| Event | THB Champions League playoff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 31 October 2002 | ||||||
| Venue | St. Andrews Stadium, Toamasina | ||||||
AS Adema 149–0 SO l'Emyrne was an association football match on 31 October 2002 between two teams in Toamasina, Madagascar. It holds the world record for the highest scoreline in any association football match, recognized by The Guinness Book of Records. SO l'Emyrne (SOE) intentionally lost the game against their arch rivals AS Adema in a pre-planned protest over refereeing decisions that had gone against them during a previous four-team playoff tournament. Prior to this match, the previous highest scoreline was 36–0, in which Arbroath beat Bon Accord in the Scottish Cup in 1885.[1]
The match was part of a four-team round-robin play-off to determine the national championship. The league crown went to Adema after the reigning champions at the time, SO l'Emyrne, were held to a 3–3 draw by DSA Antananarivo in their penultimate match, during which the referee awarded a late and disputed penalty to Antananarivo.[2]
That draw meant that SOE was knocked out of the title race. With the championship already decided, SOE decided to protest; according to some sources, there was an argument between the SOE coach and the referee himself. SOE then deliberately scored 149 own goals, with reports showing that after each kick-off, the ball was kicked into their own goal with the opposition players looking bemused.[3][4][5] Some reports suggested that certain spectators approached ticket booths requesting refunds.[6]
Following the match, the Malagasy Football Federation (FMF) suspended SOE coach Ratsimandresy Ratsarazaka for three years and four of the SEO team's players, captain Manitranirina Andrianiaina, goalkeeper Dominique Rakotonandrasana, Mamisoa Razafindrakoto (who was the captain of the Madagascar national football team) and Nicolas Rakotoarimanana, were suspended until the end of the season and banned from visiting stadiums in the same period. All other players from both teams received a warning and a threat of more serious action should they commit further offenses. The FMF nullified all of SOE's results from the 2002 season. The club later dissolved in 2006, though no direct link was officially cited.
The referee was not punished, as the situation was deemed to be out of his control, while Madagascar's sports ministry proceeded to dissolve the FMF, which was later reconstituted.[7]
