thumbnail Hello,  Newly-released documents from the time urge
"no sporting contact with Argentina" and indicate international
players felt "revulsion" at the thought of facing the country
Newly-released official documents have revealed that the UK
government pondered withdrawing all of the home nations from the
1982 World Cup amid conflict with Argentina over the Falkland
Islands.  The tournament, the 12th in history and the first to
expand to 24 teams, was held in Spain and saw Italy defeat West
Germany 3-1 in the final.  England, Scotland and Northern
Ireland had all qualified for the competition, though none of
the sides got beyond the second round.  However, a directive
from Neil Macfarlane, a sports minister at the time, sent just
days after the Argentine invasion of the Falklands, suggests
that the home nations considered not participating.  It read: "I
urge no sporting contact with Argentina at representative, club
or individual level on British soil. This policy applies equally
to all sporting fixtur