The Okęcie Airport incident was a dispute between the players and staff of the Poland national football team on 29 November 1980, climaxing at Okęcie Airport (pictured). It occurred at a time when civil resistance was intensifying in communist Poland and led to the suspension of several prominent players and the resignation of the team manager, Ryszard Kulesza. Kulesza had initially angered the team by deciding to prevent a hung-over player, Józef Młynarczyk, from flying with the team, but eventually relented. Polish media attacked the rebellious players over the following days. Another player, Stanisław Terlecki, defied the communist authorities by arranging for the players to meet Pope John Paul II. The Polish Football Association sent Terlecki and others home and imposed various bans. Kulesza resigned in protest over the harshness of the sanctions imposed on the players. Most of the banned players were reinstated within a year, but Terlecki never played for Poland again.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ok%C4%99cie_Airport_incident

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1854:

An estimated crowd of more than 10,000 demonstrators swore allegiance to the Eureka Flag as a symbol of defiance, in advance of the Eureka Rebellion in Ballarat, Australia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_Flag

1899:

FC Barcelona, one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football, was founded by Swiss football pioneer Joan Gamper. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona

1972:

Atari announced the release of Pong, one of the first video games to achieve widespread popularity in both the arcade and home- console markets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pong

1987:

A time bomb planted by North Korean agents on Korean Air Flight 858 detonated over the Andaman Sea, killing all 115 people on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Air_Flight_858

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

endow: 1. (transitive, archaic or obsolete) To provide with a dower (“the portion that a widow receives from her deceased husband's property”) or a dowry (“property given to a bride”). 2. (transitive) To give property to (someone) as a gift; specifically, to provide (a person or institution) with support in the form of a permanent fund of money or other benefits. 3. (transitive) Followed by with, or rarely by of: to enrich or furnish with some faculty or quality. 4. (transitive) Usually in the passive: to naturally furnish (with something). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/endow

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

When things go wrong, you'll find they usually go on getting worse for some time; but when things once start going right they often go on getting better.   --The Magician's Nephew https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia#The_Magician's_Nephew_%281955%29