands keeper Hans van Breukelen as he went to catch the ball and stayed down holding his shin. Rijkaard, of course, wasn’t having it for a second and quickly went to haul his adversary to his feet, an offer roundly refused by the man on the ground.

It quickly escalated into a heated scuffle, during which Rijkaard shoved Voller to the ground, and the German was eventually held back by strike partner Klinsmann. The damage had been done, though, and the two had held the game up long enough for the referee’s liking, and the pair were both shown second yellows and resultant reds.

As if the red card weren't enough punishment, Rijkaard decided to try again. Sneakily watching the referee until he was sure he was done dealing with the infraction, the Dutchman took aim, fired, and landed a heavy dollop of spit on the back of Voler’s head once again, caught in all its glory by the main broadcasting camera.

Voller barely reacted. Perhaps he had been expecting it, or perhaps any sort of reaction would have tipped him over the emotional edge – a red card in a World Cup knockout game can do that to a player.

Now 10 v 10, the game opened up and became quite the spectacle. Although the score would still be tied at 0-0 come the halftime whistle, the second half was chock full of action – Jurgen Klinsmann handed West Germany the lead in the 51st minute with a poacher's volley before Brehme doubled their lead with a stunning curled effort five minutes from time.

A late Koeman penalty restored some short-lived hope, but it was too little, too late, and West Germany plotted their safe passage through to the quarter finals. Here they beat Czechoslovakia thanks to a Matthaus penalty before famously knocking England out in the semi-finals via a shootout.

In the final, a Diego Maradona-less Argentina awaited, and Germany took full advantage. Just as against the Netherlands, with five minutes remaining, Andreas Brehme once again proved to be the game changer, netting from the spot to hand Germany their third title.

July 8, 1990 | Stadio Olimpico, Rome
West Germany 1-0 Argentina
Andreas Brehme’s penalty goal (85’)
Die Mannschaft is the third world champion! ⚽🏆 pic.twitter.com/OSvu8agNCi

— VintageFootballTV (@Vintage77Ball) May 3, 2026

It was a magical, drama-filled, topsy-turvy run to the final, and in any other circumstances, it would be the primary incident that the 1990 World Cup was remembered for.

However, it was overshadowed by the bizarre altercation between Rijkaard and Voller, an incident which also very much defined their careers. Now, when fans hear their names, they are more likely to remember the spitting incident than any of the countless accolades both men earned throughout their career.

With the incident frozen in time thanks to some sharp photographers and watchable over and over and over again thanks to Rijkaard's ignorance of TV cameras, it has become a defining image of the 1990 World Cup, and to this day, very few moments have come close to replicating the shock and disgust that the clash stirred within everyone watching that day.