The match is infamous for being abandoned in the 39th minute when Czechoslovakia walked off to protest the officiating after left-back Karel Steiner was sent off by English referee John Lewis for assaulting Belgian striker Robert Coppée.

[1] The 1920 Olympic Games in general symbolised the return to peace after Belgium was under German occupation for four years during the First World War.

[2] Antwerp was awarded the Olympics unanimously in April 1919 in Lausanne, as it was the emblem of Belgian resistance during the German invasion of the country in 1914.

[2] The defeated powers of the First World War - Germany, Austria, Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria - were all barred from attending the Games.

[1] In the semifinals, Belgium beat archrivals the Netherlands 3–0 with goals from Henri Larnoe, Louis Van Hege and Mathieu Bragard.

The ticket desks were closed and a very large crowd waited in vain outside the gates" and estimated an attendance of 50,000 spectators at the Olympisch Stadion.

[1] The decision of 65-year old English referee John Lewis to assign the penalty followed a strong protest by the Czechoslovaks because of an earlier foul on goalkeeper Rudolf Klapka.