Juventus, Inter Milan to Meet in Repeat of Controversial Match
Copyright � 1998 Nando Media
Copyright � 1998 Agence France-Presse
PARIS (Oct 22, 1998 - 19:38 EDT) - Juventus takes on Inter Milan on Sunday in a repeat of the most controversial football match played in Italy last season.
What became known as "The Season of Poison" saw a series of controversial refereeing decisions go Juventus' way, culminating in a nail-biting championship decider in Turin between the two sides.
Juventus won it 1-0 and went on to lift its third league title in four years. But Inter was furious at being denied a penalty when defender Mark Iuliano manhandled Ronaldo to the ground in the area.
Referee Piero Ceccarini, who is the reserve ref on Sunday, admitted it was a penalty -- though his admission came three months after the event, during his summer holidays.
Inter still haven't forgiven or forgotten what happened in the Delle Alpi stadium on April 26, and many of their fans believe that only a conspiracy by Italy's referees denied their team the "scudetto."
Even club president Massimo Moratti said this week: "We're starting all over again. This time, I'm sure it'll be 11 men against 11."
The two arch-rivals meet with both sides going into Sunday night's game on 10 points, two behind leaders Fiorentina.
Ronaldo could line-up again with 20-year-old Nicola Ventola, who has bagged seven goals this season after being bought from Bari as a reserve last summer.
While Inter were celebrating victory over Spartak Moscow in midweek, Juventus were regretting their third draw in the Champions League against Athletic Bilbao.
Doing well in the Serie A, Marcello Lippi's men are getting nowhere in Europe and could have done with a morale-boosting win.
However, their all-star attacking trio of Alessandro Del Piero, Filippo Inzaghi and Zinedine Zidane emerged from the battle in the Basque country unscathed and should all be fit to play.
