Italians are crying foul, claiming that their World Cup hopes were dashed by an Ecuadorian referee in the final minutes of Tuesday’s match against South Korea.
The Italians were furious as they crashed out after having striker Francesco Totti sent off for diving and then angrily remonstrating with Ecuadorian referee Byron Moreno, who overnight became a hate figure throughout Italy.
”Ecuadorian referee swept up in accusations: Anger of the Azzurri against Moreno,” said the Gazzeta dello Sport.
”Beyond the refereeing decisions there was also anger at missed opportunities to close out the match,” the paper added, as the Italians failed to build on the lead given them by Christian Vieri.
But the Gazzetta maintained that ”Italy feels cheated.”
It wasn’t just the media who kept the row at boiling point.
Even the Rome government got in on the act and weighed in with criticisms of their own, saying that a quarter-final spot had gone begging because of ”scandalous” refereeing.
”An indecent and scandalous referee! I’ve never seen a match like that. It seemed like they got around a table and decided in advance to throw us out,” Italy’s Public Administration Minister Franco Frattini raged.
”Somebody has to demand an explanation for the refereeing,” he said.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the president of AC Milan, said, ”Like every other football fan, I can only say what a shame.”
President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi said he found defeat hard to accept.
”Our team deserved to win,” said Ciampi, shortly after phoning his commiserations to coach Giovanni Trappatoni.
Trapattoni reckoned the red card for Totti cost his team dear.
”Everyone saw the match,” he said. ”We were penalised. I don’t understand why my player was expelled. I don’t understand why we had to become a victim of bad decision making.
”It was a match full of emotion, a beautiful match – but I think the winner should have been Italy.”
Fans watching back in sweltering heat Rome’s Piazza del Popolo showed what they thought by throwing plastic bottles at the screen when Ahn Jung-Hwan rose to head in Korea’s golden-goal winner.
Italy’s football federation chief Franco Carraro apologised to Italian television viewers for the defeat.
”I don’t have a whole lot to say,” he said. ”But I have to say this much, (coach Giovanni) Trapattoni and the players did their best.
”It’s a big disappointment. Football has lost something tonight. I’m sorry for Italy’s fans.”
Carraro added he would reserve his comments about Moreno’s refereeing performance until he got home to Italy.
But Fifa leapt to the defence of its refereeing fraternity, Moreno included.
Representative, Keith Cooper, insisted Fifa were satisfied with the standard of the referees.
”Inaccuracies have been kept to a minimum,” said Cooper.
”There is a general feeling of satisfaction.”
–Sapa-AFP