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Tofik Bahramov

Peter Goulding

Monday, August 25th, 2003

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 I’ve only just found out that Tofik Bahramov is dead,
He lies in Baku with a marble headstone o’er his head.
He died about ten years ago, or so I am informed,
A hero in his country for the feat that he performed.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 They said he was a Russian, but that wasn’t quite correct.
For years we’ve shown the Azerbaijan people disrespect,
For Tofik was Azeri, and was doubtless very proud
Of his part in the goal that never should have been allowed.

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 Imagine his emotions back in August sixty six,
As Hurst’s shot hit the crossbar and bounced down between the sticks.
How could he be so adamant that Hurst had scored his second?
But sure he was, and so a place in World Cup hist’ry beckoned.

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 Millions all around the globe thought it was undeserved,
And scarcely anybody thought that justice had been served.
And Tofik Bahramov acquired an everlasting fame,
Lauded or reviled by observers of the game.

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 And now he lies there underneath the wet Caucasian earth,
Just missing independence for the country of his birth.
And no, he wasn’t Russian, though so many millions knew
Him as “The Russian Linesman,” though he hailed from Baku.

© Peter Goulding 25th August 2003

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/tofik-bahramov/