Listen Now: Foul Play

Summary

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Foul Play – Episode Clip: A Conspiracy of Sport, Spies, and Family Secrets

Episode Theme Overview
In this introductory clip from “Foul Play,” hosts Gabriel Gatehouse and Ed Jervis launch an investigation into a family legend so wild it seems impossible: that the CIA poisoned Ed's grandfather, legendary English football goalkeeper Gordon Banks, possibly in an effort to manipulate the outcome of the 1970 World Cup. Blending personal memoir with international espionage and a riveting sports backdrop, the episode sets the stage for a story about obsession, Cold War paranoia, family secrets, and the fine line between conspiracy and reality.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting Up the Mystery: Football and Espionage Collide

• Ed Jervis introduces his unlikely journey as an “ordinary dad of two small kids from Stoke on Trent” now deep in the archives of the Mexican secret police alongside investigative journalist Gabriel Gatehouse.
• Historical context: Gordon Banks, Ed’s grandfather—and England’s legendary 1966 World Cup-winning goalkeeper—was infamously struck by a sudden illness (food poisoning) during the 1970 tournament in Mexico, leading to England’s elimination and decades of “cursed” football fortunes.

2. The Secret Archives in Mexico

• The clip finds Ed and Gabriel in Mexico, literally “digging through the archives of the Mexican secret police” to see what, if anything, ties the great Gordon Banks to Cold War intrigue.
  • “They have a little secret repository. Nobody knows we missed this...” (B, 00:55)
• To their shock, they discover photos and files on Banks, suggesting he had been surveilled ([01:35]-[01:47]).

3. Family Story or Global Conspiracy?

• Ed shares family lore: Banks had always suspected foul play during the 1970 World Cup—“I was nobbled, he’d say”—but neither he nor his family ever truly believed it.
  • “We would just sort of laugh it off and kind of, oh yeah, all right, Grandad, one too many tacos from some dodgy street vendor or whatever it was.” (B, 05:36)
• Posthumous revelations: After Banks’ death, Ed is told by an acquaintance that the poisoning was real, and orchestrated by the CIA for political purposes, to ensure a regime-friendly outcome, at the height of the Cold War ([05:44]–[06:00]).

4. From Skepticism to Reluctant Belief

• Gabriel Gatehouse’s perspective: Initially dismissive of Ed’s story as classic conspiracy theory, Gabriel’s interest grows as unexpected evidence surfaces.
  • "I may not know much about football, but I do know about conspiracy theories, and this looks like a classic." (A, 05:44)
  • "Three years later, here I am, and the deeper I dig, the stranger it gets." (A, 06:19)

5. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Surrealism of the search:
  • “It feels pretty surreal right now to be in Mexico, in an old prison, digging through the archives of the Mexican secret police.” (B, 01:03)
• Revelation in the archives:
  • “Yes. They have photos of your grandfather.” (C, 01:35)
  • “What?” (A, 01:37)
• Football and fate:
  • “Some argue my granddad was the greatest goalkeeper to have ever played the game. So what the hell is his photo doing in the archives of the Mexican secret police?” (B, 02:29)
• The legend of Gordon Banks:
  • “Gordon Banks, my grandad, was the man in goal in 1966, the one and only time England have ever won the World Cup.” (B, 02:00)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:42 – Ed Jervis describes his background and the context for his journey
• 01:03 – The pair’s surreal archival search in a Mexican prison
• 01:35 – Discovery of secret police surveillance records on Gordon Banks
• 02:16 – Recap of Banks’ role in England’s World Cup history
• 05:36 – Ed reflects on the family’s attitude toward the alleged poisoning
• 05:44 – Gabriel introduces the CIA theory and his investigative skepticism
• 06:19 – The story teases out: “the deeper I dig, the stranger it gets.”

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Overall Tone & Style

The episode balances intrigue, skepticism, and humor. Gabriel’s wry, investigative tone plays against Ed’s earnest quest for the truth, with both men stunned that a World Cup legend could be at the center of a real-life spy caper. The language is accessible, personal, and sharp—anchored in a fondness for both the absurdity and seriousness of their findings.

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Summary Takeaway

Listeners are drawn into a high-stakes chase, as Gabriel and Ed seek answers in the shadowy overlap of sports, politics, and espionage. Was England’s World Cup dream undone by geopolitics? Did the CIA really poison Gordon Banks? The clip delivers a tantalizing promise: truth can be stranger than fiction—and sometimes, family secrets hide in the most unexpected places.

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Transcript

[A]

Hi, I'm Gabriel Gatehouse.

[B]

And I'm Ed Jervis.

[A]

And we're about to play you a clip from Foul Play, a new podcast

[B]

series in which we investigate whether the

[A]

CIA poisoned my grandad and possibly laid a curse on English football. It's an unbelievable tale of sport, spies and family secrets.

[B]

And here's a taster.

[C]

We'll hear the name of your grandfather, please.

[B]

My name's Ed and I feel like I'm having a sort of out of body experience right now.

[C]

Banks, Gordon.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Let me check.

[B]

I'm an ordinary dad of two small kids from Stoke on Trent in the English Midlands. I don't travel much.

[C]

They have a little secret repository. Nobody knows

[B]

we missed this. So it feels pretty surreal right now to be in Mexico, in an old prison, digging through the archives of the Mexican secret police.

[C]

Maybe we can find something.

[A]

You're putting Gordon Banks name into a secret, secret database.

[B]

I'm here with Gabriel Gatehouse, an investigative journalist, and we're looking for evidence that more than 50 years ago, in the summer of 1970, spies were surveilling my granddad.

[C]

Yes. They have photos of your grandfather.

[A]

What?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Can we see? Yeah.

[B]

My granddad wasn't a secret agent. He had no links to Mexico. No, his name has got no business being in this archive. My granddad was a football player. Maybe you call it soccer. He was quite famous, actually. He almost made it.

[A]

And if it hadn't been Gordon Banks

[B]

in that goal, he would have done. Gordon Banks, the world's number one goalkeeper. Gordon Banks, my grandad, was the man in goal in 1966, the one and only time England have ever won the World Cup.

[A]

Well done, Gordon Banks, the hero of England. They think it's all over. It is now.

[B]

Some argue my granddad was the greatest goalkeeper to have ever played the game. So what the hell is his photo doing in the archives of the Mexican secret police?

[C]

They have more information.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[C]

I know.

[A]

Yeah. So that other voice you hear is me. And yes, I am a serious journalist. At least I think I am. I've covered wars and revolutions, stories about Russian spies for two days. In 2011, a contact of mine had the body of the Libyan dictator, Colonel Gaddafi hidden in his fridge. I've reported some crazy stories in my time, but this one I've been dragged into, against my better judgment, because at first sight it seems absurd. Couldn't have happened. Unless it did. In which case it might just be the craziest story I've ever heard. It all started three years ago when a Stranger comes up to me. You're Gabriel Gatehouse, aren't you? He says. I loved your podcast. This happens to me from time to time, ever since I did a series about conspiracy theories in America. Thanks, I say. Who are you?

[B]

It's me, Ed, I tell Gabriel. I've got a story for him about football.

[A]

Let me stop you right there, I say. I'm not into football. I don't know anything about it. But Ed won't let it go. Have you heard of Gordon Banks? He asks.

[B]

Gordon Banks. Another trophy for his sideboard.

[A]

John Mahoney, the substitute goalkeeper, right? National hero from a bygone age when the England men's football team still won things. Yeah, even I've heard of Gordon Banks. So Ed starts telling me this story about his famous granddad and the World cup. But not 1966, the one we won? No, the next one in Mexico. In 1970, England were the defending champions, Ed says, one of the favorites to win. But Grandad fell ill. Food poisoning, apparently. Gordon Banks was too sick to play. He recovered a few days later, but England crashed out and English football was never the same again.

[B]

We didn't even qualify for another World cup for another 12 years, and even then it seemed like a curse had been laid on the national team.

[A]

We're talking about the men's team here. The women are doing just fine. Anyway, Ed says his grandad was always suspected. His illness was no accident. I was nobbled, he'd say. He thought someone had got to him all those years ago, though who or how. To his dying day, he never knew. Ed never really took it seriously.

[B]

We would just sort of laugh it off and kind of, oh yeah, all right, Grandad won too many tacos for some dodgy street vendor or whatever it was.

[A]

But after Gordon Banks death, Ed says someone tells him your granddad was poisoned to sabotage England and the plot was masterminded by the CIA. The CIA. I may not know much about football, but I do know about conspiracy theories, and this looks like a classic. I mean, why would the CIA want to poison an English footballer? Something about the Cold War and supporting a military dictator. Ed said it sounded kind of ridiculous. I told him I'd look into it, thinking I'll debunk this straight away. Well, three years later, here I am, and the deeper I dig, the stranger it gets. Follow Foul Play on the Audible app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Foul Play early and ad free right now by joining Audible in the Audible app or on Apple Podcasts.