Did the CIA poison England's Banks?

Did the CIA poison England's World Cup goalie?56 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleLee Blakeman,BBC Radio StokeandMatt Lee,West MidlandsPA MediaGordon Banks, pictured in 2016 inside Wembley Stadium, died in 2019In 1970, England's footballers travelled to Mexico to start the defence of their World Cup title.Their goalkeeper, Gordon Banks, was in top form, pulling off what many regard as the save of the century fending off a Pele header during a group stage match.But a severe bout of what was thought to be food poisoning ruled him out of the quarter-final against West Germany, which England went on to lose 3-2.As far-fetched as it may sound, some believed the former Stoke City player, who died in 2019, was poisoned by the CIA, and now a podcast, Foul Play, has looked into those allegations.Investigative journalist Gabriel Gatehouse worked with the player's grandson, Ed Jervis, on the three-year project."Roughly a day before the quarter-final, he gets ill with food poisoning," Gatehouse explained."The team doctor diagnoses him with acute gastroenteritis and he rules him out of the game."PA MediaBanks, wearing a yellow jersey, was England's goalie for their World Cup victory over West Germany in 1966Peter Bonetti took the legend's place in goal as England blew a two-goal lead to lose after extra time. However, many were convinced the Lions would have won if Banks had played, with some suspicious he had been poisoned to ensure eventual champions Brazil triumphed."The rationale was that the military dictatorship in Brazil wanted a popularity boost, the Americans wanted to keep them in place and so they helped them win the World Cup. That was the allegation," Gatehouse said.Jervis said his grandad always used to say "something dodgy went on", adding: "He'd say: 'I don't know what, but why did I get so ill?'"A conversation over dinner with a family friend planted the i...