Catalogue Number
NMLH.1992.409.12.149
Object Name
Poster
Title
SFA - Don't Play Ball With the Fascists
Events
Scotland v Chile football match; Scotland's "Match of Shame" 1977; Chilean Coup
Date
1977
Description
Poster, "SFA - Don't Play Ball With the Fascists"
White poster, showing a fooballer running towards a red circle, representing a football. Within the circle are four images of human rights violations in Chile - political prisoners, a crowd looking horrified, soldiers, and a group of people excavating bodies. The ball is dripping three drops of blood. Beneath reads "No Game in Torture Stadium" and "Send your protest to the SFA".
The game being referenced was a friendly international match between Scotland and Chile in 1977, four years into Pinochet's dictatorship. The game took place in the National Stadium in Santiago, where political prisoners connected to the ousted Allende regime were held and tortured following the military coup of 1973. More than 40,000 prisoners were been imprisoned within the stadium at some time, including political opponents, Trade Unionists, and supporters of Allende's regime. Both men and women were held in the stadium, many of whom were tortured, sexually assaulted, or killed. The Stadium was still being used as a concentration camp and prison when the match took place, though the football authorities were unaware of this fact. The match became known as "Scotland's Match of Shame".
