Justice And Fall From Grace
Saturday, July 15th, 2006
Bruno Cardile reflects upon the punishments meted out after the match-fixing trial…
Brutus mi hai tradito is what the Juve, Fiorentina and Lazio fans are saying. The verdict is in. The progress made in recent years by Fiorentina and Lazio is, well, put on hold as they are, along with Juventus, going to Serie B. Yes, they have three days to appeal, but to the Inter fan this is heaven on Earth. Their fans have so much to celebrate. They will be celebrating as if they won a Scudetto. Double the euphoria as the Inter tifosi have a World Cup win to celebrate also. Milan, the other team, avoided the drop; but they have points deducted and they cannot compete in the Champions League. So much for justice to the rossonero fan. They so wanted another Champions League trophy.
The scandal started three to four months ago when Moggi was caught during a phone conversation in which he was talking to a friend. This friend got a favourable referee for a game. All right fine, so who cares! Moggi works hard to get his team to win. However, some methods are illegal, including knowing for more than 48 hours beforehand who will officiate your game. It is nothing wrong to be well connected, but to use your influence to try to get a favorable referee and to be caught in a phone tap is to be caught with your hand in the biscotti jar and a nail in the Juve coffin.
Juventus were never immune form criticism. They were caught doping in the ‘96 Champions League final and in 1973, and it has been widely mentioned that Giovanni Agnelli, an icon of Italian business who passed away three years ago, used his influence in the 1973 European Cup semi-final against Derby County. Also, a disallowed penalty in 1998 saw Inter fans fuming in what could have been a year to remember. Now, la vecchia signora is out of Serie A in the casa dei vecchi (old folk’s home which is Serie B for them). A bitter pill to swallow as one of the greatest soccer teams in history has fallen from grace.
What also makes the situation unbearable is that Milan get to stay in Serie A as Juventus suffer the stigmata of the crucifixion to the lower echelons of Serie B. Yes Milan have been docked points, but would it not be fair that they too be relegated to Serie B? Does it not look like Milan have some pull, and that in the Agnelli vs. Berlusconi battle, Agnelli lost? Silvio has more money, but the Agnellis have greater prestige. They do have some Royal blood. Well I guess Angelli should have given more money to the Salesians as they are known to donate money to the Church. Milan must duke it out, as Juve must rebuild. La vecchia signora needs a hip replacement and the waiting list along with the recovery time will be lengthy.
In addition, Lazio and Fiorentina, two teams that have lit Serie A on fire with fine displays this year, are relegated. Lazio fought hard to avoid bankruptcy only to find Lolito was dishonest. The Viola were back in Serie A after a nasty fall from grace and near relegation last year, and gained a spot in the Champions League. Toni was the first Italian striker to score 30 goals in so many years and now the team face relegation. Such a sad end to a team with so much promise. So much for my violare article.
So is this the worst scandal of them all? There have been others? Well I have to say that this is by far the worst and the Italians have brought corruption to a new level. In the past there has been corruption and scandals, but it involved referees and goaltenders (along with other players) as they could influence a game. Now in this scandal, many people higher up were caught and it somewhat proved the conspiracy theorists right - that in the last 20 years, the Scudetto has been bought and negotiated before the season began.
A sad end to such great teams, but it goes to prove, no matter who you are: la legge e ugale per tutti and you will be caught. Now the spiritual cleansing and rebuilding begins. Now the job for Donadoni is to unite the team and make sure Italy do not become the France of 2002 and the players do not head butt each other never mind their opponents.
Bruno Cardile
