IN DEFENCE OF ITALY

By John F. Molinaro

Things are not always as they appear at first glance

Or at second glance. Or third. Or fourth.

Or 50th.

That's how many times I pressed the rewind button on my VCR last night to watch Lucas Neill's foul on Fabio Grosso that led to Francesco Totti's injury time goal from the penalty spot in Italy's dramatic 1-0 win over Australia in the World Cup on Monday.

Turns out that after watching the controversial incident 50 times, I realized I should have trusted my initial instinct: it was a foul and the referee was correct to reward Italy with a penalty shot.

First, allow me to lay my cards on the table. With a last name such as "Molinaro," it would be foolish of me to deny where my allegiances lie.

I am not, however, your typical Italian soccer fan. I bleed Azzurri blue, yes, but that has never precluded me from reporting and commenting in an objective, dispassionate and fair manner on Italian soccer in my duties as a reporter for CBC Sports Online.

I have won few friends in Toronto's Italian community over the last four years. I have been chastised for writing, on more than one occasion, about the cancerous scourge of Italian soccer: its racist and anti-Semitic fans known as the Ultras. "Why are you making such a big deal over nothing" was the all-too often refrain I heard from some people.

I have gone on record as saying Italy's poor play against South Korea - and not the referees - led to its second-round exit at the 2002 World Cup and that there was no Nordic agreement between Sweden and Denmark that knocked Italy out of the first round at Euro 2004. (Again, Italy had only itself to blame.)

"Italians have never heard a conspiracy theory they didn't like" was how I responded, in print, after both shocking Italian exits, again, leading to a flood of outraged e-mails in my inbox.

Arm-flinging makes it a penalty, folks

But looking at Neill-Grosso incident, I can only come to the conclusion that the Australian defender brought the Italian player down illegally, albeit unintentionally.

Of course, that's not what some in the media would have us believe, foremost among them John Helm, the British television commentator who described Grosso as falling over Neill's "prostrate body."

Ahh. A "prostrate body." If only it were that simple.

What Mr. Helm and the rest of Australian fans conveniently overlooked was that Neill's body was anything but "prostate" - as Neill fell to the ground, anticipating a cross, he slid across the small patch of grass and nonchalantly threw out his left elbow just as Grosso attempted to jump over him.

If Neill hadn't slung out his arm, there would have been no justification for a penalty. But he did, causing Grosso to trip over him - claims that Grosso "dove" are exaggerated - while impeding his direct path towards the goal.

That's a penalty, folks.

Racism tinges stereotype of Italians as cheats, divers

I realize that rational thinking disturbs the common prejudices that most soccer fans have against the Italian players (they're cheats, they dive, they roll around on the ground whenever they are fouled) but let's try to looks at things objectively here.

This was not a decision made by a referee some 30 yards away from the play or made after consulting with the assistant referee. The Spanish official was no more than five yards away and had a clear and unobstructed view of the incident.

When he saw Grosso brought down, Senor Benjamin Medina called for the foul without hesitation and without prodding - he immediately pointed to the penalty spot before the Italian players even had a chance to protest and urge him to make the call.

Grosso is not a diver. I've watched him for the better part of the past two years while playing for Palermo in Serie A and he has always played the game with skill and honour. His dignity and integrity is beyond reproach. But because his name ends in a vowel, he is painted with same stereotypical brush that all Italian players are unfairly painted with - that of a "diver" and a "cheat."

It's the same old story, one that I have heard far too many times and one that continues to wear increasingly thin, especially in light of recent events at this World Cup.

In the first round, after Trinidad and Tobago and Angola defended in great numbers and put 11 bodies behind the ball to earn a result, they were described as "heroic," "brave" and "fearless." Italy does it against Australia - after having one of their players unfairly sent off, I might add - and they are branded "cowards," "timid" and "fearful."

It's this the level of hypocrisy, laced with an ever so-subtle undertone of racism, that is particularly appalling because, truth be told, there was one controversial call in Monday's game that unfairly tipped the balance in one team's favour - and that team was Australia.

Italy deserved this victory

Italy dominated the opening 45 minutes but the game turned in an instant when the Spanish referee gave a red card to Marco Materazzi for a rash tackle early in the second half. Replays showed Materazzi's offence was hardly worth a yellow card, let alone a red.

True, after the Italian defender's dismissal, it was Australia who dominated possession - playing with an extra man tends to allow you do that - but the shame for the Socceroos was that they could only produce neat and tidy passes, which, while pretty to watch, were ultimately toothless and barely troubled the Italian defence, expertly marshalled by Fabio Cannavaro.

Did Australia dominate when the contest was 11 vs. 11 in the first half? Hardly. Italy called the tune. Did they cause any serious problems for Italy in the second half when it was 11 vs. 10? The Aussies swarmed, but try as they did, they could not break down the Italian defence.

With that in mind, can anyone honestly begrudge the Italians their victory?

The bottom line is that Italy deserved to win. The Azzurri clearly outplayed Australia in the first half and put on a textbook display of how to defend and counter-attack in the final 45 minutes, and to suggest they somehow robbed their opponents of the victory is pure fantasy.

End of story.