Soccer: Banned Chilean goalkeeper granted amnesty

Chilean goalkeeper Roberto Rojas, banned for life in 1989 for faking an injury during a World Cup soccer qualifier, has been granted an amnesty by Fifa.

Chile were disqualified from the qualifiers for the 1994 cup after the incident in a game against Brazil.

The teams were playing at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on September 3, 1989, to decide who would qualify for the next year's World Cup.

The Chileans, 0-1 down and needing a win to go through at Brazil's expense, abandoned the game after 65 minutes when a firecracker was thrown from the crowd. The object landed near Rojas, who was carried off on a stretcher covered in a red liquid.

Chile could realistically have qualified only if they had been awarded the match as a punishment against Brazil.