2 match ban for Sneijder for sarcastic applause.
1 match ban for Lucio for his 2 yellows.
1 yellow card for Materazzi for wearing a mask of Berlusconi.
5,000 Euro fine for Silvino the Goalkeeper coach for leaving the bench area.
7,000 Euros for flares from the stands.
2,500 Euros for delay in coming onto the field.
Mourinho and Paolillo have been referred for further punishment due to the "suggestions" that there are efforts from the FIGC to keep Inter from going too far ahead in the league table.
More after the break.
Here’s some perspective for you: Sneijder, for clapping sarcastically, got exactly the same punishment that Cristiano Ronaldo got for breaking an opposing players nose. Borriello, for yelling at the referee at the top of his voice, got a fatherly and friendly pat on the cheek.
Whether those 3 incidents say more about Spanish football or Italian football is up to you to decide.
But the fines and suspensions send a clear signal to Inter. In the words of a frequent commentator to this site who likes to see us fall by hook or by crook (as his celebration for Camoranesi’s offside goal here proves), “He [Mourinho] should be happy his team is top of the table and shut the fuck up.”
But he didn’t “shut the fuck up”, or rather; he might now that he’s going to be threatened and punished but it’s too late for the FIGC. The accusations are out there. Schrödinger’s Box, so to speak, has been opened and we are going to discover whether the cat is alive or dead.
When will we discover this? It shouldn’t take too long. Just watch how our rivals are treated. We might not suffer directly, but will a team like Milan continue to get more love, more moved games to more convenient times in direct violation of the rules? We’ll get a good idea of how pissed the FIGC is pretty damn quick.
Which brings me to our next game, the Coppa Italia at home versus Juventus on Thursday.
It’s kind of funny that it’s Juventus we face right now as this issue is reaching something of a boiling point, it reminds me of a story…
The year is 1960…
Umberto Agnelli is the president of the FIGC and Juventus, Angelo Moratti is the relatively new President of Inter and Helenio Herrera is the relatively newer manager of Inter.
Inter, Milan and Juventus were battling for the Scudetto in what would be a tight race all the way to the end. Inter would win the first game at home - of what would in 1967 start to be called the Derby d’Italia - in December of 1960 3-1. Inter would lead the second leg, round 28 of 34 away 0-1 before an invasion of Juventus supporters onto the field caused the match to be abandoned. There were still 6 games left to be played in the season. The table was far from settled and 3 teams had clear opportunities to take the championship.
The rules were very clear – Inter were to win the game and take home 2 points.
What actually happened was that the President of the FIGC, showing love to his club not necessarily conspiring against Inter, ruled that the game was to be rescheduled in June of 1961. An appeal was made but the appeal was judged by the person who made the ruling in the first place. You can imagine how successful that appeal was.
To protest the obvious favoritism by the League Office to the President’s own team, Helenio fielded 11 primavera players. The game was a predictable squash 9-1. Juventus supporters cheered and Juventus would officially win the Scudetto, a formality at that point. Here’s how the season ended – remember that in those days a win was 2 points:
Juventus 49
Milan 45
Inter 44
Juventus would win title number 12 and Inter would be stuck on 7 for another 2 years.
Juventini, I have noticed recently, still consider this to be a great victory over Inter, but a closer look would show this to be misguided. The results of this game would be far reaching and full of bad news for Juventus for about 10 years.
For that season, as a result of the playing the primavera for the game the Capocannoniere award changed, the League table altered slightly and perhaps most importantly the attendance was reduced as Inter made it plain before the game that it would be playing nobodies. There was a veiled threat that Inter would do this again, next season when it would matter more.
Two members of the primavera team that got destroyed would go on to harbor a real hatred of Juventus and do all they could to win every time they played – Facchetti and Mazzola – otherwise known as #5 and #6 on the All Time Top Ten Italian Players as selected by the FIGC in 2008. Also, from that day until into the '70s, Inter would enjoy a winning record against Juventus in the League, a rarity in those days.
In fact, Inter will enjoy its greatest period domestically and in Europe in its long history immediately following this incident, which is frequently considered the catalyst for this era of dominance.
So to bring us back to present day, there are some similarities between the two eras – in both campaigns the FIGC bent over backwards to help the favorite team of a league official, again not necessarily a conspiracy, am I clear yet patcook? - and it’s again against Juventus that we can make a point and field a primavera side. Yes, we might lose the immediate battle – badly – but, on the other hand we will intentionally alter the outcome of a major competition in protest of poor treatment this season.
Or, conversely, I guess we could go out there and try to win everything in an effort to punish the League for being far too kind and accommodating to our rivals. I could go either way on it. :)
Here's the video. Juventus fans might enjoy it too. I like it because of all the smiles on Juventini in it will be tears in a year or two for about a decade. It's poetic justice if nothing else.
Forza Inter