Marseille: The first and most controversial Champions League winners, 30 years on

Basile Boli, who scored the 1993 Champions League last winner, celebrates with Marseille proprietor Bernard Tapie

In 30 years of the Champions League, determination has not been a victor much arguable than the competition's precise first.

A azygous extremity from sweeper Basile Boli secured a 1-0 triumph successful Munich; Marseille were European champions. Not adjacent the Paris St-Germain of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar person managed that.

That achievement, though, would beryllium overshadowed by a match-fixing ungraded that led to Marseille being stripped of the Ligue 1 rubric they won that aforesaid season, and relegated from the French apical flight.

First, the bully stuff. While the maiden Champions League is unrecognisable from its existent signifier - conscionable 8 teams successful the radical stage, with the excavation winners qualifying for the last - Marseille managed the awesome accomplishment of going done the full contention unbeaten.

Their president Bernard Tapie - retrieve his sanction - had invested heavy successful the squad pursuing their decision by Red Star Belgrade successful the 1991 European Cup final.

In defence, goalkeeper Fabien Barthez and centre backmost Marcel Desailly were signed, portion striker Alen Boksic was acquired to people the goals. The Croatia planetary obliged with six successful the 1992-93 European campaign, arsenic did midfielder Franck Sauzee.

With 3 wins and 3 draws from six radical games, Marseille narrowly edged retired Scottish champions Rangers to conscionable Milan, who started the last arsenic overwhelming favourites.

The Italians had won the European Cup successful 1989 and 1990, and powered done their radical with six wins from six.

However, connected 26 May 1993, they could find nary mode done the Marseille defence earlier oregon aft the 44th minute, erstwhile Boli met Abedi Pele's country astatine the adjacent station and flicked a header into the acold country past motionless Milan keeper Sebastiano Rossi.

The container of wealth buried successful the garden

The Marseille squad enactment up for the 1993 Champions League final, captained by Didier Deschamps

The events for which Marseille's 1992-93 run would go infamous, however, had taken spot immoderate days anterior to that final.

As good arsenic chasing European success, they were locked successful a Ligue 1 rubric contention with PSG and Monaco which went down to the last day, staged the week earlier the gathering with Milan.

Marseille visited relegation-threatened Valenciennes needing a triumph to beryllium definite of the rubric - and they got it, winning 1-0 to implicit portion 1 of their double.

However, reports soon emerged that each was not arsenic it seemed. Valenciennes subordinate Jacques Glassmann said helium had been offered 250,000 francs - astatine the clip astir £30,000 - to "take his ft disconnected the gas" by Marseille midfielder Jean-Jacques Eydelie, a erstwhile team-mate astatine Nantes.

Two different Valenciennes footballers, Jorge Burruchaga and Christophe Robert, were besides offered bribes. Robert's woman went to the Marseille squad edifice to prime up a container of notes, which was aboriginal recovered buried successful her mother's garden.

Criminal investigations began, arsenic did the footballing recriminations. Marseille were stripped of the Ligue 1 title, relegated and denied the close to support their Champions League title.

Runners-up PSG turned down some the Ligue 1 rubric and Marseille's Champions League place, with owners, TV institution Canal+, disquieted astir losing subscribers successful the southbound of France.

And truthful third-placed Monaco took implicit the 1993-94 Champions League slot, portion the honour of being 1992-93 Ligue 1 champions was near vacant successful the grounds books.

Marseille, though, were allowed to support their continental crown, arsenic determination was nary grounds immoderate of the match-fixing had taken spot successful European matches. Thus they stay the inaugural Champions League winners, albeit with a gigantic motivation asterisk adjacent to their name.

Tapie was handed a two-year jailhouse condemnation - of which helium served 8 months - portion Eyedelie, past 27 and seemingly approaching the highest of his career, was fixed a suspended condemnation and banned from shot for 18 months.

Eyedelie did instrumentality to football, but ne'er to his Marseille heights. After a nomadic fewer years - including a indebtedness spell with Walsall - helium retired successful 2003.

'Players were injected each the time'

Former England planetary Chris Waddle played for Marseille betwixt 1989 and 1992

Eyedelie was not done with Marseille, though. His autobiography, released successful 2006, claimed players were fixed suspicious injections earlier the crippled against Milan.

These claims were backed up by his team-mates, including Chris Waddle and Tony Cascarino.

"Players were injected each the clip astatine Marseille," Waddle told the Sun successful 2003. "The nine doc said the injections would assistance our betterment aft games. I had a mates of injections but they didn't marque immoderate difference.

"I don't cognize what it was, but no-one ever failed drugs tests and thing amerciable showed up."

Cascarino, penning successful the Times aboriginal that year, added: "To this time I don't person a hint what it was. The doc would lone archer maine that it would springiness maine an adrenaline boost and I ne'er felt inclined to inquire the rest.

"Whatever the substance was, my performances improved. I cling to the sliver of anticipation that it was legal, though I'm 99% definite it wasn't."

Uefa rechecked the anti-doping tests taken astatine the clip and confirmed they were negative, portion Tapie unsuccessfully sued Eyedelie for libel.

It provided a acheronian coda to an infamous tale. The first-ever winners of the Champions League volition everlastingly stay shrouded successful controversy.