EURO '08 HEAT - Ep. 3

Italy expects offside clarification from UEFA
Zurich, Switzerland
June 14, 2008 - 10:54AM

Italy wants another clarification of the offside rules from UEFA after it had a goal ruled out for a debated call in today's 1-1 draw with Romania at the European Championship. A goal by Luca Toni was called off in first-half injury time, but replays showed that Toni was not offside.

The incident came four days after Italy's 3-0 opening loss to the Netherlands, which went ahead when Ruud van Nistelrooy's goal was allowed even though he appeared to be offside because Italian defender Christian Panucci was lying injured off the field of play.

"UEFA wanted to clarify right away that Holland's goal was OK," Italian football federation president Giancarlo Abete said. "Now I'm expecting an immediate evaluation on the refereeing today and the perfectly fine goal that Toni scored. It's normal that errors are made, but there's got to be consistency."

Italy team manager Luigi Riva echoed the sentiment. "The refereeing shouldn't be used as an excuse. Actually, it should motivate us," Riva said. "I'm convinced that, if we play with the same determination as we showed today, we'll have a great game against France."

Italy faces France in its final group game Tuesday.


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