On this day, England hosted reigning World Cup champions Italy in an international friendly at Highbury Stadium in London. However, there was nothing friendly about it.
Because England had boycotted the World Cup earlier that year, fans and newspapers billed this game as the real World Championship. Both teams stepped onto the pitch desperate to prove they were the best on the planet, and the match quickly turned into one of the most violent games in football history.
The trouble started almost immediately. Just two minutes after kickoff, Italian defender Luis Monti broke a bone in his foot following a hard tackle. Because substitutions were not allowed back in 1934, Monti tried to limp through the pain before finally leaving the pitch. Italy was forced to play almost the entire match with just ten men, and the physical tackles only got worse from there.
By the time the final whistle blew, the pitch looked like a war zone. England captain Eddie Hapgood played most of the game with a badly broken nose. Another England player suffered a broken arm, while several others limped off with deep cuts, heavy bruises, and sprained ankles.
England eventually won the rough contest 3–2, with all seven of their Arsenal players starting on their own home ground, a national team record that still stands today.
Afterward, the Football Association was so disgusted by the pure brutality on the pitch that they seriously considered pulling England out of international matches altogether.
