frbleus1-10, Exercise 2: Testing an anecdote

Model answer (check the details), using the borrowed shirts of 1978:

Evidence that supports it: reports that both France and Hungary arrived at the match in Mar del Plata with white shirts, that the referee required one side to change, and that the French wore green-and-white striped shirts borrowed from a local club (check). Photographs of the match show the striped shirts.

Who told it and when: the story appears in many later accounts, often as a humorous example of disorganisation, and some versions differ on whose kit was forgotten and who supplied the shirts (check). The photographs are the strongest evidence, and the explanations of why it happened rest on retellings.

What to want to see: a contemporary match report, photographs and film from the game, the federation's or FIFA's record of kit colours, and an account by someone involved (a player or official).

Conclusion: the match photographs make the central fact likely, but the explanation and the details should be treated as reported until checked.

Care: a story repeated in many books may come from one source. The same method applies to the square posts and to Rimet carrying the trophy to Uruguay.