The Mystery of Gordon Banks

Have you ever wondered why England haven't won the World Cup in sixty years? Matt too soon, too soon. Now you might think it's because of superstar players or wags or bad managers, but actually no It might have all begun with the CIA sabotaging the England team and in the process laying a curse on English football. That was actually going to be my first guess. Well, it would have been a good one because that is an actual theory. and it's a story Audible have investigated in their new podcast, Foul playay. Would you please tell me some more about that? Well, atast sixty years ago, England were the best and obviously we won the World Cup in nineteen sixty six Our star player was a goalkeeper. Some say the best goalkeeper ever, Gordon Banks And we were on track to win again at the Following World Cup in Mexico in nineteen seventy. but then mysteriously Gordon Banks fell ill before a crucial match and England crashed out and thus began ty years have hurt Right, Mysteriously fell ill. It's also called a really bad hangover. And that is what many thought, including Gabriel Gatehouse, an investigative journalist, when he was told that the CIA might have been behind Gordon Banks's sudden illness. But then he began looking and three years later, here he is with his new podcast, Foul Play. Here's an extract from episode one But hear the name of your grandfather, please. My name's Ed. And I feel like I'm having a sort of out of body experience right now Banks score done Yes. Let me check I'm an ordinary dad of two small kids from Stoke on Trent in the English Midlands. I don't travel much They have a little secret repository. Nobody knows This this. So it feels pretty surreal right now to be in Mexico in old prison Digging through the archives of the Mexican seecret police. Maybe we can find something putting Gordon Banks' name into a secret database I'm here with Gabriel Gethouse, an investigative journalist, and we're looking for evidence that more than fifty years ago in the summer of nineteen seventy, spies were surveilling my granddad Yes, they have photos of your grandfather. What We know Yeah, can we see? Yeah? My granded wasn't a secret agent He had no links to Mexico His name has got no business being in this archive. My grandad was a football player Maybe you call it soccer He was quite famous actually Gordon Banks, the world's number one goalkeeper. Gordon Banks, my granddad, was the manning gold in nineteen sixty six, the one and only time England have ever won the World Cup. Well know Gordon Banks hero Some argue my granddad was the greatest goalkeeper to have ever played the game. So what the hell is his photo doing in the archives of the Mexican seecret pololice? They have more information. Oh my God. I know Yeah So that other voice you hear is me And yes, I am a serious journalist At least, I think I am I've covered wars and revolutions, stories about Russian spies For two days in twenty eleven A contact of mine had the body of the Libyan dictator, Colonel GQaddafi, hidden in his fridge. I reported some crazy stories in my time But this one I've been dragged into against my better judgment. Because at first side It seems absurd. Itidn't have happen Unless did in which case It might just be the craziest story I've ever heard It all started three years ago When a stranger comes up to me, You're Gabriel Gatehouse, aren't you? he says I loved your podcast This happens to me from time to time It' ever since I did a series about conspiracy theories in America Franks, I say. Who are you? It's me, Ed I tell Gabriel, I've got a story for him about football Let me stop you right there. I said I'm not into football. I don't know anything about it. But Ed won't let it go Have you heard of Cordon Banks? he asks. Gordon Banks, another trophy for his sideboard. John Mahoney the substitute U Galkeeper right National herero from a bygone age. When the England men's football team still won things. Yeah Evenough I've heard of Gordon Banks So Ed starts telling me this story about his famous granddad in the World Cup But not nineteen sixty six, the one we won So the next one In Mexico In nineteen seventy England with the defending champions, Ed says One of the favorites to win But grandad Fallll. food poisoning apparently. Gordon Banks was too sick to play He recovered a few days later, but England crashed out and English football. was never the same again. We didn't even qualify for another World Cup for another twelve years And even then it seemed like a curse had been laid on the national team. We're talking about the men's team here The women are doing just fine Anyway, Ed says his granddad always suspected his illness was no accident I was nobled, he'd say. He thought someone had got to him all those years ago So who or how To his dying day he never knew Ed never really took it seriously We would just sort of laugh it off and kind of, oh yeah, all right, grandad won too many tacos for some dodgy street vendor or whatever it was. But after Gordon Banks's death, Fed says Someone tells him Grandbad Poisoned to sabotage England And the plot was masterminded by the CIA The CIA I may not know much about football do know about conspiracy theories and this Looks like a classic I mean, why would the CIA want to poison an English footballer somethingomething about the Cold War and supporting a military dictatorship in Brazil, it said. It sounded kind of ridiculous I told him I'd look into it, thinking I'll debunk this straight away Well, Three years later Here I am Pry dig The stranger it gets Okay Don't forget to follow Foul playlay wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Foul playlay early and ad free right now by joining Audible in the Audible app