Notable Encounters
After a pitch invasion during a derby fixture in the 1960-61 season, Lega Calcio awarded the match to Inter but later overturned the decision and ordered a replay, much to the fury of Inter president Angelo Moratti and club supporters. Moratti accused the FIGC of favouritism due to the Agnelli family's influence. In protest, Inter fielded their youth players for the replay and were unsurprisingly thrashed 9-1. Juve striker Omar Sívori infamously scored six goals in the match and went on to win the Ballon d'Or that year.
During the 1997-98 fixture at the Stadio delle Alpi, there was controversy over referee Piero Ceccarini's decision not to award a penalty for Mark Iuliano's foul on Inter forward Ronaldo. Juventus were later awarded a penalty during the match and won 1-0; they went on to win the Scudetto that season. The incident caused heated arguments in the Italian parliament during a publicly broadcast "question time" session in April 1998. Domenico Gramazio of the National Alliance reportedly shouted "They are all thieves!" at fellow politician and former Juventus player Massimo Mauro of the ruling Democratic Party, prompting Deputy Prime Minister Walter Veltroni to comment, "We are not at a stadium. This is a spectacle that is unworthy, embarrassing and grotesque...". The session had to be suspended and several politicians were later penalised as a result.
During the days leading up to the derby on 5 December 2009 in Turin, there were fears about the Juventus ultras abusing Inter's Italian striker Mario Balotelli (who was of Ghanaian descent) due to a history of racial abuse from fans who disliked the teenager because of his African background. Juventus chairman Jean-Claude Blanc and Mirella Scirea, widow of Juventus legend Gaetano Scirea, wrote to the ultra groups and publicly urged fans to refrain from using racist chants. When Inter's players arrived in Turin, the team bus was pelted with eggs by some Juventus fans. The match itself was marred by seven bookings, a red card and a number of heated on-pitch altercations, in particular between Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Inter midfielder Thiago Motta. Inter manager José Mourinho was dismissed in the first half for arguing with the referee. A second-half winner from Claudio Marchisio re-opened the Scudetto race as Inter's lead was cut to 5 points.
Read more about this topic: Derby D'Italia
Famous quotes containing the words notable and/or encounters:
“In one notable instance, where the United States Army and a hundred years of persuasion failed, a highway has succeeded. The Seminole Indians surrendered to the Tamiami Trail. From the Everglades the remnants of this race emerged, soon after the trail was built, to set up their palm-thatched villages along the road and to hoist tribal flags as a lure to passing motorists.”
—For the State of Florida, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“Death’s an old joke, but each individual encounters it anew.”
—Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev (1818–1883)