Posted on 04/12/2005 8:13:41 PM PDT by Dan from Michigan
UEFA to rule on Milan derby after fans force abandonment
By Simon Evans
MILAN, April 12 (Reuters) - The fate of the Champions League quarter-final second leg between Inter Milan and AC Milan will be decided by UEFA after the game was abandoned after 73 minutes when Milan keeper Dida was struck by a flare from the crowd.
An Andriy Shevchenko goal after 30 minutes had given Milan a 1-0 (3-0 aggregate) lead over their city rivals but UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Committee will now decide whether to replay the game, the last 17 minutes or award the win to Milan.
A UEFA spokesman said: "The referee and the match delegate have provisionally declared the result a 1-0 win to Milan. However, that is provisional. The matter will be decided by the Control and Disciplinary body of UEFA in due course."
It is the second time a Champions League match has been abandoned in Italy this season after AS Roma's Group B game against Dynamo Kiev on September 15 was called off at halftime because referee Anders Frisk was hit by a object from the crowd.
Kiev, who had been leading 1-0, were awarded a 3-0 win by UEFA and Roma were told to play their next two European home games behind closed doors.
Dida was hit by one of scores of flares that were thrown down by Inter supporters after the disallowing of a "goal" from Inter midfielder Esteban Cambiasso and German referee Markus Merk was forced to take the players off the field.
Following a wait of over 20 minutes, the match restarted with Dida replaced in goal by Christian Abbiati but after just thirty seconds more flares and bottles were hurled down from the second tier of the North Stand, home to Inter's hardcore ultras.
Merk immediately whistled to end the game and Milan players had to race towards the tunnel as more missiles rained down.
Juventus host Liverpool in their quarter-final second leg tie on Wednesday and Turin police said on Tuesday they were ready for any possible trouble amid fears Italian fans may seek revenge for the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster.
SHEVCHENKO HEADBUTT
A superb strike on the half hour from European Footballer of the Year Shevchenko put Milan in front on the night after Carlo Ancelotti's side, Champions League winners in 2003, had withstood some intense early pressure from Inter.
Ukrainian Shevchenko was lucky to still be on the field after headbutting Inter defender Marco Materazzi during an off the ball incident early in the game -- unseen by Merk.
Two goals down from the first leg Inter had to get three to go through and coach Roberto Mancini fielded an attacking line-up with Argentine Kily Gonzalez and Dutchman Andy van der Meyde on the flanks in support of their fit-again Brazilian striker Adriano.
Dida was in superb form before being felled and he produced a brilliant save to keep out Juan Sebastian Veron's early shot.
The goal came when Shevchenko found space on the edge of the area and his curling left-foot shot into the far corner of the net beat a diving Francesco Toldo.
That meant Inter needed to score four goals against a team they had failed to score against in their previous three meetings and who had conceded just three goals in their entire Champions League campaign this season.
Inter brought on Argentine Julio Ricardo Cruz at the break and then swapped Adriano for Nigerian Obafemi Martins who made an instant impact striking the outside of the post from a narrow angle.
Dida was then at his finest again as he pushed a drive from Van der Meyde wide before Inter finally got the ball in the net with a header from Cambiasso which was ruled out for a foul on Dida by Cruz.
That prompted the Inter fans to begin throwing bottles and flares on to the field.
Ha! But this is a weekly occurrence in Serie A - they throw flares like Pistons fans throw beer.
I gotta go to one of these soccer games overseas. LOL.
Europeans talk trash about our football players & all the equipment they wear, but those knuckleheads need the safety equipment just to get on the field...
The debacle with the Pacers and Pistons last November was a minor event compared to what happened in Italy yesterday. Americans just wonder why soccer matches have such dangerously rowdy fans.
I have got to hear Jim Rome's take on this one.
No doubt. Count me in.
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