UEFA Says Hagi Deserved Red for Foul on Conte
BRUSSELS (Reuters)(DS) - UEFA said on Monday that Romanian captain Gheorghe Hagi should have been shown a red card for his foul on Italian midfielder Antonio Conte in Saturday's Euro 2000 quarter-final. UEFA also called for a crackdown on players encouraging referees to book opponents.
Hagi's over-the-ball stamp on Conte ruled the Italian out of the tournament with a serious ankle injury. Although the Romanian was sent off five minutes later by Portuguese official Vitor Manuel Melo Pereira for diving, Kenneth Ridden, spokesman for the UEFA referees' committee said Hagi should have been dismissed for the foul on Conte.
After showing reporters a replay of the incident, Ridden said: "If the referee had seen what we have seen with the camera angle, without a shadow of doubt he would have given a red card. That sort of challenge is unacceptable. It was a red card offence and he was lucky to stay on the field." Conte himself strongly attacked the Romanian on Monday for the challenge wich caused him to miss Thursday's semifinal with the Netherlands and a possible final.
PRE-MEDITATED FOUL
"Anyone who plays professional football knows how easy it is to break an opponent's leg. His foul was pre-meditated, he intended to hurt me. I have no doubt the foul was meant to break my leg," Conte told reporters at Italy's training camp. Ridden praised Euro 2000 referees for continuing their "intelligent tolerance and man- management" in the tournament, but he said it was time to clamp down on players waving imaginary yellow or red cards in front of match officials in a bid to get opponents booked or sent off.
"In this area, perhaps they have been too tolerant. They are trying to understand the frustration and manage things calmly but when there is open dissent, with gestures, action should be taken," said Ridden. Many of the calls for yellow cards have occurred after teams have been awarded a penalty and then demanded that the offender be booked.
Ridden offered players and the media a reminder that, in conceding a penalty, a player need not necessarily be cautioned. "There is unfortunately a misconception that every penalty should result in a yellow card," he said. "That is only the case when the incident is something beyond a simple trip or holding and when the offence itself is something which merits a yellow card."
Lars Ake Bjorck, vice-president of the referees' committee, called for tough action against shirt-pulling, one of the few areas of foul play that appears to have increased at Euro 2000. "Shirt pulling and arm pulling are a new disease. We have told the referees to react and we have to work to stamp this out," said Bjorck.
