Sport's Strangest Crimes

Can an ex-refree with a cryptic message help James unravel an explosive conspiracy about the build up to World Cup USA 1994?

James travels to Bucharest to find out more …

Presented by James Montgaue
Written by Ben Wyatt and Emma Weatherill
Production co-ordinator: Juliette Harvey
Production manager: Debbie Waddell
Development Executive: Emma Shaw
Executive Producers: Ben Wyatt, Emma Weathrill and Joe Kent
Sound Design and Composition: Melvin Rickarby
Assistant Commissioner: Rob Green
Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton
A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

Conspiracy theories and the football World Cup seem to go hand in hand.

Football writer James Montague is digging into one that refuses to fade; a story that takes us back to the first time America hosted the men's football World Cup..

Did the US influence a qualifying tournament to keep its enemies Iraq, Iran and North Korea from playing at USA ‘94? It’s a conspiracy theory put forward by the Iraqi football federation over thirty years ago and one that’s obsessed football writer James Montague for over a decade.

The streak is over but the chaos is just beginning.
Mark Roberts has danced naked at the centre of the Super Bowl, been tackled by an NFL linebacker, and carried off the field. What he doesn’t realise is that minutes earlier, a “wardrobe malfunction” at halftime has triggered a media storm that might well dwarf his moment.
While Mark sits in a crowded Houston holding cell — still in his Velcro referee uniform — halftime producer Salli Frattini is hauled up to the NFL commissioner’s box to explain what just happened live to 100 million viewers. Janet Jackson has vanished. Justin Timberlake is apologising. And the NFL is in crisis mode.
Hours later, Mark is charged with criminal trespass and released on bail — buzzing from the streak, but now facing a very real Texas trial.
What follows is a courtroom drama broadcast on Court TV and the very real threat of six months in a Texas prison for Mark. Hard to see how he can blag his way out of this one.
As Mark’s legal fate unfolds, the fallout from halftime spirals: complaints flood in, careers are damaged, and senior figures begin to question their roles.
Back in Liverpool, Mark rides the wave of fame — then slowly steps back as nothing can ever top the Super Bowl. Twenty years later, a diagnosis forces him to confront a harder question: not can he streak again, but should he?
After three decades of running naked toward the spotlight, is the Streaker King finally ready to stop… or will there be another temptation he just can’t resist.
Presented by Rich Hall
Produced and written by Elle Scott
Production co-ordinator: Juliette Harvey.
Production manager: Debbie Waddell.
Development Executive: Emma Shaw.
Production Executive: Ian Taitt
Executive Producer: Georgia Catt
Sound Design and Composition: Julian Corrie
Assistant Commissioner: Rob Green
Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton
A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

Houston, 2004. Super Bowl XXXVIII. The biggest television event of the year — and everyone involved is chasing perfection.
Inside the NFL machine, Jim Steeg is orchestrating a military-grade operation where every second is worth millions. In the production truck, Salli Frattini is holding together a halftime show so complex it feels like a controlled explosion: Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, pyro, thousands of performers, and cameras everywhere. On the field, Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham is inches away from the game of his life.
And somewhere in the middle of all this sits Mark Roberts — disguised, tattooed, layered in Velcro, and nervously taping a tiny deflated American football over his “chicken McNugget” because Texas has him rattled.
As the game kicks off, the tension builds — not just for the players, but for everyone who knows what’s riding on halftime. When it arrives, the stadium turns into a full-blown 2004 MTV spectacle: lights, dancers, smoke, sweat, and pop royalty at its most electric.
It looks flawless. It sounds flawless. Everyone thinks it is flawless.
But in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, something happens that almost nobody inside the stadium fully registers — yet will be replayed, analysed, and argued about for decades.
And while everyone is distracted by that half-second… Mark sees his chance.
Presented by Rich Hall
Produced and written by Elle Scott
Production co-ordinator: Juliette Harvey.
Production manager: Debbie Waddell.
Development Executive: Emma Shaw.
Production Executive: Ian Taitt
Executive Producer: Georgia Catt
Sound Design and Composition: Julian Corrie
Assistant Commissioner: Rob Green
Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton
A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

After failing in San Diego, Mark swore he’d never try the Super Bowl again. Then one unexpected email changes everything.
Comedian Rich Hall presents the story of an eight-month mission to infiltrate Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston - rehearsals, disguises, sponsor tattoos, and a growing belief that this time, he really might pull it off.
At the same time, the NFL’s Jim Steeg and MTV’s Salli Frattini are juggling post-9/11 security, a wildly complicated half-time show, and the pressure of a live global broadcast.
Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham is locked in for the biggest game of his life. Mark is locked in for the biggest streak of his.
Everyone's converging on Houston with their own plans. Mark's ready. The NFL's ready. The players are ready. But is anyone really ready for what is about to happen?
Presented by Rich Hall
Produced and written by Elle Scott
Production co-ordinator: Juliette Harvey.
Production manager: Debbie Waddell.
Development Executive: Emma Shaw.
Production Executive: Ian Taitt
Executive Producer: Georgia Catt
Sound Design and Composition: Julian Corrie
Assistant Commissioner: Rob Green
Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton
A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.