Supposedly a war was started in 1969 over a disputed call in a soccer match. What two nations were party to that little bit of foolishness?
El Salvador and Honduras fought in July of 1969. Bad feelings had run between them for some time, largely due to the fact that tens of thousands of Salvadorans illegally “squatted” on Honduran land and complained of persecution from the Hondurans. The soccer games (three games in a qualifying round for the World Cup) only set the torch to an already flammable situation. One game was held in each national capital, with rioting by fans and (in my mind as an anti-soccer fan) violence typically associated with the sport. While the soccer matches provided fuel for public passions, the Salvadoran invasion of Honduras really has more to do with the harassment and eviction of the Salvadoran squatters by the Honduran military. The displaced refugees placed an economic strain on and already overpopulated El Salvador and the government had to “do something” to look governmental. So, supposedly to defend national honor ( and to allow their people to return to the land they were forced to leave) El
