13/04/2005
UEFA to rule on Milan derby after fans force abandonment
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.