Introducing... Sports Strangest Crimes Presents: Shadows On The Pitch

21:48James Montague:Maybe wouldn't have even got out of Essex. And soccer wouldn't have finally found success in the US, or perhaps even returned in 2026. In 1994, there were a lot of people who depended on this tournament going exactly to plan. Is it possible that some people worked from the shadows to actually guarantee it?

22:21James Montague:20 years after USA 94, I was travelling the world, researching a book about World Cup underdogs. That's how I discovered the tale of a qualifying tournament that took place in Doha, the capital of Qatar, in October 1993. The winners, well, two winners, would earn a place at USA 94, that World Cup that made me fall in love with world football. The Asian qualifiers, which included teams from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean, featured six teams. Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, South Korea and Japan. Possibly the most politically explosive qualification tournament in history. As Suzanne Kiampor, a former BBC foreign correspondent reminds me, Every team had some kind of major political beef with at least one of the others, maybe even more.

23:18South Korea was still officially at war with North Korea. Japan had committed war crimes against South Korea, North Korea that it would later acknowledge and apologise for. Saudi Arabia had financed Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war. Saudi Arabia had been hit by Iraqi Scud missiles in 1991.

23:36James Montague:Scud missiles fired by Iraq in the first Gulf War, which pitted Iraq against the US-led coalition. And Iraq's long war with Iran had only ended in 1988, a conflict that claimed an estimated one million lives. I mean, those scars from the war were very much still open wounds. the trench warfare, in which essentially bodies were sacrificed, enormous casualties. You had a generation that was scarred by this war, and you still had prisoners of war that had to be exchanged. I'm not a big believer in the fiction of football builds bridges and what have you. It didn't build any bridges. Few journalists are better placed to understand the forces shaping Middle Eastern football than James Dorsey.

24:31Author of The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, he reported across the region for the Wall Street Journal

24:37James Montague:and witnessed firsthand how Iraq instilled a particular kind of fear in Washington.

24:48The Iranian Revolution was a major threat to Middle Eastern states. Iran's revolutionary zeal was real. You weren't that long after the occupation of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, the beginning of Iran's cultivation of relationships with non-state actors, particularly Hezbollah. But Iraq was the greater threat. It set an example, it set a precedent, one country occupying another. So in that sense, Iraq was still perceived as a threat. I mean, it almost like you couldn't make this up, right? It's like a Hollywood script waiting to happen where you have all of these enemies in one place.

25:33James Montague:But it wasn't just regional geopolitical rivalries that threatened to overshadow the tournament. Of the six teams all in with a chance of qualifying for the finals in American soil, three were considered official enemies of the USA. North Korea was designated a state sponsor of terrorism and put on the sanctions list, as were Iran and Iraq. Iraq was on the sanctions list. It attempted to assassinate the former president a few months earlier in Kuwait. Just months before the tournament in Doha, Iraqi intelligence orchestrated a failed car bomb plot to kill US President George Bush Sr. The Los Angeles Times reported that World Cup security officials explicitly viewed Iran and Iraq as potential problems because of the US policy and visa issues and each country's association with terrorism.

26:22or state hostility towards Washington.

26:24James Montague:At the time, the US State Department had a blanket ban on issuing visas to Iraqi citizens due to post-Gulf War national security concerns. No big surprise there. You may have noticed similar visa issues affecting a Somali referee and the Iran national team at this current World Cup. 15 of Iran's support staff were initially denied entry to the US. Back in 1993, the LA Times reported that no assurances were given that the ban would be lifted even if Iraq qualified, and that World Cup organisers had expressed concerns about possible terrorist activities if Iraq qualified. The article went on to say, for similar reasons, qualification by Iran, an avowed enemy of the United States and North Korea, whose feuding with the United States over nuclear arms continues, would not have been received favourably by the World Cup Organising Committee.

27:18James Montague:So, like I said, it's hard to imagine a qualification more politically explosive. This mix of rivalry, geopolitics and the World Cup was like catnip to me. I loved this kind of story then, and I still do now. For my article, I interviewed players, coaches, journalists, anyone who was on the ground in Doha in October 1993. I even interviewed Alan Rothenberg, the CEO of USA94, and the man across all the big decisions and security concerns of America's first World Cup. This is my rather scratchy recording of that interview.

28:14my breath because the security challenge was enormous, obviously. And they came pretty darn close.

28:24James Montague:Alan said he was holding his breath due to Iraq, Iran and North Korea having excellent chances of qualifying. He believed these teams would have created an enormous security challenge for America. So had there been any discussion at government level, I wondered? Was there any discussion at the government level about these things? Because, I mean, these are all under sanction, these countries. So, I mean, would they even appear like... First of all, the developing rules. They had to allow the tapes that they're... ...organising into the gun. We're doing terrific background checks about the media integration of terrorists coming in.

29:09James Montague:Alan confirmed that according to FIFA's own rules, any qualified team had to be allowed in. Background checks were being used. In the same interview, he also told me a guy from the State Department had been seconded to work on the ground in Doha. A sign of just how seriously the US were taking these potential security threats. And according to Alan, FIFA was taking things seriously too.

29:38secretary that here we're talking about making sure that the best referees and line officials

29:48James Montague:alina told me that fifa general secretary said blatter was going to make sure the best referees and line officials were in doha men that i wanted to speak to at the time i was living in bucharest the capital of romania and by chance i noticed that one of the six european referees flown into Doha by FIFA was a Romanian. Jan Krautkinescu officiated three of the games. Back then, Jan was one of Europe's top refs and the Doha tournament was like an audition for the World Cup proper. A shot at his lifetime's dream. I reached out to him, knowing that he'd long since hung up his whistle to work as a pundit on Romanian TV.

30:29James Montague:We agreed to speak at an upmarket cafe in Bucharest. Did you have to take any Do you have to take some special precautions? Maybe take some diplomacy classes? Because this is politically very explosive games that could have far reaching... Do you have to take some special measures before you come to the diplomats? No, no, no. Nothing in these things. It was very funny when they got the... Even Blatter was there and they told them you can expect like a horror tournament pretty much because if the countries were at war with each other you could expect the same thing to be translated on the ground.

31:18James Montague:According to Yon, Seb Blatter had warned the referees of a potential horror at the Doha qualifiers. The mix of Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, South Korea and Japan was expected to be tricky, a bigger challenge than usual. Did you feel that there was something going on around that perhaps was bigger than football?

31:48Well, thank you very much. We're going to be establishing a task force, a very important task force, White House, and that's on the FIFA World Cup of 2026, which, as you know, is a big event. It's going to be the biggest event, I think. And Johnny, I think you're going to say a few words. Everybody knows this man on the right. He's sort of the king of soccer, I guess, in a certain way.

32:13James Montague:In early 2025, US President Donald J. Trump is holding a press conference to mark the next stage of preparations for the World Cup finals. And by his side is an excited FIFA president, Gianni Infantino. Thank you, President. Well, it is a great achievement to bring the World Cup next year, the FIFA World Cup in the United States, together with Mexico and Canada, the best players in the world, the best teams in the world. America will welcome the world. There will be millions of people coming. Just like in 1993, the White House is preparing for another World Cup. History is repeating. OK, I'll sign this and that makes it official, right?

32:56That makes it official, yes. That's good, James. Here we are. Then we have to start working.

33:02James Montague:Gianni's right. It's time to get working. So I'm sending a voice message. Hello, mate. How are you doing? It's James, in case you didn't recognise my dulcet Essex tones. um yes so want to speak to you about something i've got a story um i need to talk to you about it so i don't know if you've got 10 minutes but like when you wake up and i think it's something that we should have a look at so give me a call all right mate this message is from my mate ben an englishman living in new jersey we go back quite a long way ben and i he was one of my first commissioners back in the day when we worked at CNN and I was just getting started.

33:46James Montague:More recently we've been making football documentaries together for the BBC. Now I want to get him interested in the Iraqi conspiracy theory. Because if I'm going to get anywhere I'm going to need some help. Clearly no host nation wants their sporting event to become a security nightmare. With terrorism a constant concern it's no surprise that American intelligence agencies were paying attention to what was going on in Doha. But how far would they go to achieve their security goals? Where does the boundary lie? What if they weren't just watching the qualification process? What if they were shaping it?

34:32James Montague:I want Ben on board to help me investigate. So to try and hook him in, I've sent him my old article to read, the one with the interview with Alan Rothenberg and the Romanian ref. Hey, how's it going? All right. All right. How are things, how are things over in the US? I was going to say in New York, but you're not in New York. Yeah, just taking over. So everything's good. Everything's good. All right. Well, look, what do you reckon? I mean, let's get into it. I mean, I've sent you that story. What do you think? I mean, the article's really interesting yeah definitely politically charged group interesting it's got everything it's got drama it's got do you still have the recordings of the interviews I do I do look I've got let me let me play you yeah let me play you this I've got the original this is from 10 years ago when I met Jan in a cafe in Bucharest oh okay I tell Ben I've been going through the interviews I conducted for my article all those years ago because there's another reason I'm so obsessed by this conspiracy theory.

35:44James Montague:It's not just the seemingly widespread Iraqi belief that America decided their team's fate. It's also because of something the Romanian referee told me, something that could help me get to the truth. Blair, I saw in the Iraqis. I think it was one of the best teams. Did you feel that there was something going on around that perhaps was bigger than football?

36:13Around?

36:20He could feel something.

36:26It was a rumour holding in the air that some countries were not obliged. You know, I mean, you listen to that, he seems pretty uncomfortable, and he says there was a rumour floating around that certain countries were undesirable and not wanted. And then off mic, I pushed him on it, and that's when he said, no terrorists in America. And that's this phrase that's been rattling around in my head ever since.

37:03James Montague:A single phrase said after I turned off my recorder, but one it seemed like Yon wanted me to hear. No terrorists in America. What did he mean with those words? And how did it relate to USA 94? I tell Ben I'd tracked down the phone number for the main guy from the US State Department back then too. The guy Alan Rothenberg confirmed had been on the ground in Doha and who had seemingly been stationed at the US Embassy in Islamabad in charge of narcotics and law enforcement. And when I'd called him up, he said, well, how did you get my name? How did you get my number? And I said, well, I read it in the New York Times.

37:43And he said, oh, like, call me back. And I called. What did he say? The phone was disconnected and it was never connected again. That's when I thought, why would that happen?

37:55James Montague:Now, the most plausible reason he put the phone down on me is probably because he isn't allowed to discuss any aspect of his security work with anyone, not least a nosy foreign journalist. And with someone like me bothering him, it would make sense to kill the number maybe. The truth is, I've got no idea what happened. But the thing is about conspiracy theories, when you start looking for evidence, everything can start to look suspicious. It's the flag fluttering in the vacuum of space. You think he deliberately, he was, he didn't want to talk about it, so he killed his number so he couldn't get in contact.

38:30Unless the US Embassy of Concert in Islamabad didn't pay their phone bill. Right. And just got cut off at that moment. It's a possibility. Okay. All right, well, you know, I think first port of call, you know, I think you've got to go back to Jan. It's been a long time since you've spoken to him. So I think you need to go back to him and try and find out who told him what he told you. Yeah. No terrorists in America. You don't need to know who told him. You think you've got a way back to Jan? Oh, yeah. I mean, look, Jan was on TV as a kind of pundit on the version of match of the day that they've got in Romania.

39:15So he was pretty high profile. So I think he's still going to be around. I would have heard if he wasn't around anymore. And my mate Emi is still... I mean, I've worked with Emi on loads of stories. He knows everyone in Romanian football. Yeah. All right, well, let's start there. All right. All right, I'll make some calls and I'll let you know how we get on. Let's do it. All right, see you later. See you later. Bye-bye.

39:39James Montague:And just like that, Ben's on board. And I'm booking a trip to chase shadows in Romania.

39:56James Montague:Ten days later, it's Sunday morning and I'm in Bucharest. Church bells are calling the faithful to prayer and I'm meeting my friend and local journalist, Emmy.

40:12Sir It has been a while You're not getting any shorter I can tell you that Hello Charlie James Oh you're English Yeah

40:25James Montague:When I lived in Bucharest Emi and I worked on a load of stories together So he knows everyone And more importantly Knows where to find Jon So Emi's mate Charlie here Will be driving us two hours away to Jon's apartment I always take good care of you You always do take good care of me Okay. We're off.

40:48James Montague:Driving towards Jon's house, I realise it's been over 10 years since we last met. A lot has changed since then. I'm hoping Jon's memory is sharp. I'm hoping he'll give me some answers. But what happened in Doha is now 30 years ago. How much does anyone remember from that far back?

41:23This is his place, is it? This block? Oh, that's him? Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's outside.

41:32James Montague:Jan is waiting for us outside of his communist-era apartment block. Back in 2013, he was on TV most nights. he was confident a little brash even i didn't recognize him now he looks his age maybe he'd say the same about me i mean i shaved my head since the last time i saw him but as we get closer i notice he has prayer beads in his hand

42:06okay okay let's go inside

42:10James Montague:Jan leads us into his building, into the lift that will take us up to his home. Hey.

42:23Take my shoes off. No, no, no. No, no.

42:28James Montague:OK. Jan's apartment is cluttered with piles of newspapers and old trinkets covering every surface. he clearly lives alone he isn't on tv much these days oh thank you thank you very much he does remember the last time we spoke though he knows what we want to talk about i feel nervous and i sense he feels nervous too i sip a little water then i finally build up the courage to ask the question I've travelled hundreds of miles to ask. You said to me that you were told we don't want any terrorists in America. When you said you felt the pressure, was it from the US government, the observers, where did the pressure come from?

43:42James Montague:coming up in the next episode of shadows on the pitch the clarice is only for you because it's dangerous what was it this is this is listen to the latest episode now on bbc sounds Shadows on the Pitch is a BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 5 Live It's presented by me, James Montague written by Emma Weatherill and Ben Wyatt and the mix and sound design is by Melvin Rickerby Archive clips courtesy of CGTN Sports Scene First Post America Spitting Image Productions and C-SPAN

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