1968: Italy's coin toss triumph

The 1968 tournament was the first European Championships to feature the grouping system, but it wasn't until the competition reached its old style knockout phase that the real controversy took place.

The semi-final between the Soviet Union and Italy was still goalless after extra time and, as no other tie-break system had been introduced, team captains Giacinto Facchetti (pictured) and Albert Shesternyov were asked into referee Kurt Tschenscher's dressing room, where the winner of the game was decided by coin toss for the first and only time in a European Championships. Shesternyov called incorrectly, eliminating the Soviets in the cruellest and most ludicrous of fashions. Italy eventually went through to the final, where they beat Yugoslavia.