The ‘Holy Water’ Scandal: How Argentina Spiked Brazil’s Drink and Cheated Blatantly in 1990 World Cup

The treatment of the Argentina team in the FIFA World Cup 2026 has been widely criticised for a plethora of reasons. The Argentines ended up losing to Spain in the final, and there have been many instances where the Albicelestes and their approach were questioned.

In the long and heated history of the football rivalry between Argentina and Brazil, few incidents are as controversial as the 1990 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 clash.

Played on June 24, 1990, in Turin, Italy, the match ended in a 1-0 victory for Argentina. However, the game is not remembered just for the football, but for one of the most shocking examples of the “dark arts” in sports history: the infamous “Holy Water” (Ãgua Bendita) scandal.

The Incident on the Pitch

Going into the knockout stage match, Brazil was the heavy favorite. They completely dominated the reigning world champions, Argentina, for the majority of the game. The turning point, however, had nothing to do with tactics or skill.

During a break in play due to an injury, members of the Argentine medical and training staff rushed onto the pitch to treat their player. Naturally, several players from both sides took the opportunity to grab a quick drink. An Argentine staff member handed a green plastic water bottle to the exhausted Brazilian left-back, Branco.
Thirsty and completely unsuspecting of any foul play, Branco drank the water.

Within minutes, the effects kicked in. Branco began to feel heavily disoriented, dizzy, drowsy, and sluggish on the pitch. With the Brazilian defender’s performance severely compromised, the Argentine attack found sudden space on his side of the field. Shortly after, Argentine legend Diego Maradona broke through the Brazilian defense and set up Claudio Caniggia, who scored the only goal of the match. Argentina won 1-0, knocking their fierce rivals out of the tournament.

The Complaints and the Confession

Two days after the bitter defeat, Branco publicly complained to the media. He stated that he felt dizzy and ill during the match specifically because of the water he drank from the Argentine bench. At the time, his claims were largely dismissed by the football world as the bitter excuses of a sore loser.

The truth remained hidden for 15 years.

In 2005, the footballing world was stunned when Diego Maradona openly confessed to the foul play on a live television show in Argentina. Maradona admitted with a laugh that the Argentine staff had intentionally mixed a powerful tranquilizer, later identified as the sedative Rohypnol, into specific water bottles meant to be handed to the Brazilian players. He even joked about how lost and confused Branco looked on the field after taking a sip.

Following Maradona’s bombshell admission, Carlos Bilardo, the highly controversial Argentine manager at the time, also dropped hints in interviews, effectively confirming that the story was true.

Despite the public confessions from the highest levels of the 1990 Argentine squad, football’s global governing body, FIFA, never formally investigated the matter. Because so much time had elapsed and there was no contemporary physical evidence left to test, no sanctions or punishments were ever handed out to the Argentine federation or the coaching staff.